Ohio nonmedical home health services license: opening a personal care agency

A license Ohio created in 2021

Ohio had no general license for in-home care agencies until House Bill 110 of the 134th General Assembly, which enacted Revised Code Chapter 3740 effective September 30, 2021 ⁠³⁠⁵. ODH’s rules, Ohio Administrative Code Chapter 3701-60, set October 1, 2022 as the start date. After that date, no agency or self-employed caregiver may provide nonmedical home health services, or advertise them, without a license ⁠¹¹.

The chapter creates two licenses, both issued by ODH ⁠⁵:

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

If you plan to add nurses or therapists later, note that a skilled license also authorizes nonmedical services, so you do not need both licenses ⁠⁵. The skilled license is issued under the same chapter and application process.

Which services trigger the license

The statute defines “nonmedical home health services” as home health aide services, personal care services, and anything else the ODH director designates by rule ⁠³. Ohio spells out both categories.

Home health aide services are four hands-on tasks done by an agency employee ⁠³:

• hands-on bathing, or help with a tub bath or shower;
• help with dressing, ambulation and toileting;
• catheter care, but not insertion;
• meal preparation and feeding.

Personal care services are any of the following, in the client’s home or community ⁠³:

• hands-on help with activities of daily living, and with instrumental activities of daily living when that help comes with the ADL help;
• help managing the person’s home and handling personal affairs;
• help with self-administration of medications;
• homemaker services, but only when they come with one of the three services above or are essential to the client’s own health and welfare (not the family’s);
• respite for the client’s caregiver;
• errands done without the client present when needed for the client’s health and safety, such as picking up prescriptions and groceries.

The rule limits medication help to three things. Staff may remind the client and watch them follow the label. They may hand the client the medication, opening the container if the client cannot. And for a physically impaired but mentally alert client, they may help remove oral or topical medication and take or apply it, if the client, the client’s health care power of attorney or the client’s guardian asks or consents ⁠¹⁰. Anything beyond that falls outside personal care.

Companionship by itself does not appear in either definition, and housekeeping counts only when it is incidental or essential as described above ⁠³. The phrase “assistance managing the individual’s home and handling personal affairs” is broad, though. Neither the statute, the rules nor ODH’s licensure pages say whether a business that offers only companionship or only housekeeping needs this license. Ask ODH’s Home Health Agency Licensure staff in writing before you open without a license.

Agency or nonagency provider, and who is exempt

The license applies to two kinds of operators ⁠⁴:

• A home health agency is a person or government entity whose primary function is delivering skilled services or home health aide services in the client’s home. The definition excludes nursing homes, residential care facilities, hospice and pediatric respite programs, informal respite providers, providers certified by the Department of Developmental Disabilities, residential facilities licensed under ORC 5119.34 or 5123.19, shared living providers and immediate family members ⁠³. Neither the statute nor the rules say how the “primary function” test applies to an agency that offers personal care services but no aide services, since the test names aide services and not personal care. The licensing prohibition in ORC 3740.02 and rule 3701-60-02 covers any agency that provides or advertises nonmedical services through employees ⁠⁴⁠¹¹. Ask ODH how it classifies your service mix before you apply.
• A nonagency provider is a self-employed person who gives direct care and does not employ anyone else to do it, either directly or by contract ⁠³.

A solo caregiver is not a nonagency provider, and needs no license, in any of these cases ⁠³:

1. Family

   The client is an immediate family member. The statute’s list runs from parents and stepchildren to aunts, uncles and in-laws.

2. Two clients or fewer

   You give direct care to no more than two people who are not immediate family. The ODH rule adds the word “simultaneously” ⁠¹⁰.

3. Other exclusions

   You are a volunteer, a certified in-home aide for publicly funded child care, a private child care provider, a DODD-certified caregiver, or the operator of a residential facility licensed under ORC 5119.34.

4. Self-directed care

   You provide self-directed services under 42 U.S.C. 1396n(i), for example as a provider certified by the Department of Aging or registered as a self-directed individual provider through an area agency on aging.

House Bill 33 added the last two exclusions (the 5119.34 facility operator and self-directed services) effective October 3, 2023 ⁠³. Rule 3701-60-01, dated January 27, 2023, has not been updated to include them ⁠¹⁰. Where the two differ, the statute controls.

If clients will live with you rather than receive care in their own homes, you need a facility license instead. See the Ohio residential care facility license and the Class Two residential facility license.

Set up before you apply

Three items in the application take time to gather, so arrange them first.

Secretary of State filings. The application must include copies of every document you filed with the Ohio Secretary of State. It must also list your corporate name, officers and statutory agent, everyone with an ownership or controlling interest, and the name, address and phone number of your operating location ⁠¹². ODH defines the operating location as the place where record keeping, central staffing and general business operations happen ⁠¹⁰.

An Ohio office for out-of-state agencies. An agency based in another state has to open an administrative office in Ohio before it applies. Ohio clients’ clinical records must be kept at that Ohio office ⁠¹².

