Starting a home care agency in Pennsylvania

What this site covers and where to begin

Pennsylvania licenses non-medical home care through the Department of Health, and nearly every rule on this site follows from that one license.

The license attaches to a business at a physical office, so the entity and the address come before the application. The screening rules decide who you can send into a client's home. Insurance, payroll and yearly filings keep the whole arrangement standing.

Every page here is written for Pennsylvania and cites the agency or regulation behind each figure, from the Department of Health's licensing chapter to the Department of State's fee schedule. Where a rule is silent, such as on liability insurance amounts, the page says so rather than guessing.

If you are still deciding whether this is for you, begin with what the license covers. If you have decided, go straight to the licensing steps.

Should you run an agency, a registry, or neither

The first real decision is the model. An agency employs its caregivers; a registry refers independent contractors to families. Both hold the same license and follow the same screening rules, but they carry very different payroll and insurance obligations.

The agency-or-registry page works through both with examples, including where the federal overtime rule pushes the choice.

Getting the license and keeping it current

The application now goes through the Department of Health's online portal, one license per office, with owner background checks attached. After that the license renews on its own schedule, and changes of address, administrator or ownership each have their own reporting rule.

The licensing guide sets out the order; renewals and changes covers everything after the first approval.

What opening an agency costs, and what must be insured

The state fees are small and published. The license fee, the entity filing and a trade name registration together come to a few hundred dollars, while checks on every hire recur for as long as you operate.

Insurance is the larger and less predictable number, and the license itself sets no dollar minimum. See the startup cost breakdown and what the insurance rules actually require.

The business that holds the license

Because the license names an owner, the entity choice is a first step here, not a formality. Caregiver injuries and client complaints land on whoever holds the license, which is why most founders form an LLC before they apply.

Read the setup guide for the order of filings, the structure comparison for the choice itself, and the formation-services page for what filing services publish about their own prices, alongside filing it yourself. Then yearly filings and taxes for what recurs.

Hiring, paying and preparing caregivers

Every caregiver needs a criminal history check, references, proof of competency and TB screening before working, plus a client packet that tells the family who employs and insures them.

Background checks, training and TB screening and caregiver pay and payroll cover the three parts.

Do I need a home care license

• Pennsylvania home care agency license, explained — Who needs a Pennsylvania Department of Health home care license, what it covers, what is excluded, and why the license attaches to a business location.
• Home care agency or home care registry in PA? — Pennsylvania licenses two home care models: agencies that employ caregivers and registries that refer independent contractors. How the choice plays out.

How do I get and keep licensed

• How to get a Pennsylvania home care license — The order to get a Pennsylvania home care agency or registry license: entity, office, owner checks, policies, the online application and the $100 fee.
• Renewing and changing a PA home care license — How to renew a Pennsylvania home care license on time, and what to file when your address, administrator, service area or ownership changes.

What does an agency cost to open

• What it costs to open a PA home care agency — The published state fees to open a Pennsylvania home care agency: the $100 license, entity filing, name registration, caregiver checks and yearly costs.
• Insurance a Pennsylvania home care agency needs — The insurance Pennsylvania requires of a home care agency: workers' comp from the first hire, and liability cover for Medicaid waiver work.

How do I set up the business

• Setting up a home care business in Pennsylvania — The order to set up a Pennsylvania home care business: entity, registered office, trade name, EIN, payroll and insurance, then the license.
• LLC, corporation or sole proprietor for home care? — How the entity choice plays out for a Pennsylvania home care agency: caregiver liability, state fees, tax treatment and ownership changes.
• LLC formation services for home care agencies — What LLC formation services publish about their prices for a Pennsylvania home care agency, what renews, and filing it yourself for the state's $125 fee.

What do I owe every year

• Yearly filings and taxes for a PA home care agency — The recurring state filings a Pennsylvania home care agency owes: the $7 annual report, license renewal, income tax on profits, and waiver requalification.
• Caregiver pay and payroll for PA home care agencies — How Pennsylvania home care agencies pay caregivers: the federal overtime rule for agencies, contractor classification, and the state payroll registrations.

Who can I send into a home

• Background checks for PA home care caregivers — How to screen Pennsylvania home care caregivers: State Police or FBI checks, ChildLine, two references and the 30 or 90 day provisional window.
• Caregiver training and TB screening rules in PA — What Pennsylvania requires before a caregiver's first home care visit: competency proof, TB screening, yearly reviews and the client packet.

Questions