Maine personal care agency license: opening a non-medical home care agency under Ch. 129

From registration to licensing in 2024

For 25 years Maine only asked in-home personal care businesses to register. Under the old Ch. 129, in effect since January 1, 1999, every agency had to register with DLC and run background checks. Only agencies that took MaineCare or state program money had to meet the Personal Support Specialist (PSS) training and orientation rules ⁠⁵. LD 636 (Public Law 2023, ch. 309) ended that. Since July 1, 2024, “an entity may not provide home care services without a personal care agency license” ⁠². DHHS repealed the old registration rule and adopted the new 10-144 C.M.R. Ch. 129, Personal Care Agency Licensing Rule, which took effect on August 20, 2024 ⁠¹⁠⁶.

In practice, private-pay agencies now meet the same training, supervision and record rules that used to apply only to MaineCare providers. In its August 2025 listening session, DHHS reported 362 licensed PCAs: 285 located in Maine and 77 with a primary site out of state. DLC was “now beginning to survey PCAs for compliance with the rule as providers reach the end of provisional licensure” ⁠⁵. In 2025 the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee considered LD 1442, a resolve about the PCA rules, and voted it “Ought Not To Pass” ⁠⁵.

Does your business need a PCA license?

The statute defines a personal care agency as a business entity that “hires and employs” direct access personnel to provide home care services to people where they live, whether permanently or temporarily ⁠². “Hires and employs” is defined broadly. It covers any business that recruits, selects, trains, declares competent, schedules, directs, supervises or terminates the people who give care ⁠². “Home care services” means help with activities of daily living and related tasks ⁠². The rule adds that the work covers both ADLs (bed mobility, transfers, walking, dressing, eating, toileting, bathing, personal hygiene) and IADLs (meals, money management, shopping, light housework, communication) ⁠¹. DLC’s page lists medication reminders as PCA work as well ⁠³.

No client count or staff count exempts you. Ch. 129 says no PCA “may provide services or accept any payment for services unless first licensed” ⁠¹. A companion-and-housekeeping business with no hands-on care still needs the license. The difference is that its workers do not need PSS training (see below) ⁠¹.

Three arrangements fall outside the definition:

• Licensed home health care providers. An agency licensed under 22 M.R.S. ch. 419 is not a PCA ⁠². If you plan nursing, therapy or home health aide services, see Maine’s home health care provider licensing under 22 M.R.S. ch. 419 instead.
• Family Provider Agencies under MaineCare Section 96. The rule excludes them ⁠¹. DLC says that as of July 26, 2024, Family Provider Service Option arrangements no longer have to register ⁠¹².
• A person hiring their own caregivers. Someone who hires workers to care for themselves is not a PCA, unless the department provides otherwise by rule ⁠².

A PCA license also limits how you can market the business. You may not advertise as a home health agency or claim to provide any “health” or “healthcare” service that requires a licensed medical professional ⁠¹.

The in-state office: Maine’s site rule

This is the requirement that most often trips up out-of-state owners and home-based founders. Section 2(A)(6) says a PCA “must have a physical site in Maine.” The site can be in a non-residential building zoned for business. If you run the agency from a home, it must be in “a separate and distinct space which ensures confidentiality and contains locked storage for records” ⁠¹. The rule defines a site as the place where services are coordinated and managed, administrative staff work, and records are kept ⁠¹.

DLC’s August 11, 2025 guidance memo leaves little room for interpretation. The rule “does not permit ‘virtual’ sites nor the sharing of sites with other Personal Care Agencies.” Storage areas, shared bedrooms, garages, sheds and other rooms open to common access do not qualify. A dedicated room in a residence can qualify if it allows confidential conversations, in person or by phone or video, and holds secure storage for the employee and client records the rule requires ⁠⁴. Questions go to [email protected] ⁠⁴.

You also need a dedicated phone line, a dedicated email address and a designated administrator. Your office hours must be posted at the entrance to the site. If no one is in during those hours, a contact number must be posted on the door ⁠¹. Each additional site needs its own application filed before it opens, and the rule’s change-notice list sets a 60-calendar-day notice before a new site opens. That application must give the address, the hours, and a summary of how the main location will supervise the new site ⁠¹. Opening a site without prior approval carries a $500-per-day penalty ⁠¹.

