Florida adult family-care home license: the live-in rule, five residents, and AHCA approval

The two tests: who lives there, and how many residents

Florida defines an adult family-care home as a full-time, family-type arrangement in a private home in which the person who owns or rents the home provides room, board and personal care around the clock to no more than five disabled adults or frail elders who are not relatives.⁠¹ A “disabled adult” is a Florida resident aged 18 to 59 with a permanent physical or mental limitation that restricts daily living activities; a “frail elder” is 60 or older with limitations that restrict daily living activities and the ability to live independently.⁠¹ “Personal care” means help with or supervision of eating, bathing, grooming, dressing, walking and similar tasks, and of the self-administration of medication.⁠¹

The statute says it twice: the provider must live in the home, and must own or rent it.⁠¹ Rule 59A-37 defines “reside” as living there as your primary residence, proven by any two of: homestead exemption documents; a lease with a matching utility bill and telephone bill; or a state or federal ID, each showing your name at the home’s address.⁠² Answer no to the application’s residence question and the form says you are not eligible.⁠⁴

Relatives count toward the cap: any disabled adult or frail elder relative living in the home,⁠¹ and any adult relative of the provider who needs personal care and supervision and has lived there more than 30 days.⁠² If your mother already lives with you and needs help, a five-bed license may leave room for four paying residents.

Three arrangements do not need an AFCH license:⁠¹

• Room, board and personal services for two or fewer adults who do not receive Optional State Supplementation, if you own or rent the home and live there.
• Care given only to your relatives, a statutory list that runs to first cousins, in-laws and step-relatives.
• A home already licensed as an assisted living facility.

Under the ALF statute, a homestead exemption at another address means you are presumed not to live in the care home, and the two-adult exemption is unavailable to anyone whose earlier AHCA license was revoked, denied renewal, or given up during enforcement.⁠¹ Continuing to operate without a required license after AHCA notifies you can bring fines of $1,000 a day.⁠¹²

When you need an assisted living facility license instead

Florida has no minimum size for an assisted living facility: the definition covers any building, including a private home, that provides housing, meals and one or more personal services for more than 24 hours to one or more adults who are not relatives of the owner or administrator.⁠¹ Only a licensed AFCH is exempt.⁠¹ So you need an ALF license if you will not live in the home (an investor staffing a house with caregivers cannot use the AFCH license at any bed count),⁠¹⁠⁴ if you want six or more residents, or if you want a license you can sell: an AFCH license is valid only for the named provider, capacity and premises, and a change of ownership is prohibited.⁠² See the Florida assisted living facility license guide for that route.

Provider and relief person requirements

Rule 59A-37.007 sets the people requirements.⁠²

• Provider: at least 21, lives in the home, and able to read, write and complete the licensing paperwork.
• Relief person: you must name at least one adult, 21 or older and able to meet all of the residents’ care needs, to take over when you are unavailable. Tell AHCA in writing within 30 days of any change in relief persons.
• If the provider becomes seriously ill, incapacitated or dies: the relief person or staff in charge must notify each resident’s representative or case manager, and the AHCA field office, within 24 hours.

Level 2 background screening under Chapter 435 covers the provider, every relief person and every adult household member;⁠¹ the rule adds all staff.⁠² “Adult household member” includes anyone 18 or older who is regularly in the home for more than a few hours at a time, even if they live elsewhere, when they hold familial authority or are seen as holding it.⁠² A partner who stays over most weekends probably qualifies. The application has a section listing each household member.⁠⁴

Each also needs a licensed health care provider’s statement, based on an exam within the six months before they start, that they are free of communicable disease including tuberculosis, with TB documentation renewed every year.⁠²

Training: 12 hours before the first resident

You must complete a 12-hour basic adult family-care home training program before accepting any resident, or before licensing if people already living with you will become residents.⁠² By statute it covers AFCH law and appropriate placement, abuse and neglect reporting, the needs of disabled adults and frail elders, and health monitoring including pressure ulcers; missing AHCA’s deadline for it can lead to revocation.⁠¹ Neither the statute nor the rule (as of 2026-10-12) names an approving body or course list, so ask the Assisted Living Unit which courses it accepts before paying for one. The application must include your written assurance that you will complete it.⁠²