The $20,000 surety bond. The bond is required if your business was not giving direct care on or immediately before September 30, 2021. It must be issued by a surety company licensed to do business in Ohio ⁠⁵⁠¹². ODH publishes its own bond form for this license. The fillable PDF posted on 2026-10-12 carries 03/04/2025 in its file name ⁠²¹. A business that was already operating in 2021 submits evidence of that instead of a bond ⁠¹².

What goes in the application

Rule 3701-60-03(B) lists the contents of a complete nonmedical application ⁠¹²:

1. Forms and fee

   The completed ODH application and the $250 non-refundable fee.

2. Ownership and contact details

   Operating location, owners and controlling interests, corporate officers and statutory agent.

3. Services and policies

   A list of the nonmedical services you will provide, with any related policies and procedures.

4. State filings

   Copies of everything filed with the Secretary of State.

5. Identity

   A nonagency provider submits a notarized attestation of identity. The statute calls it a notarized affidavit for every applicant ⁠⁵.

6. Criminal records check policy

   An agency must submit its written policy (see the screening section below).

7. Hours and area

   Your days and hours of operation and the geographic area you will serve.

8. Owner fingerprints

   Fingerprint impressions of the primary owner, or of the nonagency provider.

9. 2021 operations or bond

   Evidence that you were operating on or just before September 30, 2021, or the $20,000 bond.

ODH’s instructions say the primary owner sends ODH a fingerprint impression card, not a criminal record check. The department points applicants to the Ohio Attorney General’s WebCheck locations to have prints taken ⁠¹⁠².

Two shortcuts reduce the list ⁠¹²:

• Department of Aging certification. If you are already certified under ORC 173.391 to provide community-based long-term care services, items 3 through 9 are waived, including the fingerprints and the bond. The statute is narrower: ORC 3740.03(B)(3) waives only the items other than the 2021-operations evidence or bond ⁠⁵. If you rely on this shortcut and started after September 30, 2021, confirm with ODH whether it still wants the bond.
• Accreditation. If you are accredited by ACHC, CHAP, The Joint Commission or another CMS-approved accreditor, items 3 through 7 are waived. You still submit owner fingerprints and the 2021 evidence or the bond.

Filing, review and the license

1. Choose how to file

   ODH calls electronic filing the fastest option. Use the Home Health Electronic Application on the ODH gateway, select “CertLicensure,” and pay by credit card or electronic check ⁠².

2. Or mail it

   Send the printed application, documents and payment to Ohio Department of Health, Revenue Processing #3506, P.O. Box 15278, Columbus OH 43215 ⁠². For paper filings, the rule calls for a cashier’s check or postal money order payable to “Treasurer, State of Ohio” ⁠¹².

3. Answer ODH’s questions within 14 days

   ODH may ask for more information. To keep your application complete, you have 14 days from the date the request was mailed to provide it ⁠¹².

4. License issued

   ODH issues the license once the fee is paid and you have shown that the ORC 3740.03 requirements are met ⁠⁶. The statute requires a site visit only for skilled applicants who qualify through Medicare certification, so no pre-license inspection applies to this license ⁠⁶.

Neither the statute nor the rules nor ODH’s pages give a processing time for nonmedical applications.

What Ohio does and does not regulate after licensure

Rules 3701-60-01 through 3701-60-11 are mostly about the application and worker background checks. They set no caregiver training hours, no supervisor or administrator qualifications, no staffing ratios and no office standards for nonmedical licensees ⁠¹⁰⁠¹². What the rules do require after licensure is listed below.

• Report changes within 10 days. Send ODH written notice of any change to the information in your application, or any other change that makes it inaccurate ⁠¹².
• Keep meeting the application requirements. Grounds for denial, suspension or revocation include a material misrepresentation in the application and no longer meeting Chapter 3740 or the rules ⁠¹³.

Medicaid waiver and Department of Aging programs set their own provider standards on top of the license (see below).

Screening every caregiver

ORC 3740.11 and rules 3701-60-05 to 3701-60-10 apply to any applicant or employee in a “direct care” job. That includes anyone who delivers the listed services in a client’s home, anyone routinely alone with a client or with access to a client’s property or financial documents, and any other role the agency’s chief administrator designates ⁠³⁠⁹.

1. Tell applicants up front

   When they first apply, notify applicants that a database review and a fingerprint criminal records check will be done. Also tell them about any fee you will charge ⁠⁹⁠¹⁵.

2. Check six databases first

   Before requesting the criminal records check, search SAM.gov, the HHS-OIG exclusion list, the Ohio DODD abuse registry, the Attorney General’s sex offender database, the ODRC inmate database and the Ohio nurse aide registry ⁠¹⁴. A disqualifying result on any of the first five bars employment in direct care. A nurse aide registry hit bars it only if it shows a finding that the person abused or neglected a long-term care or residential care facility resident or misappropriated a resident’s property ⁠¹⁴.

3. Request the BCI check

   Ask the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation for a check. If the applicant cannot prove five years of Ohio residence, provide both the BCI and FBI fingerprint forms ⁠¹⁵.