Who DLC will license

The applicant must be the owner of the agency, and licenses cannot be assigned or transferred ⁠¹. Before granting a license, DLC must be satisfied that the owner and the administrator can run the agency with regard for clients’ health and safety. In deciding this, it may look at ⁠¹:

• professional licensing board records, registries, past compliance history, criminal records, and child and adult protective records;
• financial ability and fiscal responsibility, such as a history of paying employee federal withholding taxes on time;
• experience in health care, social services or related fields; and
• your understanding of the rule’s agency expectations.

If you refuse to authorize release of these records, no license will be issued ⁠¹. Ch. 129 sets no degree or licensure requirement for the administrator. However, the owners and the administrator must pass a Maine Background Check Center (MBCC) check, the same as employees ⁠¹. A new applicant who has already failed to comply while running another licensed agency may be given only a conditional license from the start ⁠².

Applying through DLC’s online portal

DLC takes initial, renewal and change applications through one online form linked from its Personal Care Agencies page. For renewals and changes you will need your license number and the access code DLC gave you earlier ⁠³. Here is the order that works under Ch. 129:

1. Set up the Maine site

   Lease or set aside the space, install locked record storage, and get a dedicated phone and email. The application asks for the agency’s physical address ⁠¹⁠⁴.

2. Buy insurance

   The application must include evidence of general and professional liability insurance, and you must keep that coverage at a level “adequate to protect clients” ⁠¹.

3. Get owner criminal record checks

   Each owner needs a State Bureau of Identification check completed no more than 30 calendar days before you submit ⁠¹. Order these last so they do not go stale.

4. Decide how you will be paid

   The application must list your payment sources, such as private pay, MaineCare or private insurance ⁠¹.

5. Name the administrator

   Include their name and contact information, including an email address ⁠¹.

6. Submit with the $500 fee

   The fee is due when you submit and is nonrefundable ⁠²⁠¹. An application that is still incomplete 60 calendar days after DLC receives it becomes void ⁠¹.

7. Wait for the written decision

   DLC must approve or deny in writing within 90 working days after it has all the required documents ⁠¹. Its page also warns that “due to rapid growth in the number of Personal Care Agencies,” it is running 6 to 9 months behind its usual processing and inspection timelines ⁠³.

Applying counts as permission for DLC to enter and inspect your agency ⁠², and an inspection may take place before the license is issued ⁠¹. OADS publishes sample templates you can adapt, including an operations manual, client service plan, emergency preparedness plan, infection control log and training verification form, along with a licensing readiness self-assessment ⁠⁶.

Fees

The renewal fee is based on your employee count at the time of renewal, and “no fee will be refunded” ⁠¹. The $10 reissue fee is the statutory maximum under 22 M.R.S. §1723 ⁠¹³.

Provisional, full and conditional licenses

A first-time agency gets a provisional license. The statute allows one for an applicant that has not run a PCA before, meets every rule except those that can only be met once clients are served, and shows it can fully comply by the end of the term. The term is at least 3 months and at most 12 months ⁠²⁠¹. Near the end of the provisional period, DLC surveys the agency for compliance ⁠⁵.

A full license can last up to two years if you are in substantial compliance. If you are not, DLC can issue a shorter term ⁠¹. A conditional license, lasting up to 12 months, is a sanction for noncompliance. It lists the corrections you must make, and you cannot add sites while it is in force ⁠¹⁠².

After any inspection, deficiencies are written up in a Statement of Deficiencies. You have ten business days to file a plan of correction, even if you ask for an informal conference to dispute the findings. The rule’s penalty table words the same deadline as ten calendar days, so file within ten calendar days to be safe ⁠¹. Only an agency with a full license can ask DLC to waive a rule provision. It must show “clear and convincing evidence” that its alternative meets the rule’s intent, and it uses DLC’s waiver request form ⁠¹⁠¹¹.

