Provider categories
See how a state organizes home care, home health, hospice, and related provider types.
Licensing Compass
Healthcare licensing requirements vary by state.
The Licensing Compass helps prospective home care, home health, and hospice agency owners explore state-specific licensing pathways before beginning an application.
Select a state to review provider categories, licensing authorities, major prerequisites, and other factors that may affect the path to licensure.
OPEN THE LICENSING COMPASSA practical starting point
Understand the path before you build the application.
Agency labels can sound similar, but the approvals behind them may be very different. The Compass helps you identify the first questions to investigate.
Licensing authorities
Identify the state agencies and programs that may oversee the services you plan to provide.
Major prerequisites
Recognize important steps that may need to occur before or alongside a license application.
Approval sequence
Explore how licensure, accreditation, certification, and enrollment may fit together.
Three service categories
Start with the services you plan to provide.
Personal support at home
Non-Medical
Personal care, companionship, homemaker, and other supportive services delivered in the home.
Explore Non-Medical ServicesClinical care at home
Skilled
Skilled nursing, therapy, and other clinical services provided under professional oversight.
Explore Skilled ServicesEnd-of-life care
Hospice
Interdisciplinary services focused on comfort, quality of life, and support for patients and families.
Explore HospiceWhy states differ
The same idea may follow a different licensing path.
States use different license names, definitions, application processes, staffing standards, and oversight agencies. The pathway may also change based on the services offered, payer plans, service area, ownership structure, or whether a Certificate of Need or another preliminary approval applies.
The Licensing Compass is designed to help you orient yourself before you invest in documents, staff, or an application that may not fit the agency you are building.
State Licensing Guides
Go deeper where a guide is available.
The Compass provides broad state-by-state orientation. Our substantive State Licensing Guide pages explain selected state pathways in more detail and include downloadable resources.
View all state licensing guidesBegin with your state
Find your licensing direction.
Use the interactive Compass as a starting point, then verify the current requirements that apply to your agency, services, and location.
The Licensing Compass provides general educational information and is not a substitute for current legal or regulatory guidance. Requirements can change and should be confirmed with the applicable authority for your state, provider type, and circumstances.