Virginia · Checked October 22, 2026
Your license is the Home Care Organization License, issued by Virginia Department of Health, Office of Licensure and Certification (OLC).
| Item | Virginia |
|---|---|
| License / registration | Home Care Organization License |
| Issued by | Virginia Department of Health, Office of Licensure and Certification (OLC) — official page |
| Application / initial fee | $1,500 — Triennial fee of $1,500 for each initial and renewal application, 12VAC5-381-70(A), as amended effective May 22, 2025. VDH OLC states the same on its site: 'Effective 05/22/2025, the triennial fee for all Home Care Organization (HCO) licenses is $1,500.' The old $500 annual figure still quoted by many guides is superseded. |
| Renewal | $1,500 |
| Surety bond | No state bond minimum found in the published rules |
| Liability insurance | State sets no minimum |
| Timeline | A completed application for initial licensure must be submitted at least 60 days prior to the organization's planned opening date (12VAC5-381-40(D)); an incomplete application becomes inactive after 6 months |
| Administrator | The governing body must appoint an administrator with at least 1 year of training and experience in direct health care service delivery, including at least 1 year within the last 5 years of supervisory or administrative management experience in home health care or a related health program (12VAC5-381-170(A)). The administrator must be an employee of the organization. |
| State extras | $50 late renewal fee; $250 license reissuance/replacement; $75 one-time exemption-from-licensure processing fee if claiming an exemption instead. |
| Service | Under this license |
|---|---|
| Companionship & supervision | Covered |
| Homemaker help | Covered |
| Hands-on personal care | Covered |
| Live-in / 24-hour care | Not covered by this license |
| Transportation | Not covered by this license |
| Skilled nursing or therapy | Covered — same license |
One HCO license covers the organization's declared services, which can include personal care (ADL help: bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring, eating) and skilled services if the organization is approved for them; the license does not by itself authorize services the organization has not been approved to add (adding skilled services or a branch is a reportable license change evaluated by OLC).
Skilled services are provided under the same Home Care Organization license (addition/removal of skilled services is a change OLC must evaluate, per 12VAC5-381), not a second license. Medicare home health certification is a separate federal process.
Enroll as a Medicaid provider with the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) / its MES portal; personal care is delivered largely through Commonwealth Coordinated Care Plus (CCC Plus) managed-care plans and DMAS fee-for-service for eligible members
Virginia DMAS requires EVV for Medicaid personal care (and related) services. Verify the current DMAS EVV service list before billing.
The state fee above is one line of the real total. Run the true-cost calculator with Virginia 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
