Oregon adult foster home license: classes, the live-in rule and the local licensing office

What counts as an adult foster home in Oregon

Oregon defines an adult foster home as any family home or other facility where residential care is provided in a homelike setting, for compensation, to five or fewer adults who are not related to the licensee, administrator, resident manager or floating resident manager by blood, marriage or adoption, and who are 65 or older or have a physical disability.⁠¹ If no resident needs any element of care, and you only supply room and board, you are not an AFH.⁠¹⁠³ Room and board for two or more people goes to a separate registration under OAR chapter 411, division 068.⁠¹

You need the license before you care for anyone for pay, and you may not call yourself an adult foster home or accept a placement until you have it.⁠¹ The statute puts it the same way: every provider of adult foster care must be licensed before opening or operating.⁠³

The ODHS program covered here is for older adults and adults with physical disabilities. Foster homes for adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities are licensed by the ODHS Office of Developmental Disabilities Services, and foster homes for adults with a qualifying mental illness are licensed by the Oregon Health Authority.⁠⁵ Rule 411-049-0105(15) also bars two license types at the same address, so you cannot run a child care home, a children’s foster home or an I/DD or mental health care home in the same house as your APD foster home.⁠¹

If you plan six or more residents, you need a residential care or assisted living facility license instead; see the Oregon assisted living facility guide. If you want to send caregivers into clients’ own homes, that is an in-home care agency license from OHA: see the Oregon in-home care agency guide.

Who licenses you: the local office, or Multnomah County

ODHS writes the rules, but the day-to-day licensing work is done by a Local Licensing Authority (LLA): the local ODHS offices and Area Agencies on Aging that contract with ODHS.⁠¹ You ask your local licensing office for the Adult Foster Home Orientation, and that office gives you the application packet.⁠⁶

ORS 443.780 lets the ODHS director exempt a county from the state license, inspection and fee provisions where a county agency runs a licensing program that is equal or superior.⁠³ Multnomah County runs its own Adult Care Home Program (ACHP). It licenses “adult care homes”, which the county notes are called adult foster homes elsewhere: single-family residences with 24-hour care for up to five adults, where the operator or a resident manager lives in the home as primary caregiver.⁠⁷ The county states that it has a contract with ODHS to administer licensing, monitoring and training for these homes.⁠⁹ The ACHP licenses homes for older adults and people with physical disabilities and, separately, for people with behavioral health needs.⁠⁷

The Multnomah process differs from the rest of the state in ways you should know before you sign a lease there:

• Operators must pass an English test at an 8th grade level and have at least the equivalent of one year of verifiable full-time hands-on care experience with the population they will serve.⁠⁷
• The ACHP orientation is held once a month and cost $55 as published on 2026-10-12, and the county strongly recommends its free information session and an in-person consultation before you buy or lease a house.⁠⁷
• Homes inside the City of Portland need a city inspection, requested through the city’s trade permits office.⁠⁷
• The county says licensing takes approximately six months. An incomplete application is denied after 60 days with no fee refund; a complete one is decided within 60 days.⁠⁷
• The Board of County Commissioners approved amended Multnomah County Administrative Rules on August 13, 2026, after removing proposed care-plan changes.⁠⁸

The rest of this guide follows the state rules that apply everywhere outside an exempt county. ORS 443.780 lets the ODHS director exempt other counties too, and the sources used here name only Multnomah as running its own program. Ask ODHS or your local licensing office which rules apply in your county before you sign a lease.

ODHS says it is looking for new homes in Baker, Clatsop, Curry, Douglas, Hood River, Klamath, Lane (its largest gap), Lincoln, Linn, Malheur, Tillamook, Umatilla, Wasco and Yamhill counties, especially in rural areas.⁠⁶

The live-in rule and who can hold the license

Oregon law says a provider must live in the home or hire a resident manager who lives there, and a provider or substitute caregiver must be on duty 24 hours a day.⁠³ The rules make that concrete. The licensee or administrator must live in the home at least five 24-hour days a week as the primary caregiver, unless one of these is true:⁠¹

• an approved resident manager lives in the home and works five days and nights a week as primary caregiver;
• two approved primary caregivers live in the home and work three and four days and nights a week; or
• the home is staffed 24 hours a day, at least five days a week, by approved shift caregivers.