Hiring: background checks and PSS training

Background checks. Every employee, owner and administrator must clear an MBCC check under 22 M.R.S. ch. 1691. That check also covers the Maine Registry of Certified Nursing Assistants and Direct Care Workers ⁠¹. You must also confirm that no employee has a substantiated finding of abuse, neglect or misappropriation from Maine Adult Protective Services or Child Protective Services. Keep dated results in a background check file ⁠¹. DLC’s rollout guidance gives the MBCC contacts as [email protected] and 1-888-572-5839 ⁠⁷. Failing to run a required check carries a $500-per-day penalty ⁠¹.

Who may give hands-on care. For care involving bodily function, such as bed mobility, transfers, walking, dressing, eating, toileting, bathing and hygiene, the worker must meet one of these conditions ⁠¹:

• be an active CNA on the Maine registry;
• have completed PSS training or another department-approved personal care program; or
• be enrolled in such a program within 60 calendar days of hire and finish it within nine months of hire.

A worker who misses the nine-month deadline must stop giving personal care until they finish the program ⁠¹. PSS training is not required for staff who only help with meals, money, shopping, light housework and communication ⁠¹. DLC describes the PSS course as training for “unlicensed entry-level workers” and uses a 2019 curriculum ⁠⁹. For MaineCare-billed care, Section 96 requires the course to include at least 50 hours of classroom instruction, demonstration, return demonstration and examination ⁠⁸.

Supervision, orientation and the operations manual

Every direct care employee must finish your agency orientation before working alone with a client. Ch. 129 lists 13 required topics, starting with Maine’s mandated reporting laws (22 M.R.S. §3477 and §4011-A) ⁠¹. Annual training must cover mandated reporting, your abuse and neglect policy, grievances, agency expectations, infection control, emergency and disaster policies, and confidentiality ⁠¹.

Supervisors must meet one of four qualifications: an LPN or RN license in good standing; completion of the department-approved personal care course plus one year of personal care experience; CNA registration; or at least five years of combined education and experience in a related field ⁠¹. For each new direct care employee’s first three months, a supervisor must make an on-site visit at least once every 30 days while the employee is giving care. Each visit must be documented with what was observed, any competency issues, an action plan, and a client interview. Every employee also needs an annual performance review ⁠¹.

The operations manual must include an organizational chart, job descriptions, a description of your orientation program, and policies on 17 listed topics. These include infection control in homes, referral for a higher level of care, gifts and loans from clients, contingency planning including closure, and record retention after closure ⁠¹. You must also keep a data-driven Quality Improvement Plan that tracks outcomes of care and quality of life ⁠¹.

Clients: contracts, service plans and discharges

Before any service begins, you need a written service plan developed with the client or their legal representative. It must state what services will be provided and how often, and the client must sign it. Update it after any significant change and review it at least once a year ⁠¹. Every client also needs a written contract stating the costs they will pay. Give 30 calendar days’ notice before any price change ⁠¹. At signing, give the client a copy of the agency expectations in Section 7 of the rule and keep a signed copy in the record ⁠¹.

Workers must document the services they provide at every visit, with their signature and the date ⁠¹. If a scheduled visit cannot be staffed, you must notify the client beforehand and log the missed date and the reason ⁠¹. Client records must be kept for at least five years ⁠¹.

The rule limits involuntary discharge to listed reasons, such as contract violations, a direct threat to others, needs your program cannot meet, or a lack of staff to deliver the service plan. You must send a written notice within five business days that includes the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program’s contact information ⁠¹. A client grievance must be investigated and answered in writing within seven calendar days ⁠¹.

The abuse-reporting clock

When an allegation of abuse, neglect, exploitation or misappropriation involves your staff, you must report it immediately to the administrator, to Adult or Child Protective Services, and to DLC. If you report to DLC by phone, a written report must reach DLC within 48 hours ⁠¹. The accused employee cannot work with any client until your investigation is complete. Your investigation report is due by close of business on the seventh calendar day after the incident ⁠¹. Reasonable suspicion of a crime against a client must be reported to law enforcement within two hours if there was serious bodily injury, and within 24 hours otherwise ⁠¹. Failing to report carries a $500-per-day penalty ⁠¹.

