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New Jersey home care policies & procedures, built to N.J.S.A. 34:8-45.1, N.J.A.C. 13:45B-13 and 13:45B-14
New Jersey requires a written policy and procedure manual to license a non-medical home care agency. We build yours to N.J.S.A. 34:8-45.1, N.J.A.C. 13:45B-13 and 13:45B-14, delivered in 3 business days, fully refundable.
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How home care licensing works in New Jersey
New Jersey regulates private-pay non-medical home care as a Health Care Service Firm registration with the Division of Consumer Affairs, not the Department of Health, under N.J.S.A. 34:8-45.1 and N.J.A.C. 13:45B-13. Registration is $500 a year per primary location (N.J.A.C. 13:45B-7.1) with a $10,000 surety bond and $1 million in general liability cover (13:45B-14.3(h)), and operating before you register costs $500 per day. Two things catch owners out. Subchapter 14 binds every registered firm and most guides never mention it: a written plan of care before any placement, a recorded 30-day supervisory inquiry, a 60-day on-site in-home evaluation that came back into force on February 16, 2026, an employed supervisor with narrow credentials, and seven-year record retention. And accreditation is mandatory within 12 months for every firm, including companion-only and 100% private-pay. The accreditation standard is not a proprietary rulebook: N.J.S.A. 34:8-45.1(c) directs the accrediting body to apply N.J.A.C. 13:37-14.1 et seq. and 13:45B-13.1 et seq., so a manual built accurately to those two chapters is built to the accreditation standard by operation of statute. That manual is the artifact this product delivers, with every policy marked as a New Jersey requirement with its citation or as your own agency policy.
Your written policy & procedure manual sits inside a larger licensing process. Here is the path the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, Regulated Business Section expects, and where your manual fits.
- 1Form the New Jersey business entity; formation documents go in the application, and each officer, director, principal and 10%+ owner must certify their criminal-conviction history (N.J.A.C. 13:45B-13.3(a)).
- 2Line up the financial prerequisites: a $10,000 surety bond (waivable if you document $100,000+ net worth with CPA-verified financials, N.J.A.C. 13:45B-13.3(a)3) and $1 million in general liability cover for the conduct of the practitioners you place, which is codified at N.J.A.C. 13:45B-14.3(h) rather than being an application-checklist item.
- 3Hire your health care practitioner supervisor, and note that the rule is narrower than “an RN.” N.J.A.C. 13:45B-14.3(c) requires you to employ at least one, and 13:45B-14.1 limits the role to a New Jersey licensed physician, a registered nurse with a BSN and two years of combined public health nursing and progressive professional responsibilities in public health nursing, or a registered nurse with three years of the same. A general RN does not qualify. If you place certified aides you also need a registered professional nurse specifically, because N.J.A.C. 13:37-14.3 gives the plan-of-care review and medication delegation to an RN and a physician cannot discharge those.
- 4Apply through the Division of Consumer Affairs Regulated Business online portal with the $500 registration fee, which is codified per primary location at N.J.A.C. 13:45B-7.1 along with a $25 late fee for renewals. Do not recruit staff or offer services before the registration issues: unregistered operation carries a $500-per-day penalty (N.J.S.A. 34:8-45.1(e)) and pre-registration operation is itself a prohibited practice (N.J.A.C. 13:45B-13.6(a)1).
- 5Within 12 months of registering, obtain accreditation from a body recognized by the Department of Human Services (N.J.S.A. 34:8-45.1(c), N.J.A.C. 10:60-1.2). The rule does not publish the list and expressly warns against acting on one that is not freshly obtained, so call DHS on (609) 292-3717 for the current names. The survey reviews your written policy manual, personnel files and clinical records, so the manual needs to exist well before the surveyor does.
- 6Renew annually with evidence of accreditation (N.J.A.C. 13:45B-13.5(b)-(c)) and, starting July 1, 2026, an annual financial statement (N.J.A.C. 13:45B-13.5A(a)); report any loss of accreditation in writing within 10 days (13:45B-13.5(d)). Two codified rules still say July 1, at 13:45B-13.5(a) and 13:45B-7.2(b), but the Division has moved expirations to September 30 with renewals due before October 1, published as a Public Notice at 58 N.J.R. 1634(a). Work to the Division’s dates and expect the rule text to lag until it is amended.
Timeline: Registration itself is application-driven with no published deadline; the binding clock is accreditation, which must be obtained within 12 months of registering, and accreditors’ document review plus on-site survey commonly consumes a large share of that year. Start the policy manual before you register, not after.
The policies New Jersey requires in your manual
These are the specific written policies the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, Regulated Business Section reviews, each tied to the rule that requires it. Your manual is organized to cover every one in New Jersey-specific language, not a generic national template.
