Free license verdict · Rules checked October 22, 2026
Fifty states, fifty different answers. One state charges $5,603 for the license. One registers you for $50 — and that registration quietly forbids the most-requested service in the business. One state doesn't license this business at all. And in a few places, the honest answer right now is you cannot open yet. Nobody selling franchises, courses or consulting can afford to print those sentences. We can, because we sell the verdict.
Why a verdict, not another "how to start" guide
In Florida, a homemaker & companion agency registration costs $50 — and legally excludes hands-on personal care. Help one client bathe and you are operating outside your registration. The trap is printed on the agency's own pages; the listicles ranking for "Florida home care license" rarely lead with it.
A top-ranking cost guide still tells founders Ohio needs no license. Ohio began licensing non-medical home care agencies in July 2022. Founders are opening businesses on stale answers because nobody maintains the dataset. We date every cell.
New York presumes a county with five or more agencies needs no new one. California froze new home health licenses in June 2026. A verdict that never says "not yet" is a sales pitch, not a verdict. See the closed-doors tracker.
The second question
A shared startup PDF claims a "fully legitimate, compliant" agency for about $3,000–$4,000 — a figure that leaves out payroll almost entirely. Consultancies quote $40,000–$80,000. The truth is computed: your state's published fees, your bond, your insurance class, and the payroll you must cover while clients pay you 15–45 days late.
Closed doors, dated
The full gates tracker — every moratorium, need test and certificate-of-need gate we have on record, each with its date and source.
Franchise truth
A franchise disclosure document (FDD) is the franchisor's own federal filing. Home Instead's 2026 filing: a $54,000 franchise fee and a total initial investment of $92,640–$350,550. Visiting Angels: $125,460–$171,150 all-in, plus royalty and advertising percentages every year, forever. Whether a franchise is right for you is your call — but it should be made on the filings, not the brochure.
The free checkers give you the verdict and the number. The Kit gives you the working papers: your state's application packet walked through in filing order, the policies-and-procedures binder spec (what your binder must contain — never a boilerplate binder), the administrator self-audit, the insurance & bond spec sheet, the Medicaid gate map, the franchise-vs-independent 10-year worksheets, and the payroll-runway planner.
$49 one-time payment
Included in the $49 HomeCareLicenseCheck Kit
