50-State Regulatory Atlas California
State licensing summary
California: healthcare licensing and regulation
California: separate license per office; no certificate of need; not a compact state. Regulator: California Department of Public Health.
Educational summary, last reviewed October 17, 2026. Not legal advice — confirm with the state licensing agency or counsel.
10 findings: 10 verified. How findings are sourced and labelled.
At a glance
- License
- State license requiredVerified
- Regulator
- California Department of Public Health
- Branch offices
- Separate license per officeVerified
- Certificate of need
- No certificate of needVerified
- Service area
- A portion of the parent agency’s service area.Verified
- In-state office
- Required: an in-state office or licensed parentVerified
- Medicare certification
- Separate federal step, only for agencies that bill MedicareVerified
Home health licensing
State license
VerifiedYes. No organization may provide or arrange skilled nursing in the home in California without a home health agency license from the Department of Public Health (HSC §§ 1726–1727). Non-medical Home Care Organizations are licensed separately by the Department of Social Services.
In practice: Hold the authority the state requires before the first patient is admitted there, and keep its number, category and expiry with the office it covers.
Source: HSC § 1726
Certificate of need
VerifiedNo.
In practice: No certificate of need step for home health.
Source: CDPH: HHA branch office applicationHSC § 1726HSC § 1728.922 CCR § 74664
Branch offices
Verified“A state license is required to operate a branch office”, added to the parent’s license. A moratorium bars new home health licenses and new branch offices unless the department finds an unmet need (HSC §§ 1728.9, 1728.95). A branch needs a nurse supervisor on site or reachable by phone during operating hours.
In practice: Track each office’s authority on its own where the state licenses offices separately, and with the parent where it lists them.
Source: HSC § 1728.9
Service area
VerifiedA portion of the parent agency’s service area. No mileage limit is stated; changing a branch’s area is subject to the moratorium.
In practice: Check the patient’s address against the approved service area before accepting a referral.
Source: CDPH: HHA branch office applicationHSC § 1726HSC § 1728.922 CCR § 74664
Out-of-state agencies
VerifiedAgencies based outside California that serve California patients must have a parent office licensed in California. Special conditions for rural areas across state lines are considered case by case.
In practice: A license in one state does not authorize care in another; the patient’s state decides.
Source: CDPH: HHA branch office applicationHSC § 1726HSC § 1728.922 CCR § 74664
Home infusion nursing
Home infusion nursing
VerifiedSkilled nursing by an RN or LVN in the home requires the home health license. Nurses’ registries are exempt only while they are not performing the functions of a home health agency.
In practice: Confirm the license category before staffing infusion visits in this state.
Source: CDPH: HHA branch office applicationHSC § 1726HSC § 1728.922 CCR § 74664
Staffing and nurse licensure
Nurse licensure (compact)
VerifiedNot a member of the Nurse Licensure Compact. Nurses caring for patients here need this state’s own license.
In practice: Check each nurse’s license against the patient’s state, not the agency’s.
Detailed state rules for staffing agencies in this state are being added.
Medicare, hospice and VA programs in this state
California is not one of the six states in CMS’s Review Choice Demonstration for home health (Illinois, Ohio, Texas, North Carolina, Florida, Oklahoma).
Source: CMS: Review Choice Demonstration for Home Health Services
Hospices newly enrolling in Medicare in California, changing ownership or reactivating are placed in CMS’s provisional period of enhanced oversight, in effect here since July 13, 2023. This is separate from CMS’s expanded prepayment review of existing hospices in the same states.
Source: CMS Medical Review: Hospice
VA Community Care Network region
VerifiedCalifornia is in Community Care Network Region 4, administered by TriWest. Agencies join by contracting with the regional third-party administrator, not with VA. VA has re-procured the network as CCN Next Generation with two regions, East and West; which administrator serves which region from 2027 was not announced in the sources reviewed.
Time-sensitive. Region assignments change with CCN Next Generation; recheck VA’s announcements during 2027.