The accreditation policy manual itself. The standard applied is not proprietary: the statute directs the accrediting body to apply the two chapters, so the manual is built to N.J.A.C. 13:37-14 and 13:45B-13 with a crosswalk from each provision to the policy that discharges it
N.J.S.A. 34:8-45.1(c)
Written plan of care prepared and signed by an appropriately licensed person before any placement, with the original retained and a copy given to the client on every revision
N.J.A.C. 13:45B-14.9(a), (h)
Supervisory inquiry at least every 30 days asking whether the plan of care is adequate and being followed, with the responses recorded; immediate reassessment where they indicate the plan no longer fits
N.J.A.C. 13:45B-14.9(c)-(e)
On-site in-home evaluation of the plan of care at least every 60 days. Suspended under Executive Order 103 from March 2020 and in force again since February 16, 2026, when EO 415 terminated it
N.J.A.C. 13:45B-14.9(g)
Employ at least one health care practitioner supervisor, employed rather than contracted, meeting the narrow 14.1 credential test
N.J.A.C. 13:45B-14.3(c), 14.1
Certified homemaker-home health aides may be placed only if actively certified and employed by the agency, so the personal-care half of the workforce cannot be contracted out; task-by-task delegation by the supervisor with competence demonstrated first and every delegated task documented in the client record
N.J.A.C. 13:45B-14.7(b)-(e)
Employment application carrying the eleven prescribed items, the verbatim authorization wording, license verification with the issuing board before placement, and one year of work history verified with the reason for each departure
N.J.A.C. 13:45B-14.2, 14.4, 14.6
Seven-year retention for every record subchapter 14 requires, running from the date the record was required to be made rather than from discharge or separation
N.J.A.C. 13:45B-14.3(g)
Advertising: name and address exactly as registered on every advertisement including staff recruiting, copies of every advertisement kept two years, and a separate log of date, place and medium kept two years
N.J.A.C. 13:45B-15.1
Uncertified/companion caregiver disclosure packet, given at least 24 hours before service: written non-certification notice, letterhead training statement, work-authorization certification, and employment-history verification or two character references, with signed waivers retained 2 years
N.J.A.C. 13:45B-13.8
Consumer Guide to Homemaker-Home Health Aides delivered to each client at least 24 hours pre-service, with any written waiver retained 2 years
N.J.A.C. 13:45B-13.7(b)-(d)
Photo ID tags for aides and licensed staff showing name and credential level while providing care
N.J.A.C. 13:45B-13.7(a)
RN delegation and direction of certified homemaker-home health aide tasks, including medication-administration delegation documentation and per-administration records
N.J.A.C. 13:37-14.3 (applied to HCSFs via N.J.S.A. 34:8-45.1(c))
Aide credentialing: CHHA certification through the Board of Nursing with the individual criminal-history record check that certification carries
N.J.A.C. 13:37-14.9
Prohibited-practices compliance: no operating before registration, no charging caregivers fees, no restraining a caregiver’s future employment, no strike-replacement staffing
N.J.A.C. 13:45B-13.6(a)
Ownership, management and conviction-history records: notice of material changes within 30 days, and certification of any new conviction within 30 days
N.J.A.C. 13:45B-13.3(b)-(d)
Accreditation maintenance: evidence at every renewal and 10-day written notice if accreditation is lost
N.J.A.C. 13:45B-13.5(b)-(d)
Annual financial statement filed with renewal, first due July 1, 2026, showing assets, liabilities, gross income, operating expenses and Medicaid PCA receipts. Above it sit two separate tiers: a report where the firm receives less than $250,000 in Medicaid PCA and generates $1M to $10M gross income, and an audit at $10M+ gross income or on a three-year cycle where Medicaid PCA exceeds $250,000. A firm with no Medicaid revenue is inside the report tier, not outside it, because zero is less than $250,000
N.J.A.C. 13:45B-13.5A(a), (d), (e) (R.2025 d.069, 57 N.J.R. 1160(a), eff. June 2, 2025)
Informational summary of what New Jersey regulations require, not legal advice. Citations are provided so you can verify each against the source; confirm current requirements with the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, Regulated Business Section.
See what you actually get
A finished, formatted manual organized to the rule, not a checklist or a generic template. A page from your New Jersey manual:
Contents: required policies
N.J.S.A. 34:8-45.1(c) The accreditation policy manual itself. The standard applied is not proprietary: the statute directs the accrediting body to apply the two chapters, so the manual is built to N.J.A.C. 13:37-14 and 13:45B-13 with a crosswalk from each provision to the policy that discharges it
N.J.A.C. 13:45B-14.9(a), (h) Written plan of care prepared and signed by an appropriately licensed person before any placement, with the original retained and a copy given to the client on every revision
N.J.A.C. 13:45B-14.9(c)-(e) Supervisory inquiry at least every 30 days asking whether the plan of care is adequate and being followed, with the responses recorded; immediate reassessment where they indicate the plan no longer fits
N.J.A.C. 13:45B-14.9(g) On-site in-home evaluation of the plan of care at least every 60 days. Suspended under Executive Order 103 from March 2020 and in force again since February 16, 2026, when EO 415 terminated it
Key New Jersey facts to know before you apply
Consumer Affairs, not the Health Department
Skilled home health agencies and hospices are licensed by DOH and expressly excluded from HCSF registration. A private-pay non-medical agency registers with the Division of Consumer Affairs under the employment-and-personnel-services law, which is why half the guides you find describe the wrong agency.
