Maine assisted living facility license: Chapter 113 Part A, fees and steps

Apartment or bedroom: which Maine license you need

Maine does not use “assisted living” as a catch-all. The statute groups three models under the umbrella term assisted housing facility: the assisted living facility, the residential care facility and the independent housing with services program.⁠¹ Which one you are depends mostly on your floor plan.

An assisted living facility is “a house or other place that, for consideration, is maintained wholly or in part for the purpose of providing assisted living services to residents in private apartments in buildings that include a common dining area,” either directly or through contracts.⁠¹ A private apartment is a dwelling unit with “an individual bedroom, an individual bathroom and an individual food preparation area.”⁠¹ If residents live in private or semi-private bedrooms and share living and dining areas, you are a residential care facility instead, licensed under Ch. 113 Part B. That route has its own license.

A resident is anyone 18 or older who is not related by blood or marriage to the owner or person in charge and who receives assisted housing services.⁠¹

What triggers licensing is the service, not the housing. Under 22 M.R.S. §7801(1)(A-1), an assisted housing facility needs a license if it provides, directly or by contract, any of these: personal care assistance, administration of medication, or nursing services.⁠² Once licensed, the facility may also provide meals, housekeeping and chore help, case management and personal care on the site of congregate housing without a separate license. A licensee may hold only one assisted housing license at a time; to switch category you apply for the new one and surrender the old.⁠²

Two neighbouring arrangements do not use this license:

• Independent housing with services programs. These deliver supportive services in private apartments under a written funding agreement with the DHHS Office of Aging and Disability Services.⁠¹ Part A says they are not covered by the rule “because no license is required pursuant to 22 M.R.S. § 7807.”⁠³
• Homes serving adults with intellectual disabilities, autism, a related condition or acquired brain injury with Department funding. DLC’s 2025 guidance sends these to the Home and Community Support Service Agencies rule, 10-144 C.M.R. Ch. 108, and warns that Ch. 113 applications “will not be transferred to Ch. 108” and are not refunded.⁠⁵

If you plan a day program for outsiders in the same building, an adult day services program serving three or more non-residents must also meet 10-144 C.M.R. Ch. 117.⁠³

Maine’s certificate-of-need law does not reach assisted living. Its definition of “health care facility” lists hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, nursing facilities and certain treatment centers, and assisted living is not among them.⁠⁹

The 2025 rewrite and what it changed for new applicants

DLC replaced the old Ch. 113 with two parts, both effective September 18, 2025: Part A for assisted living facilities and Part B for residential care facilities.⁠⁴ DLC’s transition notice staged enforcement of the new requirements over 3, 6, 9 and 12 months.⁠⁵ A new applicant does not get those grace periods in practice, because the rule requires you to adopt every required policy before you apply.⁠³

The changes that matter most if you are opening now:

• RN requirement. Facilities that were not previously required to have a registered nurse had six months to show one on staff or under contract.⁠⁵ For a new facility it is a pre-licensure condition (see below).⁠³
• Memory care moved to Part B. Secure memory care units that had been operating under assisted living licensure were told to “Submit application for Residential Care Facility (RCF) licensure” and meet the Part B memory care staffing rules. DLC notes that a building may hold an assisted living license and have memory care units licensed as a residential care facility.⁠⁵ If you plan a locked dementia wing, budget for two licenses.
• RN-consultant medication policies were due at nine months, and every remaining administrative and resident care policy at twelve months.⁠⁵
• New standard contract. Every resident must sign the Department’s standard contract, Appendix A of the rule.⁠³⁠⁵
• Quarterly data reporting. Under LD 979, DLC collects daily staffing per shift, use of temporary staff, staff turnover and daily census at least quarterly. The Q3 2026 survey (July to September) is due Monday, November 2, 2026.⁠⁴

Before you file: what must already be in place

Part A lists conditions you must meet “prior to the issuance of a license.”⁠³ Most take weeks to arrange, so start on them before you open the online application.