After licensure:⁠²

• 3 hours of continuing education a year for the provider, on caring for frail elders or disabled adults or on running an AFCH.
• Current First Aid and CPR cards for the provider, every relief person, and anyone left in sole charge of residents, including household members or volunteers. A nurse meets the First Aid part.
• Training for relief persons and staff, before they take responsibility for residents or within 30 days of hire, on emergency and evacuation procedures, universal precautions, food safety, abuse and neglect reporting, and resident rights.

Florida’s dementia training law covers AFCH employees: basic written information at hire, a free 1-hour online Department of Elder Affairs course within 30 days for anyone giving personal care or having regular contact with residents, and 3 more hours within 7 months for those giving personal care.⁠¹³ If you advertise and provide dementia care, those 3 hours are due within 3 months, personal care staff need 4 more dementia-specific hours within 6 months and 4 hours of continuing education each calendar year, and you must give inquirers a written description of the services that make your care suitable for people with dementia.⁠¹³⁠¹

The house: space, bedrooms and bathrooms

Rule 59A-37.009 sets the physical standards, which AHCA uses with the fire inspection to decide how many residents you may have.⁠²

“Household occupants” includes residents and household members aged 2 and older, so your own family counts toward the bathroom and common-space math.⁠² Bedroom doors must open directly onto a hallway or common area, not through another bedroom or a shared bathroom, and may not have vision panels. Household members may not sleep in common areas or share a bedroom with a resident. Residents who are non-ambulatory or have impaired mobility must have ground-floor bedrooms, and residents need a telephone they can use at all times, with privacy where practicable.⁠²

Fire safety: your evacuation time sets your capacity

The State Fire Marshal’s rule for AFCHs, Chapter 69A-57, applies the one- and two-family dwelling chapter of NFPA 101 (the Life Safety Code), except its detection and alarm section, plus selected sections of NFPA 101 Chapter 32.⁠⁹ The key test is the fire exit drill:⁠⁹

• A “prompt” home gets everyone to a safe point outside in three minutes or less.
• A “slow” home takes more than three but less than 13 minutes, and passes only if it also meets NFPA 101 sections 32.2.3.5.1 to 32.2.3.5.3.
• If a drill is not prompt, a second drill must be held within 30 days. A home that fails the second drill and does not meet the slow-home sections is reported to AHCA.

Run drills at least three times a year, at least 30 days apart, at unexpected times, and record them on Form DFS-K3-1437; a missing or incomplete record means the drill is presumed not prompt. AHCA sets each home’s capacity in consultation with the local fire authority.⁠⁹

You must request the local fire inspection before the home is occupied as an AFCH, before each renewal (within 30 days of receiving the renewal notice), and before any capacity increase.⁠⁹⁠² If the local fire authority states in writing that it has no inspector available, a fire-safety-certified AHCA employee may inspect, but only the local fire authority can approve multi-story frame buildings.⁠² A single residential-style stove does not trigger the commercial kitchen hood standard (NFPA 96).⁠⁹

You also need a written emergency plan for fires, hurricanes, floods and tornadoes, reviewed with everyone in the home, and a 3-day supply of non-perishable food and 2 gallons of drinking water for each resident and household member.⁠² AHCA requires licensees providing residential services to report emergency status through its Health Facility Reporting System.⁠³

Zoning: the local sign-off and Chapter 419 spacing

The AFCH statute requires a document, signed by the appropriate local official, showing that the home meets local zoning, unless the home is a community residential home subject to Chapter 419.⁠¹ AHCA’s Local Zoning Form (Form 3180-1021) is completed by the zoning office, not by you, and states the maximum number of residents the zoning allows.⁠⁶ Rule 59A-37.002 also accepts a letter from the county zoning official, but says homes in single-family or multifamily zoning should instead submit a community residential home certification form signed by a Department of Children and Families district coordinator; the application form asks only for zoning documentation plus Chapter 419 proof “if applicable.” Ask the Assisted Living Unit which it expects for your address.⁠²⁠⁴