ODHS describes two routes to a license: as an individual (or with a co-licensee), or as a business entity such as an LLC or limited partnership. The entity route requires an administrator who meets the training that would normally fall on the licensee; you can be that administrator or hire one.⁠⁶ The rules add that a corporate licensee needs at least one trained administrator plus a variance.⁠¹

The licensee or administrator must:⁠¹

• be at least 21;
• have a statement from a physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant (form APD 0903) that they are physically, cognitively and emotionally able to give care;
• have an approved background check;
• be proficient in English, orally and in writing, well enough to deal with residents, families, emergency responders, health professionals and case managers;
• not be on either federal exclusion list.

You must also own, rent or lease the home. A lease must be a standard residential lease at a flat rate, and the landlord may not interfere with admissions or moves.⁠²

Class 1, 2 or 3: experience decides who you can admit

Oregon is unusual in grading foster home licenses by the caregiver’s experience. The LLA issues a class only if the applicant and every resident manager or shift caregiver meet it.⁠¹

If a new or current resident’s needs go beyond your class, or you would have a second bed-care resident, you must ask the LLA in writing for a variance. The LLA must answer within 30 days, and you must prove by clear and convincing evidence, among other things, that the resident chooses to live there, that you have hired any extra staff needed, and that everyone can still be evacuated in three minutes or less.⁠¹ Admitting a resident you know exceeds your classification, where the admission places that resident or others at grave risk of harm, carries a civil penalty of $250 to $500 under ORS 443.790.⁠³

Two specialist licenses sit on top of the classes. A ventilator-assisted care license (form APD 0448V) requires a year of full-time ventilator care experience and a year operating a Class 3 home in substantial compliance, and the applicant must live in the home for the first year; the lowest level, Level C, allows one ventilator resident.⁠¹ A limited AFH license covers one named person you have known for at least a year; it needs the health statement, a background check and the Caregiver Preparatory Training study guide and workbook (DHS 9030 and 9030-W), with a $20 fee.⁠¹

Training before you apply

The rule lists what a potential applicant must finish before getting a license:⁠¹

1. Local orientation

   An ODHS-approved orientation run by the LLA that will license your home.

2. Ensuring Quality Care (EQC)

   The Department’s course and exam. If you fail, you may retake the exam once, but you must pass within 90 days of the end of the course; a second failure means retaking the course.

3. CPR and First Aid

   American Heart Association or American Red Cross standard. Online courses count only with an in-person skills check.

4. Dementia training

   under ORS 443.743, before giving any direct care.

5. LGBTQIA2S+ and HIV training

   under ORS 441.111 to 441.122; staff hired on or after January 1, 2025 must complete it before starting work.

6. Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) training

   ; caregivers hired on or after April 1, 2024 must complete it before starting work.

ODHS’s provider page points to Oregon Care Partners for the HCBS, dementia and “Providing Inclusive Care” courses.⁠⁶ Resident managers and shift caregivers need the same training, and every caregiver gets a documented orientation to the home (extinguishers, evacuation, medications, records, each resident’s care) before working.⁠¹

Substitute caregivers, who cover for the primary caregiver, must be at least 18, pass a background check, complete CPR and First Aid within 30 days of starting, finish the dementia, LGBTQIA2S+ and HCBS courses, and complete the DHS 9030 study guide and workbook on their own before working in the home.⁠¹ A substitute may not routinely be left in charge more than 48 hours in a calendar week, unless they meet resident manager qualifications; covering a one- or two-week vacation is allowed.⁠²

Money you must show

You must have enough liquid resources to pay the home’s operating costs for at least two months without relying on resident income. You show this on the AFH Financial Information form (APD 0448A). The LLA may ask for the Verification of Financial Resources form (APD 0448F) stamped or notarized by your bank, or a bank letter with three months of high, low and current balances and any non-sufficient-funds items. If you cannot show the money, ODHS may require a line of credit or guaranteed loan.⁠¹ If you use income from another foster home, you must show two months for each home.⁠¹ The financial worksheet comes back at your first renewal.⁠¹

The house: space, bedrooms and bathrooms

Division 050 sets the physical standards. ODHS tells prospective providers to check any house against them before buying or remodeling and to work with the local office on remodels.⁠⁶