Changes, ownership transfers and closing

• Renewal: file at least 60 calendar days before the license expires ⁠¹.
• Name or address change: notify DLC at least 14 calendar days ahead and pay the $10 reissue fee ⁠¹.
• Administrator leaving: give at least 14 days’ notice for a resignation, or notify DLC within seven business days of a termination ⁠¹.
• New phone or email: notify DLC within seven calendar days ⁠¹.
• Sale: the license becomes void immediately when ownership or control changes. Give DLC 60 days’ notice of the planned sale. The buyer must file a full new application at least 45 days before closing ⁠¹⁠².
• Voluntary closure: notify DLC, the “Office of Maine Services” (as the rule words it), OADS and the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program 90 calendar days ahead, and notify clients at least 60 calendar days ahead ⁠¹.

Getting paid through MaineCare

Many Maine PCAs are paid under MaineCare Benefits Manual Section 96 (Private Duty Nursing and Personal Care Services). Section 96 personal care is delivered by home health aides, CNAs, PSSs or certified residential medication aides under an authorized plan of care ⁠⁸. The rule version posted by the Secretary of State is dated February 11, 2019, and still says a PCA must hold a “registration” to be reimbursed ⁠⁸. The posted text predates the licensing law and says nothing about a PCA license, and no official page found says how MaineCare now applies it. Ask the Office of MaineCare Services, before you bill, whether a licensed PCA meets the Section 96 agency requirement. Section 96 also sets these conditions:

• Visits must go through Maine’s Electronic Visit Verification system, required since January 1, 2020 ⁠⁸.
• For Level III, IV and V members, PSSs must have on-site supervision at least quarterly ⁠⁸.
• Services over 40 hours a week by one worker for one member are not covered ⁠⁸.

If you want to deliver home and community-based waiver services for adults with brain injury, intellectual disabilities or autism, or other related conditions (MBM Sections 18, 20, 21 and 29), note that OADS stopped accepting new provider applications on April 13, 2026. It says it will post an update when it resumes ⁠¹⁰.

Penalties for operating without a license

Running a PCA without a license is a civil violation. The fine is at least $500 per day of operation and up to $10,000, and each day counts as a separate offense ⁠². Employing someone barred by the background check rules can bring a fine of up to $10,000 per day ⁠². Licensed agencies can be fined $500 per day for violations such as a substantiated finding of abuse or neglect, obstructing an inspection, or ignoring a directed plan of correction ⁠¹. DHHS must monitor every PCA at least once every two years ⁠².

If a client needs more than in-home help, the other Maine settings are adult day services programs, residential care facilities and assisted living facilities.

Sources

1. 1
   Maine Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Licensing and Certification, 10-144 C.M.R. Ch. 129, Personal Care Agency Licensing Rule (effective August 20, 2024) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
2. 2
   Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes, 22 M.R.S. §1717: Licensing of personal care agencies Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
3. 3
   Maine DHHS, Division of Licensing and Certification, Personal Care Agencies Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
4. 4
   Maine DHHS, Division of Licensing and Certification, Site requirements for Personal Care Agencies (guidance memo, August 11, 2025) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
5. 5
   Maine DHHS, Office of Aging and Disability Services and Division of Licensing and Certification, Personal Care Agency (PCA) Oversight Provider Listening Session slides (August 18 and 22, 2025) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
6. 6
   Maine DHHS, Office of Aging and Disability Services, PCA Licensing Initiative Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
7. 7
   Maine DHHS, Division of Licensing and Certification, Personal Care Agency Licensing Rule Rollout Guidelines Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
8. 8
   Maine Secretary of State, Agency Rules, MaineCare Benefits Manual, Ch. II, Section 96: Private Duty Nursing and Personal Care Services (posted version dated 02.11.2019) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
9. 9
   Maine DHHS, Division of Licensing and Certification, Personal Support Specialist (PSS) Training Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
10. 10
    Maine DHHS, Office of Aging and Disability Services, Provider Application and Onboarding Resources Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
11. 11
    Maine DHHS, Division of Licensing and Certification, Personal Care Agency Request for Waiver (version 9/2025) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
12. 12
    Maine DHHS, Division of Licensing and Certification, Family Provider Service Option Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
13. 13
    Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes, 22 M.R.S. §1723: Processing fee Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑

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