Chapter 419, the community residential home siting law, counts frail elders as defined in the AFCH act among its residents. A home of six or fewer residents that otherwise meets its definition is a single-family, noncommercial use, allowed in single-family or multifamily zoning without local approval if it is not within 1,000 feet of another such home or 1,200 feet of a larger community residential home. Before licensure you give the local government the latest licensing-agency data showing those distances are met, and at occupancy you notify it that the home is licensed.⁠⁸

AHCA’s zoning notice says Chapter 419 applies to initial applicants “meeting certain size and location criteria.” For the spacing check, search for assisted living facilities, adult family-care homes, residential treatment facilities and intermediate care facilities for the developmentally disabled with 14 or fewer beds, and get lists of homes licensed by the Department of Children and Families and the Agency for Persons with Disabilities.⁠⁷ Initial, change-of-address and capacity-increase applications need the zoning documentation and, where it applies, Chapter 419 proof.⁠⁴⁠⁵

Health department, food and radon

The county health department must inspect the home under Chapter 64E-12 at application and before each renewal; AHCA’s checklist asks for that report with every application type.⁠²⁠⁵ Every AFCH falls under Tier 1 of those food rules: food from approved sources, no home-canned food, potentially hazardous food held at 41°F or below or 140°F or above, and thermometers accurate to plus or minus 3°F in refrigerators and hot-holding units.⁠¹⁴ The AFCH rule adds three meals a day served in the home, snacks between meals, and special diets as ordered in writing by the resident’s health care provider.⁠²

State-licensed 24-hour care facilities in counties classed as having intermediate or elevated radon potential must test for radon within one year after license approval, and again after five years of occupancy.⁠¹⁵ AFCHs must keep the radon test documentation on file.⁠²

Who you can admit, and when they must move

A resident must be at least 18 and must meet all of these conditions:⁠²

• Free of signs of communicable disease, including TB. A person with HIV may be admitted if otherwise eligible.
• Able to get out in an emergency evacuation, with help walking if needed.
• Able to perform daily living activities with supervision or assistance.
• Not a danger to self or others, and not in need of 24-hour professional mental health treatment.
• Not bedridden, and without stage 3 or 4 pressure sores. A person with a stage 2 sore may be admitted only under a licensed nurse’s care plan.
• Not in need of chemical or physical restraints, 24-hour nursing supervision, or a special diet you cannot provide.

Before admission, each resident needs a face-to-face exam by a physician, physician assistant or advanced practice registered nurse on AHCA Form 3110-1023, repeated yearly or after a significant change. The same form carries the certification that lets a resident be left alone for up to 2 hours in any 24-hour period while you stay reachable by phone; without it, you must supervise 24 hours a day.⁠²

Continued residency follows the admission rules, except that a resident may be bedridden for up to 7 days with a temporary illness, a stage 2 pressure sore must heal or improve to stage 1 within 30 days, and a terminally ill resident may stay under licensed hospice care with an interdisciplinary care plan if you both agree.⁠² The statute requires that hospice exception before keeping anyone who needs 24-hour nursing supervision.⁠¹

Medication administration is a nursing service in an AFCH; without a nurse, you may remind residents, bring them their own medications and watch them take them. Residents must be weighed monthly.⁠²

Each resident needs a written residency agreement signed before or at admission and kept for 5 years after it ends.⁠¹ The rule requires it to state rates, at least 30 days’ notice of rate increases, a bed-hold policy, the discharge policy, the level of supervision, and a refund policy. Refunds are due within 45 days of written notice of discharge, or 15 days after the resident moves out or dies, whichever is later.⁠² Discharge requires 30 days’ written notice unless a health care provider certifies that the resident needs immediate transfer to a more skilled level of care, the resident’s behavior poses an imminent danger, significantly disrupts the home or is continually offensive to other residents, or the license has been denied, revoked or surrendered.⁠² Under an amendment effective August 17, 2026, you must have written policies on advance directives and do-not-resuscitate orders, give residents written information on both at admission, and record in each resident’s file whether a DNRO exists. Requiring a person to sign or waive a DNRO as a condition of admission is grounds for revocation.⁠²⁠¹⁶