Caregivers and family may not sleep in living areas or share a bedroom with a resident, and staff bedrooms must be inside the home with direct access to residents.⁠² Children over five living in the home must have a bedroom separate from their parents’ when the LLA sets capacity.⁠¹ A well serving the home must be tested for coliform bacteria every year.⁠²

The home must also have a working landline with a corded phone and a listed number, three meals a day with no more than 14 hours between the evening and morning meals, and posted weekly menus kept for six months.⁠²

Fire safety and the three-minute evacuation

The building must meet state and local building, fire and housing codes for a single-family dwelling, including Oregon Fire Code Appendix R, and the LLA can ask the State Fire Marshal to inspect.⁠² Specific requirements include:⁠²

• a 2-A:10-B:C fire extinguisher on every floor, including basements, checked monthly;
• smoke alarms in every sleeping room, adjacent hallways, common areas, basements and at the top of each stairway, and carbon monoxide alarms within 15 feet of each bedroom, all loud enough to wake occupants with doors closed and tested monthly;
• in each bedroom, a window or door to the outside with a clear opening of at least 821 square inches (5.7 sq ft), at least 24 inches high and 20 inches wide;
• no unvented portable oil, gas or kerosene heaters; wood stoves without an installation permit must be inspected;
• firearms unloaded in a locked cabinet residents cannot reach, with ammunition locked separately;
• an exit alarm if a resident with impaired judgment is known to wander.

Evacuation sets your real capacity. You must run a drill at least every 90 days, including one during sleeping hours each year. The licensee and every caregiver must be able to move all occupants to the first point of safety within three minutes, and to the final point within another two minutes. A home with a full, maintained sprinkler system gets five minutes for the first stage.⁠² A resident who cannot walk unaided, is cognitively impaired or cannot self-evacuate may not sleep on a floor without a second ground-level exit, and a stair lift does not substitute for being able to use the stairs.⁠²

You must tell the LLA in writing at least 15 days before any remodel that needs a building permit, and send permits, a revised evacuation plan and floor plan within 30 days after.⁠²

Zoning

Oregon treats a licensed AFH with five or fewer residents as a “residential home”. It is a permitted use in any residential zone and any commercial zone that allows a single-unit dwelling, and a city or county may not apply zoning requirements stricter than those for a single-unit dwelling in that zone.⁠⁴ You still have to follow local business license, building and housing codes and the Fair Housing Act.⁠²

Applying, in order

1. Check the house

   Compare it with the division 050 standards before you buy or lease.⁠⁶

2. Ask your local licensing office for orientation

   It is run by the office that will license your home.⁠¹⁠⁶

3. Finish the pre-license training

   EQC and exam, CPR and First Aid, dementia, HCBS and inclusive-care training.⁠¹⁠⁶

4. Start background checks

   for every subject individual (anyone who will operate, work, train or live in the home).⁠¹

5. Assemble the application (APD 0448)

   It must include proof of orientation and EQC; three personal references who are not family or co-workers; documentation for the class you want; the APD 0903 health statement; the APD 0448A financial form; your residency agreement and nondiscrimination notice; proof of ownership or a flat-rate residential lease; the capacity requested; the name of an Oregon-licensed RN who has agreed to provide consultation and delegation; other occupants, relatives needing care, and any room and board tenants or adult day clients; the APD 0448B supplemental application for any administrator, resident manager or shift caregivers; the AFH Weekly Plan of Operation (APD 0351); and a floor plan showing room sizes, exits, alarms, extinguishers and evacuation routes.⁠¹

6. Submit your policies and procedures

   The LLA must approve policies on training, service planning, medication administration, food, safety, emergency response, a succession plan or back-up provider agreement (APD 0350), and nondiscrimination before it issues a license.⁠¹ ORS 443.735 also lists facility closure.⁠³

7. Pay the fee

   $20 per bed for each non-relative resident, non-refundable.⁠¹

8. Interview and inspection

   The LLA interviews you and inspects the home in person. Deficiencies must be fixed within the time it sets, no more than 30 days, or ODHS denies the license.⁠¹

9. License issued

   The LLA must issue it within 60 days of receiving a complete application if you and the home comply.⁠¹

An application left incomplete is void 60 days after the LLA receives the form and fee.⁠¹ If you were denied, revoked or non-renewed, you cannot get a new license for at least one year.⁠¹