1. Policies and procedures

   Adopt all policies the rule requires before applying; DLC may review them before issuing a license.⁠³ The required list in Section 7 covers resident care including hospice, grievances, personnel, dietary, medications, a disaster and evacuation plan based on an all-hazards risk assessment, maintenance agreements, admission/discharge and scope of services, confidentiality, activities, staff training, nursing services, refusal of treatment, and emergency medical procedures and transfers.⁠³ You also need a closure policy and a pet policy.⁠³

2. Written admission policy

   It goes in with the application. It must describe who may be admitted and the scope of services, including the scope of nursing services under Maine Board of Nursing rules, and be drafted consistently with the Fair Housing Act and the Maine Human Rights Act.⁠³

3. State Fire Marshal sign-off

   You demonstrate compliance with the NFPA Life Safety Code through an inspection by the State Fire Marshal’s Office.⁠³ Statute adds that construction and renovation need a construction permit from the Commissioner of Public Safety, and every assisted living facility must be inspected before licensure at DLC’s request.⁠⁷ The statute also requires an approved supervised automatic sprinkler system throughout.⁠⁷ The same section tells the Department of Public Safety to set the inspection fee by rule, but neither the statute nor Part A states an amount, and no fee schedule turned up in our review; ask the State Fire Marshal’s Office for the inspection fee and timing before you budget.

4. A registered nurse, if you give medications or treatments

   You must show an RN on staff or under contract when your staff provide medical treatment prescribed by a licensed practitioner or administer medications. The RN must be on site to carry out the role as resident assessments and service plans require.⁠³

5. A bond

   covering you and any employee or agent who handles resident funds, large enough to replace those funds if lost.⁠³

6. Proof of site control

   a valid lease or deed.⁠³ If the operator is not the building owner, the applicant can apply under a lease, contract or other agreement that sets out each party’s duties under the rule.⁠³

7. General and professional liability insurance

   adequate to protect residents against personal injury or theft.⁠³

8. Safe drinking water

   On a private well you must test for fluoride, uranium, arsenic, lead (first-draw), total coliform bacteria and nitrates at a Maine-certified laboratory, and DLC’s page asks for the Basic Safety Test results with the application.⁠³⁠⁴ After licensure the well is tested yearly for coliform and nitrates and every five years for fluoride, uranium, lead and arsenic. You may instead serve bottled water for all drinking and cooking under a written agreement with DLC.⁠³ A well serving 25 or more people a day, or 15 or more service connections, for 60 or more days a year makes you a public water system under 22 M.R.S. ch. 601.⁠³

9. Plumbing, sewage and sanitation

   that meet state and local law.⁠³

Building the apartments

Part A’s physical plant section is short, but the apartment standards are specific:⁠³

Sources: ⁠¹⁠³

You must also comply with local, state and federal building safety, fire safety, accessibility and fair housing rules, and “when codes conflict, the higher standard shall apply.”⁠³ Hazardous cleaning products go in locked compartments used for nothing else, separated from food and medication storage.⁠³

If the building also houses a nursing facility or a residential care unit, assisted housing must sit in a physically distinct part of the building, such as a separate building, floor or wing. A cluster of beds such as one side of a corridor can qualify only with DLC’s written approval in advance.⁠³ An assisted housing program on the same contiguous grounds as a licensed nursing facility gets a single multilevel license that names each level of service.⁠³

Any later modification, reconstruction, change of use or occupancy, or addition needs State Fire Marshal plan review and final approval plus an updated license from DLC.⁠³

The administrator

Part A has its own administrator standard. The administrator must either hold a current professional license related to residential care, assisted living or health care, or have a combination of five years of education or experience in the health care field that includes financial management and staff supervision.⁠³ They must also:⁠³

• be at least 21;
• have management and supervisory experience, including the ability to run the program’s finances and staff;
• have experience in health care, social services or a field related to assisted living services; and
• attend any training DLC makes mandatory.

The separate state Residential Care Facility Administrator license from the Nursing Home Administrators Licensing Board applies, as the board describes it, to a Level II residential care facility “having a licensed capacity for seven or more residents.”⁠⁸ The board’s page lists no license specific to administrators of apartment-style assisted living facilities; its multi-level license covers facilities that combine nursing home care with residential care or assisted living levels.⁠⁸ If your project includes a Part B memory care unit or other residential care beds, check the board’s requirements for that part.