Applying to AHCA, in order

1. Check the house and household

   against Rule 59A-37.009. If you rent, get documentation that the property owner allows an AFCH on the premises to go with the lease.⁠²

2. Get zoning sign-off

   on Form 3180-1021 or a signed letter, plus Chapter 419 spacing data if it applies.⁠⁶⁠⁷⁠⁸

3. Complete the 12-hour training, First Aid and CPR

   , and get TB statements for everyone in the household and on staff.⁠²

4. Run Level 2 screening

   for the provider, relief persons, staff and adult household members; the application points to AHCA’s Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse.⁠¹⁠²⁠⁴

5. Pass the county health department and local fire inspections

   ⁠²⁠⁹

6. File Form 3180-1022

   with the fee, the Income and Expense Statement (Form 3180-1017), the Health Care Licensing Application Addendum (Form 3110-1024), proof of residence and property occupancy, and the inspection and zoning documents.⁠⁴⁠⁵ You list 1 to 5 beds as OSS plus private beds; at least one must be an OSS bed unless the home converted from an adult foster home or ALF licensed before January 1, 1994.⁠⁴⁠¹ The August 2023 form directs paper applications to the Assisted Living Unit, 2727 Mahan Drive, MS 30, Tallahassee, FL 32308, (850) 412-4304.⁠⁴

7. Respond to omissions and the AHCA survey

   AHCA must flag errors or omissions within 30 days; you then have 21 days to supply them or the application is withdrawn and the fee forfeited. AHCA approves or denies within 60 days of a complete application,⁠¹⁰ and surveys the home before licensing.⁠²

Fees as published on 2026-10-12

The statute sets the base fee at $200 per biennium,⁠¹ and Section 408.805 lets AHCA adjust licensure fees each year by no more than the change in the Consumer Price Index; the application form and checklist list $226.34.⁠¹¹⁠⁴⁠⁵ Fees are nonrefundable.⁠¹¹ The late fee comes from Section 408.806.⁠¹⁰

Renewal, inspections and enforcement

Licenses run for two years from issuance.⁠² File the renewal at least 60 and no more than 120 days before expiration; AHCA returns applications received earlier than that.⁠¹⁰ Since September 5, 2024, renewals must be filed through AHCA’s Online Licensing System, and mailed renewals are returned.⁠¹⁸ Each renewal needs new fire and county health inspections and fresh proof of residence, and AHCA may request proof of adequate finances after signs such as bankruptcy, bounced checks, unpaid rent, wages or taxes, or confirmed complaints about withheld resident refunds.⁠²

AHCA inspects before licensing and renewal, after complaints, and to check corrections, and may interview residents and staff privately.⁠² The rule says “prior to annual renewal” even though licenses are biennial, so ask the Assisted Living Unit what survey schedule to expect. AHCA mails a written deficiency statement within 10 working days of an inspection, and Class I conditions must be corrected within 24 hours.⁠²

Each day a violation continues counts as a separate offense.⁠¹ AHCA can deny, suspend or revoke a license for screening failures or for not correcting cited fire code violations.⁠¹ If uncorrected deficiencies are found at renewal, AHCA can issue a conditional license for up to 6 months, tied to an approved plan of correction; it does not move the two-year expiration date.⁠¹⁠² If you decide to close, give AHCA, residents and OSS case managers at least 60 days’ written notice.⁠²

Advertising, posting and records

Every advertisement must use the words “adult family-care home” and show your license number, and the home may not be listed under “nursing home” or “assisted living facility.”⁠² In a common area, post the addresses and toll-free numbers of the district Long-Term Care Ombudsman Council, the Advocacy Center for Persons with Disabilities, the Florida Local Advocacy Council, the AHCA consumer hotline and the Florida Abuse Hotline.⁠² If a resident goes missing, notify law enforcement within 1 hour and the resident’s representative within 4 hours.⁠² Keep closed resident records for 5 years, and keep the last 3 years of survey and complaint reports available to the public.⁠²