Accreditation is mandatory for everyone
N.J.S.A. 34:8-45.1(c) requires every registered firm to be accredited within 12 months, and the Division confirmed in its 2025 rulemaking that this applies to all firms, not just Medicaid participants. Any page claiming a private-pay exemption is describing a bill that never passed.
The accreditation standard is the two chapters
N.J.S.A. 34:8-45.1(c) directs the accrediting body to “apply the standards set forth in N.J.A.C. 13:37-14.1 et seq. and N.J.A.C. 13:45B-13.1 et seq.” The standard is the rules themselves, not a proprietary rulebook you have to buy sight unseen, so a manual built accurately to the two chapters is built to the accreditation standard by operation of statute. The accreditors do not supply the manual; they survey the one you bring.
Nobody can hand you a reliable accreditor list
N.J.A.C. 10:60-1.2 defines a recognized body as one approved by the Department of Human Services, does not name them, and warns that “interested parties should ensure that the most current list is obtained before taking any action based on such a list.” Call DHS on (609) 292-3717. The Board of Nursing’s Consumer Guide (Rev. 6/18) names CAHC, The Joint Commission, CHAP, ACHC and NIHCA, which is a starting point from 2018 and not the operative recognition.
Subchapter 14 is the half most guides skip
N.J.A.C. 13:45B-14 binds every registered firm by its own terms, because 14.1 defines “agency” as a health care service firm. It carries the written plan of care, both supervision clocks, the employed supervisor, the certified-aides-must-be-employees rule, the $1 million insurance and seven-year retention. A manual built only to subchapter 13 is missing most of the operating duties.
Companion vs personal care staffing line
Companion services (no hands-on ADL care) may use uncertified staff with the 24-hour written disclosure packet under N.J.A.C. 13:45B-13.8. Personal care requires Board of Nursing certified homemaker-home health aides, and N.J.A.C. 13:45B-14.7(b) permits placing only aides “employed by the agency,” so that half of the workforce cannot be contractors.
The supervisor rule is narrower than “a nurse”
You must employ, not designate, at least one health care practitioner supervisor (13:45B-14.3(c)). The role is limited to a New Jersey licensed physician, a BSN registered nurse with two years of combined public health nursing and progressive professional responsibilities in public health nursing, or a registered nurse with three years of the same (13:45B-14.1). A general RN does not qualify, and this is a hiring constraint to solve before you place anyone.
Real startup costs beyond the fee
$500 annual registration per primary location, codified at N.J.A.C. 13:45B-7.1 with a $25 late fee, plus a $10,000 bond (waivable at $100,000+ net worth), $1 million in liability cover under 13:45B-14.3(h), and accreditation fees within year one. A “primary location” is an address used 90 or more calendar days (13:45B-1.2), so a second office is a second $500 a year. Operating before registration costs $500 per day.
New annual financial statement, and a report tier that catches you
Every firm files an annual financial statement with renewal from July 1, 2026. The audit only starts at $10 million gross income, or above $250,000 of NJ Medicaid personal-care revenue on a three-year cycle. But 13:45B-13.5A(e) puts a firm with less than $250,000 of Medicaid PCA and $1M to $10M gross income inside a lighter report tier prepared by a New Jersey CPA, so having no Medicaid revenue satisfies that limb rather than exempting you. Watch gross income, not Medicaid.
A New Jersey manual, not a national template
Free templates and national sample manuals miss the New Jersey-specific language and citations reviewers look for. Every manual we build is organized to N.J.S.A. 34:8-45.1, N.J.A.C. 13:45B-13 and 13:45B-14 and the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, Regulated Business Section application, and delivered as editable Word + PDF you can brand with your agency name.
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Delivered within 3 business days, with a full refund anytime before delivery. This is a self-prepared operational document you adopt for your own agency, not legal advice, and not a guarantee of license approval.
New Jersey home care licensing FAQ
Sources
- www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/hcservice
- pub.njleg.gov/bills/2018/AL19/48_.PDF
- www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/Adoptions/diroffado_06022025.pdf
- www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/hcservice/Documents/Health-Care-Service-Firms-Accrediting-Organizations.pdf
- www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/new-jersey/N-J-A-C-13-45B-13-3
- www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/njcode
- www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/News/PressAttachments/hhhaguide.pdf
New Jersey requirements last reviewed 2026-06-30. Regulations change, so verify current requirements with the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, Regulated Business Section before relying on them.
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