Maine · Checked October 22, 2026
Your license is the Personal Care Agency License, issued by Maine Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Licensing and Certification (DLC).
| Item | Maine |
|---|---|
| License / registration | Personal Care Agency License |
| Issued by | Maine Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Licensing and Certification (DLC) — official page |
| Application / initial fee | $500 — Initial application fee $500 reported by Maine DHHS when the licensing rule took effect 20 Aug 2024, replacing the old $25 registration fee. Statute 22 MRSA §1717(2-B)(J) authorises licensing fees of no less than $200 and no more than $2,000; exact tier table is in 10-144 CMR Ch. 129. Separate lane: Home Health Care Services agency application form (maine.gov, Rev 6/2024) lists initial $300. |
| Renewal | $200 |
| Surety bond | No state bond minimum found in the published rules |
| Liability insurance | State sets no minimum in the sources reviewed; agencies must show liability and workers' compensation arrangements in the application/operational manual, but no dollar minimum was published in §1717 or Ch. 129 summaries. |
| Timeline | Not published |
| Administrator | Agency must name an administrator/person in charge on the DLC Personal Care Agency application (Section 3 of the PCA application, Rev 10/2025). Direct-care staff must be CNAs or have completed, or be enrolled in, the DHHS-approved 50-hour Personal Support Specialist (PSS) training (within 60 days of hire for new hires under the new rule); PSS training is not required where services are limited to meals, money management, shopping, light housework and communication. |
| State extras | Background checks via the Maine Registry of Certified Nursing Assistants and Direct Care Workers must be checked before hiring; PSS 50-hour training costs for staff; business registration with Maine Secretary of State. |
| Service | Under this license |
|---|---|
| Companionship & supervision | Covered |
| Homemaker help | Covered |
| Hands-on personal care | Covered |
| Live-in / 24-hour care | Not covered by this license |
| Transportation | Not covered by this license |
| Skilled nursing or therapy | Home health license required |
Skilled nursing and therapy are not covered by the Personal Care Agency license; they belong to the separately licensed Home Health Care Services agency. Placement agencies are separately regulated under §1717.
Home Health Care Services are licensed separately by DLC Medical Facilities / Acute Care Program under 10-144 CMR Ch. 119: DHHS application lists initial fee $300, renewal $600. An agency wanting both non-medical and skilled services needs both lanes.
Registration became licensure: PL 2023 c.309 (22 MRSA §1717 sub-§2-A) provides that beginning 1 July 2024 an entity may not provide home care services without a Personal Care Agency license; 10-144 CMR Ch. 129 repealed and replaced the 1999 registration rule and took effect in August 2024. Operating without a license is a civil violation of $500/day up to $10,000.
MaineCare provider enrollment through DHHS / Office of MaineCare Services after PCA licensure; MaineCare covers personal care and Independent Support Services (homemaker) for eligible members following a functional assessment by the Assessing Services Agency (Maximus).
EVV required for Medicaid personal care services under the federal 21st Century Cures Act; Maine operates an open EVV model (Sandata aggregator reported in national EVV listings). Private-pay-only services are not EVV visits.
The state fee above is one line of the real total. Run the true-cost calculator with Maine selected — it adds the bond premium, insurance class, screening and the payroll runway your first hires create.
This page is information, not legal advice. Confirm before you file: the agency — not this page — decides your application.
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