4. Conditional hires

   You may put someone to work before results arrive only under three conditions. The database review must be clean, the applicant must hand in completed fingerprint impressions before starting, and you must request the check within five business days of their start ⁠¹⁶. If BCI results are not back within 60 days of the request, you must end the conditional employment ⁠¹⁶.

5. Apply the exclusion tiers

   Disqualifying offenses carry a permanent bar (Tier I) or exclusion periods of 10, 7 or 5 years (Tiers II to IV) ⁠¹⁷.

6. Recheck every five years

   For staff hired on or after January 1, 2008, the recheck is due within 30 days after the fifth anniversary of hire and at least every five years after that ⁠¹⁵.

The agency pays the BCI fee. It may pass the fee to an applicant only if it said so at the time of application and Medicaid does not reimburse it ⁠⁹. Keep check reports and disqualifying database results confidential, sealed in or kept with the personnel file. Keep a roster, open to ODH, showing each person’s name, the dates the check was requested and received, the outcome and the start date ⁠¹⁸. Staffing-agency referrals can skip your own checks only if the employment service confirms the database review and provides a BCI check from the previous 12 months ⁠⁹.

Renewal, enforcement and penalties

The license lasts three years. Renewal costs $250, and ODH renews if you still meet ORC 3740.03 ⁠⁷. A renewal is timely only if it is filed at least 90 days before the license expires ⁠¹². Failing to renew on time is itself a ground for denial, suspension or revocation ⁠¹³. If you also hold Department of Aging certification or accreditation, ODH may move your first renewal date to line up with it ⁠⁷.

If ODH denies, suspends or revokes a license, you can request a hearing under ORC Chapter 119. A denied applicant may also ask for informal dispute resolution by an ODH employee who was not involved in the original review ⁠¹³.

Providing nonmedical home health services without a license, or advertising them, is a second-degree misdemeanor on the first offense and a first-degree misdemeanor for each later offense ⁠⁴⁠⁸.

Medicaid waiver and Department of Aging work

Publicly funded in-home care in Ohio runs through Department of Aging and Department of Medicaid programs, which certify providers separately from ODH. The Department of Aging certifies providers for the programs it administers, after reviewing each provider’s experience and financial responsibility, among other factors ⁠¹⁹. A provider that holds that certification gets the shortest ODH nonmedical application, as described above ⁠¹².

A “waiver agency” under ORC 5164.342 is a non-Medicare provider of Medicaid home and community-based waiver services. Waiver agencies have their own background-check statute. It does not apply to workers already screened under ORC 3740.11, so you run one screening program, not two ⁠²⁰. Whether you start with private-pay clients or with waiver certification, the ODH license is still required for the services described above ⁠⁴.

For other Ohio licenses, see the Ohio state page.

Sources

1. 1
   Ohio Department of Health, Home Health Agency Licensure Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
2. 2
   Ohio Department of Health, Nonmedical Home Health Services License Application Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
3. 3
   Ohio Legislative Service Commission, Ohio Revised Code 3740.01: definitions Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
4. 4
   Ohio Legislative Service Commission, Ohio Revised Code 3740.02: license required Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
5. 5
   Ohio Legislative Service Commission, Ohio Revised Code 3740.03: license applications Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
6. 6
   Ohio Legislative Service Commission, Ohio Revised Code 3740.04: review and issuance Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
7. 7
   Ohio Legislative Service Commission, Ohio Revised Code 3740.05: license term and renewal Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
8. 8
   Ohio Legislative Service Commission, Ohio Revised Code 3740.99: penalties Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
9. 9
   Ohio Legislative Service Commission, Ohio Revised Code 3740.11: database reviews and criminal records checks Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
10. 10
    Ohio Legislative Service Commission, Ohio Admin. Code 3701-60-01: definitions Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
11. 11
    Ohio Legislative Service Commission, Ohio Admin. Code 3701-60-02: applicability Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
12. 12
    Ohio Legislative Service Commission, Ohio Admin. Code 3701-60-03: initial license application, application process, and renewal of license Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
13. 13
    Ohio Legislative Service Commission, Ohio Admin. Code 3701-60-04: enforcement Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
14. 14
    Ohio Legislative Service Commission, Ohio Admin. Code 3701-60-05: state and national database review Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
15. 15
    Ohio Legislative Service Commission, Ohio Admin. Code 3701-60-06: requirements for criminal records check Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
16. 16
    Ohio Legislative Service Commission, Ohio Admin. Code 3701-60-07: conditional employment Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
17. 17
    Ohio Legislative Service Commission, Ohio Admin. Code 3701-60-09: disqualifying offenses exclusionary periods; certificates; pardons Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
18. 18
    Ohio Legislative Service Commission, Ohio Admin. Code 3701-60-10: records and reports Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
19. 19
    Ohio Legislative Service Commission, Ohio Revised Code 173.391: certification of providers by the Department of Aging Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
20. 20
    Ohio Legislative Service Commission, Ohio Revised Code 5164.342: waiver agency background checks Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
21. 21
    Ohio Department of Health, Nonmedical Home Health Services Surety Bond Form Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑

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