Florida assisted living regulations
Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) licenses every assisted living facility (ALF) in the state. The rules sit in part I of chapter 429 of the Florida Statutes and in chapter 59A-36 of the Florida Administrative Code.
In short: an ALF must hold a licence for the type of care it gives. It can't admit someone who needs 24-hour nursing supervision. It must give at least 45 days' notice before asking a resident to leave. And every resident has a written bill of rights.
Who regulates assisted living in Florida
Section 429.07 says you need a licence from AHCA to run an ALF in Florida. Separate buildings on separate premises need separate licences. AHCA inspects, fines and can take a licence away.
Other state bodies have a part:
- Department of Elder Affairs (DOEA). Runs the CARES assessment and the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program.
- Department of Children and Families (DCF). Decides Medicaid financial eligibility and pays the Optional State Supplementation.
- Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program. Volunteers who act for residents and investigate their complaints.
Florida has 3,021 ALFs on the AHCA roll today. You'll find all of them on our assisted living in Florida page.
Licence types: standard, ECC, LMH and LNS
Every ALF holds a standard licence. Some add a specialty licence on top, which lets them give more care. Section 429.07 lists them:
| Licence | What it allows |
|---|---|
| Standard | Personal services, such as help with daily activities. May employ or contract a nurse to give medication. |
| Extended congregate care (ECC) | Extra nursing and support so residents can stay as they get frailer. Only for ALFs licensed at least 2 years. |
| Limited nursing services (LNS) | Some nursing care beyond the standard licence, with a nurse from AHCA visiting at least once a year. |
| Limited mental health (LMH) | Required if the ALF serves even one mental health resident. Staff who work with them need 6 hours of training within 6 months. |
An ECC facility still can't serve residents who need 24-hour nursing supervision. But it sets its own continued residency rules, so your parent may be able to stay longer. A registered nurse from AHCA visits it at least twice a year.
The AHCA roll shows 168 ALFs with an ECC licence, 394 with LNS and 708 with LMH.
Florida added a fifth licence in 2026: a memory care services licence. AHCA must adopt its rules by June 1, 2027. After that, an ALF that serves memory care residents or advertises memory care will need it. Our memory care in Florida page explains what changes.
Admission rules and the 1823 form
Rule 59A-36.006 sets who a standard, LNS or LMH facility may admit. Your parent must:
- Be at least 18
- Be able to do daily activities, with help if needed
- Be able to transfer, with help if needed (more than one person is allowed)
- Be able to take medication, alone or with help
- Not be a danger to themselves or others
- Not be bedridden or need 24-hour nursing supervision, unless on hospice
- Not have a stage 3 or 4 pressure sore
- Not need tube feeding or skilled rehabilitative services
The administrator makes the final call, based on an assessment and a medical exam.
The 1823 form
The medical exam must happen within 60 days before admission or 30 days after. A physician, physician assistant or advanced practice registered nurse does it. They record it on their own form or on AHCA Form 1823, the Resident Health Assessment for Assisted Living Facilities.
The form covers physical and mental status, help needed with daily tasks, nursing needs, diet, medications and signs of contagious disease. The practitioner also states whether your parent's needs can be met in an ALF. A CARES assessment can replace it.
After that, your parent needs a new face-to-face exam at least every 3 years, or sooner after a significant change.
Staffing and training
Rule 59A-36.010 sets the staffing floor:
- An administrator who is at least 21, has a high school diploma or GED and passes a Level 2 background screening
- Level 2 background screening for staff, including contracted staff
- At least one staff member in the building whenever residents are there
- An awake staff member at all hours in facilities with 17 or more residents
- Someone with current first aid and CPR training on site at all times
On top of the minimum hours, the ALF must have enough staff to meet residents' scheduled and unscheduled needs. You can ask to see the daily work schedule of direct care staff.
Section 429.52 sets the training. New staff get at least 2 hours of orientation before working with residents. Administrators must pass core training and a competency test within 90 days. After that, they need 12 hours of continuing education every 2 years.
Dementia training comes from section 430.5025. Staff who give personal care or have regular contact with residents take a 1-hour course within 30 days. Those who give personal care add 3 more hours within 7 months.
Help with medication
Florida draws a clear line between helping a resident take medication and giving it.
Under section 429.256, a trained aide who isn't a nurse may:
- Bring the labelled medication to your parent and open it
- Read out the name and dose
- Put a pill in their hand, or help lift a cup to their mouth
- Apply creams and help with a nebulizer
- Help with a glucometer, oxygen tubing or a CPAP mask
The aide can't mix or calculate doses, prepare syringes or give injections. They can't make judgment calls on "as needed" medication either. They need 6 hours of training from a registered nurse or pharmacist first, plus 2 hours a year after.