Source: VA: Community Care Network
Federal rules that apply in every state
Medicare certification
VerifiedMedicare certification under the home health Conditions of Participation (42 CFR Part 484) is a federal step for agencies that bill Medicare home health. It is separate from the state license. Where a state ties entry to certification, that state’s findings say so.
In practice: A branch serving a portion of the parent’s area is supervised and administered by the parent agency (42 CFR 484.2).
Source: 42 CFR 484.2
For a Medicare-certified agency, “its personnel must be qualified in all States in which they provide services” (State Operations Manual § 2184).
In practice: Nurse licensure follows the patient’s state.
Medicare’s home infusion therapy benefit is a separate Part B supplier benefit, not a home health benefit. It pays an accredited, qualified home infusion therapy supplier for professional services tied to specific parenteral drugs given through a pump that is durable medical equipment (42 CFR Part 486, Subpart I).
In practice: Most pharmacy-dispensed home infusion is not billable under this benefit; nursing for those patients is usually paid by other payers or under contract.
Compared with Texas
Like Texas, branches need a state license, derived from the parent’s. Unlike Texas, new licenses and branches are under moratorium. California is not in the Nurse Licensure Compact.
Other service lines
State rules for these lines are being added to the guide: Medicare home health, Medicare home infusion therapy benefit, Infusion pharmacy, Hospice, Private duty nursing, Personal care and Medicaid HCBS, VA community care, Infusion suites.
Look up a licensed provider
- Cal Health Find VerifiedCalifornia Department of Public Health, Center for Health Care Quality, Licensing & Certification
Licensed health facility detail, survey inspections, state enforcement actions and complaints.
- Licensed and Certified Healthcare Facility Listing (CHHS Open Data) VerifiedCalifornia Department of Public Health (via CHHS Open Data Portal)
Monthly CSV/XLSX listing of licensed and certified healthcare facilities.
- CDSS Home Care Aide Registry VerifiedCalifornia Department of Social Services, Home Care Services Bureau
Non-medical home care aides, searchable by name and PER ID.
National lookups
- Medicare Care Compare — Home health
Medicare-certified home health agencies with quality ratings and services offered.
- Medicare Care Compare — Hospice
Medicare-certified hospices with quality measures.
- CMS Provider Data Catalog — Home Health Care Agencies (6jpm-sxkc)
All Medicare-registered home health agencies with CCN, address, ownership, services, certification date and quality measures, as CSV and an unauthenticated API.
- CMS Provider Data Catalog — Hospice – General Information (yc9t-dgbk)
Medicare-certified hospices with CCN, address, county, ownership type and certification date, as CSV and an unauthenticated API.
- CMS QCOR — HHA 2567 Statements of Deficiencies
Federal survey statements of deficiencies for home health agencies, filterable by state, survey type, tag and CCN, with a full-dataset XLSX download.
- CMS QCOR — Hospice 2567s
Federal survey statements of deficiencies for hospices.
- NPPES NPI Registry
National Provider Identifier records with addresses, authorized official and taxonomies, with a public API.
- HHS-OIG List of Excluded Individuals/Entities (LEIE)
Individuals and entities excluded from federal health care programs, with a monthly downloadable database.
- SAM.gov Exclusions
Federal exclusion records across agencies.
- Nursys QuickConfirm
Nurse license status, discipline / board-issued alerts and expiry, free to employers and the public.
Associations
- California Association for Health Services at Home (CAHSAH)home health, home care (private duty and personal care), hospice
Represents licensed home health, home care and hospice providers with regulatory guidance, training courses, legislative tracking and an annual conference.
- California Hospice and Palliative Care Association (CHAPCA)hospice, palliative care
Advocates for hospice and palliative care in California and offers provider resources and a consumer provider-finder.
- Home Care Association of America (HCAOA), California chapterhome care (private duty and personal care)
The state chapter of the national home care association; HCAOA chapters handle state advocacy, networking and legislative tracking.
Official sources
About this guide. Published and maintained by Paloma Health Technologies; Findings are cited to official sources, dated and status-labelled; see the editorial policy. Educational summary, last reviewed October 17, 2026. Not legal advice — confirm with the state licensing agency or counsel.