Guide · Requirements by state
License: Home Care Organization License, issued by California Department of Social Services, Community Care Licensing Division, Home Care Services Branch. State fee: $5,603 — Home Care Organization License fee for a 2-year license term, per the CDSS Application Fees page under the Home Care Services Consumer Protection Act. The state does not return this fee.. Renewal: $5,603. Bond: $10,000. Administrator: No education or experience minimum for owners/administrators in the Act. The owner (and any 10%+ owner and the CEO or equivalent) must pass a state background examination, and the organization must complete CDSS orientation.
Covers non-medical services only — bathing, dressing, feeding, hygiene/grooming, transferring, housekeeping, meal preparation, laundry, transportation, shopping and companionship. It does not authorize skilled nursing or other services that require a licensed health care professional. The full service-by-service table is on the California state page — check your marketing against it before you print anything.
Published timeline: CDSS publishes no processing-time estimate. After filing, the application is assigned to an analyst, the applicant receives a pending license number, and must attend a scheduled (not on-demand) virtual orientation before licensure.. And if Medicaid clients are part of the plan: An HCO license alone does not bill Medi-Cal. Medi-Cal personal care runs mainly through In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS), a county-administered program where the client hires the caregiver, and through Home and Community-Based Alternatives (HCBA) and Multipurpose Senior Services Program (MSSP) waivers administered via DHCS and waiver agencies/Medi-Cal managed care plans. Skilled home health bills Medi-Cal through DHCS provider enrollment by a CDPH-licensed, certified HHA. Enrollment is a second application, on its own clock, after the license exists.
Requirements lists are static; your services are specific. The verdict checker applies California's rules to your exact service mix and payer lane, and prints the confirm-before-you-file citation with the verdict.
Dataset pages behind this guide: California state page · the full 50-state dataset (checked October 22, 2026).
Guides are general; verdicts are specific. The license checker applies your state's rules to your service mix, and the cost calculator prices your opening from the same dataset this guide cites.
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.
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Included in the $49 HomeCareLicenseCheck Kit
