Vermont · Checked October 22, 2026
Non-medical home care is not state-licensed in Vermont — but the lanes around it are regulated, and the skilled door is a different license.
| Item | Vermont |
|---|---|
| License / registration | No licence for non-medical home care — no state licence name exists for a private-pay non-medical agency |
| Issued by | No licensing agency for non-medical home care. Skilled lane: Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living (DAIL), Division of Licensing and Protection — designation; Green Mountain Care Board — Certificate of Need — official page |
| Application / initial fee | Not published — No non-medical licence exists, so no state licence fee. Designated Home Health Agency fees, if any, are not published on the DAIL regulations page reviewed. |
| Renewal | Not applicable for non-medical agencies. Designation of home health agencies runs in 4-year franchise terms under 33 V.S.A. §6304. |
| Surety bond | No state bond minimum found in the published rules |
| Liability insurance | State sets no minimum for non-medical agencies (no licence scheme). |
| Timeline | Not published |
| Administrator | No state administrator requirement for a non-medical agency. Designated home health agencies must meet the governing-body, advisory-board and operations requirements in the Regulations for the Designation and Operation of Home Health Agencies (2026 revision). |
| State extras | Secretary of State business registration, Vermont Business Tax Account, and Vermont Criminal Information Center (VCIC) background checks for client-facing staff are the practical start-up costs; no licence fee. |
| Service | Under this license |
|---|---|
| Companionship & supervision | Covered |
| Homemaker help | Covered |
| Hands-on personal care | Covered |
| Live-in / 24-hour care | Covered |
| Transportation | Covered |
| Skilled nursing or therapy | Home health license + a gate (see below) |
A non-medical agency may not provide skilled services and may not hold itself out as a designated home health agency. The 2026 designation rules expressly define 'unskilled services' — personal care, homemaker, respite and companionship — as NOT designated services.
Skilled home health requires, in sequence: (1) a Certificate of Need from the Green Mountain Care Board, (2) federal CMS certification as a home health agency, and only then (3) designation by DAIL. Designation is a 4-year franchise for a defined geographic service area (33 V.S.A. §6304); no agency may render home health services in an area without being designated for that area. Existing designated areas are listed in statute by county/town.
Skilled lane only: 13-010 Code Vt. R. §4.1 — any person seeking to become a home health agency in Vermont shall apply for and obtain a Certificate of Need from the Green Mountain Care Board prior to filing an application for designation, and must obtain and maintain federal CMS certification before designation (§4.2-4.3). Geographic franchise areas under 33 V.S.A. §6304 further limit entry.
Revised Regulations for the Designation and Operation of Home Health Agencies were trained on 29 June 2026 and took effect 1 July 2026; new §2.2(ii) defines unskilled (non-medical) services and §2.2 states unskilled services are not designated services, confirming the non-medical lane stays outside designation.
Medicaid / Medicare payment for home care flows through designated home health agencies (including Choices for Care / long-term care Medicaid). Private non-medical companies are not licensed by the state and cannot receive payment from Medicaid or Medicare, per Vermont Legal Aid's state guidance summarising the designated-agency system.
EVV applies to Medicaid-funded personal care / home health visits under the federal Cures Act (Vermont open-vendor model). It does not attach to a private-pay-only non-medical agency that does not bill Medicaid.
The state fee above is one line of the real total. Run the true-cost calculator with Vermont 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