OSS residents and Medicaid managed care

Optional State Supplementation is a Department of Children and Families payment to eligible people, usually Supplemental Security Income recipients, in settings that include adult family-care homes.⁠¹⁹⁠² Third parties may add to an OSS resident’s payment only voluntarily, paid to the home rather than the resident, and up to four times the OSS provider rate.⁠¹⁹ Keep DCF’s Alternate Care Certification form (CF-ES 1006) in each OSS resident’s file.⁠²

In a March 2013 letter, AHCA told AFCH providers that Long-Term Care managed care plans might approach them for their networks, and that it had amended the plan contract so that AFCHs do not have to carry professional liability insurance.⁠²⁰ The application has a field for a Florida Medicaid provider number, which AHCA’s checklist treats as “if applicable.”⁠⁴⁠⁵

Recent rule changes

• August 17, 2026: Rule 59A-37.004 amended to add the DNRO and advance-directive requirements above.⁠¹⁶⁠²
• June 11, 2025: Rules 59A-37.002 and 59A-37.007 amended to remove sunset language after a February 4, 2025 objection from the Legislature’s Joint Administrative Procedures Committee.⁠¹⁷⁠²
• 2023: Section 429.83 amended to require AFCH employees to complete the s. 430.5025 dementia training.⁠¹⁠¹³

Sources

1. 1
   The Florida Legislature, Chapter 429, Florida Statutes (Part II, Adult Family-Care Home Act, ss. 429.60-429.87; Part I definitions and exemptions) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
2. 2
   Florida Department of State, Florida Administrative Code, Chapter 59A-37, Florida Administrative Code: Adult Family Care Homes Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
3. 3
   Agency for Health Care Administration, Adult Family Care Home Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
4. 4
   Agency for Health Care Administration, Health Care Licensing Application, Adult Family Care Home, AHCA Form 3180-1022 (August 2023) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
5. 5
   Agency for Health Care Administration, Adult Family Care Home Application Checklist Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
6. 6
   Agency for Health Care Administration, Adult Family Care Home Local Zoning Form, AHCA Form 3180-1021 (August 2021) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
7. 7
   Agency for Health Care Administration, Important Notice: AFCH Zoning Requirements Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
8. 8
   The Florida Legislature, Section 419.001, Florida Statutes: Site selection of community residential homes Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
9. 9
   Florida Department of State, Florida Administrative Code, Chapter 69A-57, Florida Administrative Code: Uniform Fire Safety Standards for Adult Family Care Homes Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
10. 10
    The Florida Legislature, Section 408.806, Florida Statutes: License application process Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
11. 11
    The Florida Legislature, Section 408.805, Florida Statutes: Fees required; adjustments Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
12. 12
    The Florida Legislature, Section 408.812, Florida Statutes: Unlicensed activity Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
13. 13
    The Florida Legislature, Section 430.5025, Florida Statutes: Alzheimer's disease and related forms of dementia; education and training Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
14. 14
    Florida Department of State, Florida Administrative Code, Chapter 64E-12, Florida Administrative Code: Community Based Residential Facilities Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
15. 15
    The Florida Legislature, Section 404.056, Florida Statutes: Environmental radiation standards and projects (radon testing) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
16. 16
    Florida Department of State, Florida Administrative Code, Rule 59A-37.004 history (DNRO amendment effective August 17, 2026) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
17. 17
    Florida Department of State, Florida Administrative Code, Rule 59A-37.007 history (amendment effective June 11, 2025) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
18. 18
    Agency for Health Care Administration, Assisted Living Unit Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
19. 19
    The Florida Legislature, Section 409.212, Florida Statutes: Optional supplementation Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
20. 20
    Agency for Health Care Administration, Long Term Care Managed Care letter to adult family care home providers (March 18, 2013) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑

Was this information accurate? Report an errorPrint or save as PDF