Administrator changes have short deadlines. A planned absence longer than 30 days must be reported in writing at least five business days ahead. An unplanned absence must be reported within 72 hours, and a change-of-administrator application filed within thirty business days.⁠³ Changes of administrator or contact details must be reported within seven business days.⁠³ The licensee must answer DLC requests within 2 days, except during an inspection or investigation.⁠³

Filing the application

DLC takes initial, renewal and change applications through one online portal shared by residential care facilities, assisted living facilities and adult day programs (board number 6711). You choose the application type and upload the documents and fee the form calls for.⁠⁴⁠¹⁰ The Assisted Housing program’s phone number on the portal is (207) 287-9300, and rule questions go to [email protected].⁠¹⁰⁠⁵

1. Submit the application with all attachments and the fee

   The fee check is payable to “Treasurer, State of Maine.”⁠³

2. Completeness review

   DLC tells a new applicant within two weeks whether the application is complete. An application still incomplete 60 calendar days after receipt is void.⁠³

3. Inspections

   Applying counts as permission for DLC to enter and inspect.⁠³ The Fire Marshal’s inspection is a condition of licensure.⁠³⁠⁷

4. Statement of deficiencies

   If DLC cites deficiencies, you have ten working days from receipt to submit a plan of correction in DLC’s format. DLC may accept it, require a revision, or impose a directed plan.⁠³

5. Provisional license

   A first-time operator is the only kind of applicant eligible for this step. DLC may issue a provisional license for 3 to 12 months to an applicant who has not operated the facility before, complies with everything except rules that can only be met once residents move in, has submitted all required policies, and can show it will fully comply by the end of the term.⁠³

6. Full license

   A full license runs up to two years if you are in substantial compliance.⁠³

You may not admit residents before the license is issued.⁠³ The license names the owner, facility, type, administrator, address and maximum number of residents, and must be posted where the public can see it.⁠³ DLC, the Attorney General’s office and the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program may enter at any time.⁠³

Buying an existing facility? Licenses cannot be sold or transferred. The buyer must apply for a new license at least 30 days before the expected sale date and hold that license before taking over operations.⁠³

Fees as published on 2026-10-12

Sources: ⁠³⁠⁶

The $200 is a flat amount, not a per-unit fee, and the rule says that “regardless of the term of the license, the licensee must pay a license fee annually.”⁠³ A two-year full license therefore still costs $200 each year.

Staffing and training

Part A’s staffing section states no numeric staff-to-resident ratio. Staff must be present 24 hours a day, in numbers adequate to meet resident needs, carry out service plans and keep the setting safe.⁠³ DLC can order more staff, through a directed plan of correction or conditional license, based on residents’ needs, the size of the facility and how residents are spread through the building.⁠³ Staff shared with a nursing facility or another assisted housing level on the same premises need an audit trail of hours worked on each level.⁠³

Before any direct care employee works unsupervised, they need site-specific orientation in fire safety, mandatory reporting under 22 M.R.S. §3477, confidentiality and resident rights, general care needs, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia (including behavior management), communication skills, and de-escalation as needed.⁠³ After that, staff get in-service training at least once a year and a performance evaluation each year.⁠³

Every employee must be eligible for hire under the Maine Background Check Center rule (10-144 C.M.R. Ch. 60). Personnel files must include the background check, an Adult Protective Services check, verified prior employment and, for drivers, a motor vehicle record.⁠³

Medication is where Maine’s rule bites. Unlicensed staff who administer medications or treatments must complete Department-approved training, and all medication handling must follow the Department-approved curriculum.⁠³ Unlicensed staff also need diabetes management training from an RN at hire and then yearly (the annual retraining may use an RN-developed curriculum if no resident is diabetic), and certification under 10-144 C.M.R. Ch. 130 before using an epinephrine auto-injector.⁠³ Nurses may not delegate skilled tasks beyond assisted housing services to unlicensed facility staff except as the Board of Nursing rules allow.⁠³

