Opening an RCFE
Opening an RCFE in California
Guides to getting a California RCFE licensed. Each one cites an official California source for every rule, lists its sources and shows the date it was checked.
The route, in order
An administrator certificate belongs to a person, not to the home. Every RCFE administrator must hold one before working as the administrator. To earn it, you finish an 80-hour training course from a vendor the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has approved. Then you pass the CDSS exam within 60 days of finishing the training and apply within 30 days of the emailed notice that you passed. A certificate lasts two years.
The packet is the LIC 200 application, the supporting documents the LIC 281 booklet lists and an application fee that depends on your capacity and is not refundable. CDSS lists eleven steps, from getting information online to final review and license issuance. A home needs its own license.
The state charges a one-time application fee and a yearly fee, both set by capacity. An RCFE must keep liability insurance covering injury to residents and guests of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence and $3,000,000 in the annual total, for the negligent acts or omissions of the licensee or its employees. CDSS's financial review checks that a new home has start-up funds for three months of operating costs.
After you file, CDSS reviews your application and requests a fire clearance. You complete the background checks through Live Scan. CDSS then schedules an on-site pre-licensing inspection before it issues a license. CDSS expects the whole process to take 90 to 120 days. Once you are licensed, the law subjects every RCFE to an unannounced inspection each year.
The RCFE definition in the statute names "persons 60 years of age or over". The ARF definition in Title 22 names "persons 18 years of age through 59 years of age". "Residential assisted living" is not on either CDSS facility-type list.
All five guides
RCFE Administrator Certification in California
The certificate every RCFE administrator holds, and how it differs from the facility licenseRCFE License in California
The steps, forms and fees to get an RCFE license from the stateRCFE Startup Costs in California
What the state charges, and what the rules make you pay forThe First RCFE Licensing Visit
What happens between your application and your license, and after you openRCFE vs ARF in California, and "Residential Assisted Living"
Two licenses with different age rules, and a name on neither CDSS facility list