California · Checked October 22, 2026
Your license is the Home Care Organization License, issued by California Department of Social Services, Community Care Licensing Division, Home Care Services Branch.
| Item | California |
|---|---|
| License / registration | Home Care Organization License |
| Issued by | California Department of Social Services, Community Care Licensing Division, Home Care Services Branch — official page |
| Application / initial fee | $5,603 — Home Care Organization License fee for a 2-year license term, per the CDSS Application Fees page under the Home Care Services Consumer Protection Act. The state does not return this fee. |
| Renewal | $5,603 |
| Surety bond | $10,000 — Employee dishonesty bond, including third-party coverage, minimum $10,000 — required by Health & Safety Code §1796.37(a)(4) as a condition of licensure. |
| Liability insurance | General and professional liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence and $3,000,000 in the aggregate (Health & Safety Code §1796.37(a)(2)); plus a valid workers' compensation policy covering affiliated home care aides. |
| Timeline | CDSS publishes no processing-time estimate. After filing, the application is assigned to an analyst, the applicant receives a pending license number, and must attend a scheduled (not on-demand) virtual orientation before licensure. |
| Administrator | No education or experience minimum for owners/administrators in the Act. The owner (and any 10%+ owner and the CEO or equivalent) must pass a state background examination, and the organization must complete CDSS orientation. |
| State extras | Home Care Aide Registration: $35 per aide per 2 years (CDSS fee schedule). HCO orientation fee: $50 (CDSS application steps). Live Scan fingerprinting fees are paid to the Live Scan operator / Care Provider Management Branch and are not in the CDSS license 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) |
Covers non-medical services only — bathing, dressing, feeding, hygiene/grooming, transferring, housekeeping, meal preparation, laundry, transportation, shopping and companionship. It does not authorize skilled nursing or other services that require a licensed health care professional.
Skilled care is a separate lane: a Home Health Agency license from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). GATE: Senate Bill 164 (Chapter 27, Statutes of 2026), explained in CDPH All Facilities Letter 26-28 (Aug 27, 2026), imposed a moratorium on new HHA licenses effective June 29, 2026 — including branch additions and certain service-area/location changes — lasting until no later than 90 days after revised HHA regulations take effect, with an unmet-need exception. SB 164 also bars changes of ownership within 5 years of initial licensure, with limited exceptions.
SB 164 moratorium on NEW home health agency licenses from June 29, 2026 until no later than 90 days after CDPH's revised HHA regulations take effect (unmet-need exception possible). Applies to the skilled HHA lane only — it does NOT block the non-medical Home Care Organization license.
An HCO license alone does not bill Medi-Cal. Medi-Cal personal care runs mainly through In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS), a county-administered program where the client hires the caregiver, and through Home and Community-Based Alternatives (HCBA) and Multipurpose Senior Services Program (MSSP) waivers administered via DHCS and waiver agencies/Medi-Cal managed care plans. Skilled home health bills Medi-Cal through DHCS provider enrollment by a CDPH-licensed, certified HHA.
EVV is through CalEVV (the state system, Sandata) or an approved Alternate EVV system feeding the CalEVV Aggregator. DHCS: personal care services EVV from Jan 1, 2022; home health care services EVV from Jan 1, 2023.
The state fee above is one line of the real total. Run the true-cost calculator with California 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