Admissions, contracts and resident money

You must screen each applicant before admission, including behavioral health and substance use needs, and document that you can meet them. If your admission policy’s scope of services can meet a person’s needs, you may not refuse them, apart from the narrow exceptions in Section 6(B) such as a direct threat to others.⁠³ Every resident must be offered service coordination, housekeeping, help with activities of daily living, chore services and “at least one nutritious meal a day.”⁠³ A functional assessment is due within 30 calendar days, with reassessments and service plan reviews at least every six months and progress notes at least monthly.⁠³

The Department’s standard contract (Appendix A) is mandatory, and the rule limits what you can add:⁠³

• the only deposit or prepayment allowed is one month’s rent, usable as a security deposit, with a written return policy;
• no clauses for attorney fees or collection costs;
• no one but the resident may be made responsible through the admission contract. A family member can guarantee payment only in a separate agreement that carries the rule’s 48-hour revocation warning;
• standard charges must be published; and
• refunds of advance payments are due within 30 calendar days of discharge or death.

No licensee, owner, administrator or employee may act as a resident’s guardian, conservator or power of attorney, though they may be representative payee.⁠³ Resident funds may not be mixed with business funds, and the operator may not borrow from residents.⁠³

Involuntary discharge is limited to the grounds listed in Section 4(W), such as nonpayment or a direct threat. Outside emergencies it needs at least 15 days’ written notice with appeal rights and Ombudsman contact details.⁠³

Renewal, inspections and penalties

File renewals so DLC receives them 30 days before expiration. A timely renewal keeps your license in force until DLC decides.⁠³ The Fire Marshal reinspects every 2 years and after renovations.⁠⁷ Waivers of rule provisions are open only to facilities holding a full license. You need clear and convincing evidence that your alternative meets the rule’s intent, and no waiver is possible for anything mandated by law or affecting residents’ rights.⁠³⁠⁴

Fines follow a per-resident schedule: $6 per resident per day for Class I violations or operating over capacity, $5 for Class II violations or a late plan of correction, and $4 for repeated Class III or IV deficiencies. The total is capped at $10 times the number of residents per violation, up to $10,000 for each statement of deficiencies.⁠³ Operating an assisted housing program without a license is a civil violation carrying $500 to $10,000 per day, and the Attorney General may seek an injunction.⁠³

If you decide to close, notify DLC in writing within five business days of the decision and give residents at least 30 calendar days’ written notice. Records must be kept at least seven years after a resident’s death or discharge.⁠³

MaineCare and other licenses in the same project

Part A says that facilities enrolled with the Office of MaineCare Services and serving MaineCare members must also meet the relevant parts of the MaineCare Benefits Manual, 10-144 C.M.R. Ch. 101, on top of licensing.⁠³ Those payment rules are separate from licensing. Check Ch. 101 with MaineCare before you build a payer mix around it.

Many Maine projects combine licenses. A campus might hold an assisted living license for apartments, a residential care license for a memory care wing, and an adult day license. In-home services to people outside the building fall under different licenses: check the Maine personal care agency and home health licensing rules separately.

Sources

1. 1
   Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes, Maine Revised Statutes, Title 22, §7852 (Assisted housing facilities: definitions) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
2. 2
   Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes, Maine Revised Statutes, Title 22, §7801 (License or approval required) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
3. 3
   Maine Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Licensing and Certification, 10-144 C.M.R. Ch. 113, Assisted Housing Programs Licensing Rule, Part A: Assisted Living Facilities (effective September 18, 2025) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
4. 4
   Maine Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Licensing and Certification, Assisted Housing Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
5. 5
   Maine Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Licensing and Certification, Important Notice for Assisted Housing Providers: Ch. 113 Guidance Document Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
6. 6
   Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes, Maine Revised Statutes, Title 22, §7854 (Fees for licensure) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
7. 7
   Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes, Maine Revised Statutes, Title 22, §7856 (Fire safety inspection for assisted living facilities) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
8. 8
   Maine Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation, Nursing Home Administrators Licensing Board, NH Administrator, Multi-Level LTC Administrator, Residential Care Facility Administrator Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
9. 9
   Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes, Maine Revised Statutes, Title 22, §328 (Certificate of need: definitions) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
10. 10
    State of Maine, Assisted Housing online licensing application (Residential Care Facility / Assisted Living Facility / Adult Day Program) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑

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