Is there a national group home license?

No. Group home is a search term, not a license type. Each state licenses adult residential care under its own name: a Personal Care Home in Georgia, a small Assisted Living Facility in Texas, a Residential Facility Class 2 in Ohio. The trigger thresholds, agencies, fees and required written policies all differ by state, which is why a national template manual fails state surveys.

Does any state hand out the policy manual for free?

None of the states we cover do. Georgia goes furthest the other way: its application includes a notarized affidavit in which you swear you developed the mandated policies yourself, with sanctions for deficient ones. Texas surveyors review all required facility policies on-site at the initial health inspection. The states publish the rules, not the manual.

What if my group home serves adults with developmental disabilities?

That is a different framework in every state we cover: DBHDD Community Living Arrangements in Georgia, Medicaid HCS waiver homes in Texas, and DODD licensure or certification in Ohio. Those paths run through Medicaid provider contracting rather than a standalone facility license, and our manuals do not cover them.

How is the manual delivered?

As an editable Word document plus PDF, organized to your state's rule chapter with the citation next to each policy, prepared from your facility details and delivered within 3 business days, with a full refund anytime before delivery.

Group home licensing, state by state

Starting a group home? Get the policy manual your state requires to license it.

“Group home” is a search term, not a license. Every state licenses adult residential care under a different name, with different triggers and a different list of mandated written policies. We map the rules and build your manual to them, with the citation next to every policy.

Check my state’s requirements See the state-by-state table

Full refund anytime before delivery
Delivered in 3 business days
Built from your state's own .gov citations

A business document, not legal advice.

What a “group home” license is actually called, state by state

Compiled from each state’s current rule text and application materials, last reviewed 2026-07-07. Click a state for the full licensing path and the complete policy list with citations.

State	The license is called	Triggered by	State fee	Written policies mandated	Free state manual?
Georgia	Personal Care Home (PCH)Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. Chapter 111-8-62	Housing, food service and one or more personal services for 2+ unrelated adults	$300 application + $350/yr license (under 25 beds)	36 distinct written policies, plans, agreements and records	No. Applicants sign a notarized affidavit swearing they developed the mandated policies themselves.
Texas	Assisted Living Facility, Type A or B (small, 16 beds or fewer)26 Tex. Admin. Code Chapter 553 (Health & Safety Code Ch. 247)	Food and shelter plus personal care services or medication administration for 4+ unrelated persons	$300 + $15/bed for a 3-year license (max $2,250)	30+ written policies and documents on the HHSC survey checklist	No. HHSC’s own pre-licensure training says to have “all required facility policies” ready for inspection and provides none.
Ohio	Residential Facility, Class 2Ohio Rev. Code 5119.34; Ohio Admin. Code Chapter 5122-30	Accommodations, supervision and personal care services for 3 to 16 unrelated adults	$75 for a 2-year license	20+ written policies, plans and records across OAC Chapter 5122-30	No rule-cited manual. A legacy small-business startup guide with sample forms is currently offline after the agency’s 2025 rename.

Informational summary of current state regulations, not legal advice. Fees and rules change; verify with the licensing agency. More states are researched on request: tell us yours below.

Which license does your home need, and which policies come with it?

Answer three questions and get the license your state’s rules point to, with the written policies that license requires, each tied to its rule citation.

StateHow many residents?What services will you provide?Who will you serve?

Informational tool based on each state’s current rules, not legal advice and not a licensing determination. Confirm your service mix with the licensing agency.

State guides

Georgia

Personal Care Home (PCH)

Requirements & policies

Texas

Assisted Living Facility, Type A or B (small, 16 beds or fewer)

Requirements & policies

Ohio

Residential Facility, Class 2

Requirements & policies

A different state? We research it and build your manual to its rules:

Founding price

A fraction of the start-up consultant’s price.

Group-home consultants and course sellers charge $1,000 to $4,000 for these documents. Every manual is made to order: built from your facility details, organized to your state’s rules, and delivered within 3 business days, with a full refund anytime before delivery.

Group Home P&P Manual

Founding price

$199one-time

Founding price · $249 after the first 25 agencies

A complete written policy & procedure manual built to your state's group home licensing rules, with the rule citation next to every policy, ready for your application and survey.

Every mandated policy, keyed to its rule citation
Admission agreement with your state's required elements
Medication, infection-control & emergency procedures
Incident, abuse-reporting & records policies surveyors check
Editable Word + PDF, organized to your state's rule chapter

Order my manual, $199

Policy Updates

$99/yr

Rules change: Georgia amended its chapter in May 2025, Texas in September 2024, and Ohio renamed its licensing agency in October 2025. We track your state and send updated policy language when the rules move.

Annual re-verification of every citation in your manual
Updated policy language if your state's rules change
Annual policy-review and re-attestation reminders

Delivered within 3 business days, with a full refund anytime before delivery. This is a self-prepared operational document you adopt for your own facility, not legal advice, and not a guarantee of license approval.

Group home licensing FAQ

Sources

State requirements last reviewed 2026-07-07. Regulations change; verify current requirements with each licensing agency before relying on them.