Texas group homes · Made to order · Founding price
Starting a group home in Texas? Here is the license, and the manual it requires.
In Texas, a group home for adults is licensed as a Assisted Living Facility, Type A or B (small, 16 beds or fewer) under 26 Tex. Admin. Code Chapter 553 (Health & Safety Code Ch. 247). The rules mandate 30+ written policies and documents on the hhsc survey checklist, and the state does not supply them. We build your manual to the rule, citation by citation, delivered in 3 business days, fully refundable.
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- Built from your state's own .gov citations
A business document, not legal advice.
$199 one-time. Group-home consultants charge $1,000 to $4,000 for the same documents.
Who needs the Texaslicense, and who doesn’t
“Group home” covers several very different legal paths in Texas. Getting on the right one is step zero, before any application or manual.
- You need the ALF license if you will provide food and shelter plus personal care services (help with bathing, dressing, feeding, or medication administration or supervision) to 4 or more adults unrelated to you (26 TAC Ch. 553; HSC Ch. 247).
- With 3 or fewer residents, or with room-and-board-only services (community meals, housekeeping, transport, laundry, help with self-administered medication but no personal care), no state license applies. Your city or county may require a boarding home permit under HSC Ch. 260, and operating without one where required is a Class B misdemeanor (§260.0051). Dallas, El Paso, San Antonio and Houston are among the cities that regulate.
- If HHSC finds a boarding home actually providing personal care to 4+ unrelated people, the options are: get the ALF license, cut the census to three or fewer, or close (HHSC SB 500 report). Do not build a business on the wrong side of that line.
- Group homes for adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities are a different path entirely: 3-4 person HCS Medicaid waiver homes (26 TAC Ch. 565) require a Medicaid provider contract with mandatory applicant training, and ICF/IID licensure is gated on Medicaid bed allocations that have not been funded in years. This manual does not cover either.
- Type A serves residents who can evacuate unassisted and need no routine nighttime care; Type B serves residents who need evacuation help or nighttime attendance (26 TAC §553.5). Type B carries awake night staff and stricter construction standards.
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.
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.
How Texas group home licensing works
Texas has no license called a group home. If you provide food and shelter plus personal care services (or medication administration) to four or more unrelated adults, you are an Assisted Living Facility under Health & Safety Code Chapter 247, licensed by HHSC under 26 TAC Chapter 553. The small-facility divisions (16 beds or fewer) are the classic residential group-home footprint. Your written policies are not uploaded with the application; HHSC surveyors review them on-site at the initial health inspection, and failing to meet requirements within 120 days of that inspection means denial (26 TAC §553.23(f)). HHSC provides the rule text and a surveyor violation checklist, not a manual.
- 1Complete HHSC’s free ALF Pre-Licensure Computer-Based Training before applying (26 TAC §553.23(a)). Application packets are not accepted without the signed certificate.
- 2Submit the application through the TULIP online portal: Form 3720, all requested documents, the full license fee, and documentation from your local fire authority that the building meets local fire ordinances (§553.19).
- 3HHSC reviews the application within 30 days and flags incomplete items. An application still incomplete 120 days after receipt is denied (§553.21).
- 4Pass the Life Safety Code inspection: an on-site inspection against NFPA 101 and the small Type A or Type B construction divisions of Subchapter D. This building side is where most small applicants stall, and it is separate from your policy manual. Failing to meet requirements within 120 days after the initial LSC inspection means denial (§553.23(d)-(e)).
- 5Admit one to three residents (allowed after passing the LSC inspection), then notify HHSC you are ready for the initial health inspection.
- 6Pass the health inspection: surveyors review your resident records, personnel records, and all required facility policies against Subchapter E, the checklist your manual is organized to. Failing within 120 days after the initial health inspection means denial (§553.23(f)).
- 7Receive the 3-year license, issued within about 30 to 45 days of HHSC determining compliance with both inspections (§553.23(g)). After licensure, expect unannounced inspections and complaint investigations (§553.327).
Timeline: No statutory deadline end-to-end. The structure is: application review within 30 days, then up to 120 days each for the Life Safety Code and health inspection fixes, then license issuance within 30 to 45 days of passing. Small applicants typically land in the 3 to 9 month range, dominated by building compliance.
The policies Texas requires in your manual
These are the written policies the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), Long-term Care Regulation checks, each tied to the rule that requires it. Your manual covers every one in Texas-specific language, organized so a surveyor can trace each policy to its citation.