Your parent, or their representative, must give written informed consent before an unlicensed aide helps. If your parent needs medication given to them, the ALF must employ a nurse to do it or let you contract a licensed third party.
Discharge and the 45-day notice
The resident bill of rights gives your parent at least 45 days' notice before a move or the end of their stay. The reasons must be in writing. The notice must give the ombudsman program's toll-free number.
There are 2 exceptions. A physician certifies an emergency move to a higher level of care. Or the resident shows a pattern of conduct that harms or offends others. To evict without notice for any other reason, the ALF must show good cause in court.
An ALF also can't serve notice to punish a resident for using their rights or making a complaint. If it does and can't show good cause, AHCA fines it $2,500.
Common reasons a resident no longer meets the rules include being bedridden for more than 7 days in a row. Another is a stage 2 pressure sore that doesn't improve within 30 days.
Resident rights
Section 429.28 lists the rights every ALF resident keeps. Among them, your parent has the right to:
- A safe and decent home, free from abuse and neglect
- Be treated with respect, dignity and privacy
- Keep and use their own clothes and belongings
- Private phone calls and mail, and visitors at least from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Manage their own money, unless they authorise the facility to hold it
- Share a room with a spouse who also lives there
- Get outdoors and exercise regularly
- Help getting appropriate health care, including appointments and transport
- Make complaints without retaliation
The ALF must post these rights in a prominent place and read them to residents who can't read. Physical restraints are limited to half-bedrails, and only on a physician's written order with consent.
Inspections and how to look up a licence
AHCA surveys each ALF before its first licence and at every renewal. The renewal survey must include private talks with a sample of residents. It also includes a consultation with the local ombudsman council.
AHCA ranks what it finds into 4 classes. Under section 429.19, a class I violation carries a fine of $5,000 to $10,000. Class IV, the least serious, carries $100 to $200.
To look up any ALF, use AHCA's FloridaHealthFinder. It shows the licence, beds, specialty licences, inspection reports and sanctions. Each facility page on our site shows the same record and links to it.
How to complain
You can complain to more than one place. The ombudsman program's complaint page lists them:
- AHCA, about care or licence rules: 1-888-419-3456
- Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, to have an advocate act for your parent: 1-888-831-0404
- Florida Abuse Hotline, run by DCF, for abuse, neglect or exploitation: 1-800-96-ABUSE
Every ALF must have its own grievance procedure too. Florida law protects anyone who files a complaint in good faith from civil or criminal liability.
Sources: Florida Statutes 429.07, 429.076, 429.19, 429.256, 429.28, 429.52 and 430.5025; Florida Administrative Code rules 59A-36.006 and 59A-36.010; Florida Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program; AHCA.
Questions families ask about Florida rules
What are the requirements for assisted living in Florida?
Your parent must be 18 or older and able to do daily tasks and transfer, with help if needed. They can't need 24-hour nursing supervision or be bedridden, unless on hospice. A medical exam, often on Form 1823, is needed within 60 days before or 30 days after moving in.
How much notice must a Florida ALF give before discharge?
At least 45 days, with the reasons in writing. The only exceptions are a physician-certified medical emergency or a pattern of conduct that harms or offends other residents.
Can assisted living staff give insulin in Florida?
A trained aide can bring your parent a pre-filled insulin pen or syringe and help them use it themselves. An aide can't prepare a syringe or inject. A licensed nurse can give the injection.
How long is an 1823 form good for?
The exam must be done within 60 days before admission or 30 days after. After that, your parent needs a new exam at least every 3 years, or sooner after a significant change.
More guides for the decision
- Cost of assisted living, state by stateAssisted living costs a median $6,200 a month in the US (CareScout 2025). See every state, what the fee covers, what costs extra and the ways to pay.
- Cost of assisted living in FloridaAssisted living in Florida costs a median $5,610 a month (CareScout 2025). What it covers, nursing home and memory care costs, and the Medicaid waiver.
- Does Medicare pay for assisted living?Medicare does not pay for assisted living rent or personal care. What it does cover, the nursing home 100-day rule, and what pays instead.
- Medicaid waiver for assisted livingMedicaid waivers pay for care in assisted living, not rent. How the waivers work, who qualifies, the waitlists, and the Florida and California lists.
- How to pay for assisted living with no moneyNo savings for assisted living? How Medicaid waivers, Florida's OSS, VA Aid and Attendance and a nursing home on Medicaid work, and where to ask first.
- Assisted living vs nursing homeAssisted living helps with daily tasks; a nursing home gives 24-hour nursing care. Compare the care, the median cost, who pays and how to choose.
Or search assisted living near you.