Fees and penalties as published on 2026-10-12

All money collected goes to Oregon’s Quality Care Fund.⁠¹ You may not charge residents application fees or non-refundable deposits, though bed-hold fees are allowed.⁠²

Under ORS 443.790, ODHS must impose a civil penalty of up to $500 for falsifying records and $250 for failing to keep a provider or substitute on duty 24 hours a day.⁠³

Medicaid residents

To serve residents on Medicaid you must sign a Medicaid Provider Enrollment Agreement with ODHS, renewed with each license. ODHS’s rate is payment in full. You do not have to take more than one Medicaid resident, but if you have an agreement, a private-pay resident who becomes Medicaid-eligible may not be asked to leave for that reason alone.⁠¹⁠³ A Medicaid resident cannot move in until the agreement is approved, the resident is screened and ODHS authorizes the placement.⁠¹ If you or ODHS end the agreement, you must wait at least 180 days for a new one.⁠¹

The first year, inspections and renewal

A first license lasts one year. After three years with substantial compliance, no substantiated level three or four abuse findings and no conditions for a pattern of deficiencies, the LLA can move you to a two-year license, with an in-person inspection every year in between.⁠¹

• The LLA visits again 90 to 120 days after your first license is issued.⁠¹
• In the first year, every licensee, administrator, resident manager and shift caregiver must complete the “Six Rights of Safe Medication Administration” course and Fire and Life Safety training as available.⁠¹
• From then on, each must complete 12 hours of approved training a year; up to four hours may be on business operations and up to two hours each of CPR and First Aid count. EQC, orientation and RN delegation do not count.⁠¹
• LGBTQIA2S+ and HIV training repeats every two years, and HCBS training became annual from April 1, 2025.⁠¹
• Background checks are redone every three years.⁠¹

The LLA sends a renewal reminder at least 90 days before expiry. Filing form APD 0448C and the fee before expiry keeps the license in effect while the LLA acts; if it lapses with residents in the home, you are an unlicensed facility.⁠¹ The health statement is due with the second-year renewal and every other renewal after that.⁠¹ Renewal deficiencies must be corrected within 30 days.⁠¹ After 24 continuous months licensed, the burden of proving non-compliance at renewal moves to ODHS.⁠¹

A license cannot be sold or transferred. A buyer must be licensed before taking over, and residents must get at least 30 days’ written notice of the change.⁠¹ You must notify the LLA within 10 days of any notice of default on a mortgage or real estate contract on the home.⁠²

Recent changes

ODHS adopted temporary amendments (APD 20-2026) to the definitions, license, background check, caregiver qualification, application, inspection and limited AFH rules, effective August 1, 2026 through January 27, 2027.⁠¹ One visible change: since August 1, 2026, existing licensees must submit all policies and procedures for LLA review at renewal, not only new applicants.⁠¹ Temporary rules expire on their end date unless ODHS adopts them as permanent rules, and the sources used here do not say whether it will. Ask your local licensing office which version of division 049 applies on the day you apply.

In Multnomah County, the amended county rules took effect after the Board’s August 13, 2026 approval, and removed the rules for I/DD adult care homes from the county’s rule set.⁠⁸

Sources

1. 1
   Oregon Secretary of State, Oregon Administrative Rules, OAR chapter 411, division 049: Adult Foster Homes, Licensing (temporary amendments APD 20-2026, effective 08/01/2026 through 01/27/2027) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
2. 2
   Oregon Secretary of State, Oregon Administrative Rules, OAR chapter 411, division 050: Adult Foster Homes, Standards of Operation Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
3. 3
   Oregon State Legislature, ORS chapter 443 (adult foster homes, ORS 443.705 to 443.825) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
4. 4
   Oregon State Legislature, ORS chapter 197 (residential homes, ORS 197.660 to 197.670) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
5. 5
   Oregon Department of Human Services, APD Adult Foster Home Licensing Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
6. 6
   Oregon Department of Human Services, Become an Adult Foster Home Provider Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
7. 7
   Multnomah County, Adult Care Home Program, How to Become an Adult Care Home Operator Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
8. 8
   Multnomah County, Adult Care Home Program, Adult Care Home Regulations Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
9. 9
   Multnomah County, Program #25022, ADVSD Adult Care Home Program, FY 2026 Adopted Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑

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