Staffing policies with ratios based on resident needs, and the 24-hour staffing pattern disclosed before admission and posted
26 TAC §553.253(c)
Staff orientation and training program: 4-hour orientation before duties, 16 hours of on-the-job training for attendants, 6 hours annual in-service including fall prevention and behavior management
26 TAC §553.253(d)
Admission policies covering residents accepted, services provided, charges, refunds, responsibilities and privileges
26 TAC §553.259(c)(4)
Written admission agreement specifying services and charges for each resident
26 TAC §553.259(a)(2)
HHSC disclosure statement (Form 3647), plus the memory-care disclosure if you advertise Alzheimer’s care
26 TAC §553.259(a)(4), (e)(5)
Comprehensive assessment and individual service plan within 14 days of admission, updated annually and on significant change
26 TAC §553.259(b)
Advance directives policy with a clear statement of any procedure the facility is unwilling or unable to provide. Failing to inform residents carries a $500 administrative penalty
26 TAC §553.259(d)
Emergency preparedness and response plan covering the 8 core functions, from direction and control through evacuation, transportation and medical needs
26 TAC §553.275
Medication administration and supervision procedures with written medication records, and diversion-prevention procedures if controlled drugs are stored
26 TAC §553.261(a)
Infection prevention and control policy, with written communicable-disease and TB screening policies for staff and residents
26 TAC §553.261(f)(1), (f)(4)
Written infection-program procedures: monitoring key infectious agents, PPE, high-touch disinfection, universal precautions, daily removal of soiled items
26 TAC §553.261(f)(5)
Restraint and seclusion policies, including behavioral-emergency procedures and admission-time notice to residents
26 TAC §553.261(g)
Abuse, neglect and exploitation policies (prevention, detection, reporting), with signed condition-of-employment staff statements and the 5-day written investigation report to HHSC
26 TAC §553.273(b), (d), (f)
Resident records kept confidential with the enumerated contents, and simple resident financial records with receipts
26 TAC §553.265
Residents’ Bill of Rights and Providers’ Bill of Rights given to each resident and posted, with the required postings list
26 TAC §553.267, §553.271
Dietary procedures: 3 meals daily within a 16-hour span, menus planned a week ahead and kept 30 days, therapeutic diets, food-safety temperatures
26 TAC §553.261(e)
Informational summary of what Texas regulations require, not legal advice. Citations are provided so you can verify each against the source; confirm current requirements with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), Long-term Care Regulation.
See what you actually get
A finished, formatted manual organized to the rule, not a generic national template. A page from your Texas manual:
Contents: required policies
26 TAC §553.253(c) Staffing policies with ratios based on resident needs, and the 24-hour staffing pattern disclosed before admission and posted
26 TAC §553.253(d) Staff orientation and training program: 4-hour orientation before duties, 16 hours of on-the-job training for attendants, 6 hours annual in-service including fall prevention and behavior management
26 TAC §553.259(c)(4) Admission policies covering residents accepted, services provided, charges, refunds, responsibilities and privileges
26 TAC §553.259(a)(2) Written admission agreement specifying services and charges for each resident
Key Texas facts to know before you apply
“Group home” is not a Texas license
HHSC’s own report to the legislature says the term group home is not a provider type defined in statute. Personal care for 4+ unrelated adults means an ALF license; 3 or fewer residents or room-and-board-only means at most a local boarding home permit under HSC Ch. 260. Sorting yourself onto the right side of that line is step zero.
Policies are checked on-site, pass or fail
Your written policies are reviewed at the initial health inspection, a licensure gate. HHSC’s pre-licensure training tells applicants to have all required facility policies ready, and failing to meet requirements within 120 days after the initial health inspection means the application is denied (26 TAC §553.23(f)).
No state template exists
The application materials provide the rule text, forms, and a surveyor violation checklist (Provider Resource 2382). None of them include a model policy manual. Competitor manuals citing 40 TAC Ch. 92 are two renumberings out of date; the current rules live at 26 TAC Ch. 553 as amended through 2024.
The license is cheap; the building is not
The 3-year license runs $300 plus $15 per bed, capped at $2,250 (26 TAC §553.47). The expensive half of Texas licensure is the Life Safety Code side (sprinklers, means of escape, Subchapter D construction), which a policy manual cannot solve and this product does not claim to.
Type A vs Type B decides your staffing and building rules
Type A residents can evacuate unassisted and need no routine night attention; Type B residents cannot (26 TAC §553.5). Type B requires awake night staff (§553.253(c)(4)(B)) and stricter construction standards. Choose before you apply, and write your admission policy to match.
Fresh 2024 amendments
Chapter 553 was amended effective September 2024 (employee misconduct registry suspensions, Alzheimer’s training requirements, on-site abuse investigations). The required-policy list here matches HHSC’s December 2024 survey checklist numbering.
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
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.
Texas group home licensing FAQ
Sources
- www.hhs.texas.gov/sites/default/files/documents/alf-health-checklist.pdf
- www.hhs.texas.gov/providers/long-term-care-providers/assisted-living-facilities-alf/how-become-alf-provider
- statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/HS/htm/HS.260.htm
- txrules.elaws.us/rule/title26_chapter553
- www.hhs.texas.gov/sites/default/files/documents/sb-500-group-home-regulation-report.pdf
Texas requirements last reviewed 2026-07-07. Regulations change, so verify current requirements with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), Long-term Care Regulation before relying on them.