How to Verify a PA Personal Care Home License

Families often search for a “Pennsylvania assisted living license search.” In PA, most of what people mean by assisted living is regulated as a personal care home (PCH) under the Department of Human Services — not under the nursing-home rules of the Department of Health. A smaller number of facilities hold a separate DHS assisted living residence license.

Step 1: Find the facility on the licensed list

Search by the name on the sign, then by street address — operators sometimes market a home under a different name than the one on the license. A match in our license search shows the licensed capacity and the state record number for that site.

Step 2: Confirm status in the official DHS directory

1. Open the PA DHS Human Services Provider Directory and search the facility.
2. Check that the license is current and that the address matches the building you toured.
3. Note the license type: a regular license, or a provisional license, which DHS issues for a limited time when a home is not in full compliance.
4. Open any posted inspection results and look for repeat violations.

Step 3: Match the license to the care your loved one needs

• Personal care home — DHS license, 55 Pa. Code Chapter 2600; help with daily living and medications, not skilled nursing.
• Assisted living residence — DHS license, 55 Pa. Code Chapter 2800; can offer more supplemental health care services. See PCH vs assisted living.
• Nursing home — Department of Health license; skilled nursing, rehab, complex medical care. See PCH vs nursing home.

Red flags during a license check

• The home cannot or will not show its license certificate.
• The name or address on the license does not match the building.
• The home is on a provisional license and the administrator will not explain why.
• More residents live there than the licensed capacity.
• Staff describe the home as a “boarding house” but are helping residents with bathing, dressing, or medications — that is personal care and needs a license.

What to do with inspection findings

A past citation is not automatically a deal-breaker — look at severity, whether it was corrected, and whether the same issues keep recurring. Our guide to reading PA inspection reports walks through it, and the red flags guide covers what to watch for in person.

If you need to report a problem

For suspected abuse or neglect, call the PA Elder Abuse Hotline at 1-800-490-8505 (24/7). To report a facility operating without a license, contact the DHS Bureau of Human Services Licensing. Full steps: how to report abuse in a PA care home.