Florida home care licensing guide
Last updated: October 14, 2026
Starting a home care business in Florida begins with a classification question, not a generic business-license form. Florida separates homemaker and companion services, licensed home health agencies, and licensed nurse registries. The right path depends on the tasks workers perform and whether the business employs caregivers or refers independent contractors.
This guide explains where companion work ends, when hands-on personal care changes the license path, and which business, local, employer, and federal layers remain separate.
Bottom line
“Non-medical home care” is not one Florida license category. A business limited to homemaker and companion work generally uses an AHCA Homemaker and Companion Services (HCS) registration, which does not authorize hands-on personal care. An agency providing personal care or other home health services may need a Home Health Agency (HHA) license. A business referring independent-contractor nurses, aides, CNAs, homemakers, or companions may fit the separate Nurse Registry license.
Write a precise service list before choosing a name, advertising, hiring, or accepting clients. Then match the service list and worker model to the current AHCA category.
Florida home care changes to know in 2026
Florida’s current HHA rules show 2026 effective dates for core provisions on licensure, definitions, scope, personnel, and geographic service areas. Rule 59A-18.004 for Nurse Registry licensure requirements, procedures, and fees was amended effective August 17, 2026. Florida’s Department of Revenue also moved reemployment-tax filing and payment to a new eFile and Pay system on August 24, 2026. Use current agency rules and portals rather than older startup packets.
Quick start: check these in order
- List every client task. Separate companionship and household help from bathing, dressing, toileting, transfers, medication help, nursing, and therapy.
- Choose the worker model. Decide whether the business will employ or directly operate through caregivers, or refer independent contractors.
- Match the model to AHCA. Use the current AHCA applications page.
- Complete required screening. AHCA-regulated home care categories use Level 2 background screening for covered roles.
- Set up the entity, name, tax accounts, and address. State health-care authorization does not replace Sunbiz, employer, zoning, or local business-tax steps that apply.
- Advertise only the approved scope. Make sure the website, brochures, contracts, and business name do not promise services outside the credential.
Choose the right Florida path
The decisive issue is what the caregiver actually does and how the caregiver relationship is structured. “Non-medical” is a marketing description, not the legal test.
| Business model | Florida path | Key dividing line | Official action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Companionship, errands, meal preparation, housekeeping, routine household help | AHCA HCS registration | No hands-on personal care or other home health service | HCS guidance |
| Agency provides personal care, skilled services, or other authorized home health services | AHCA HHA license | Service crosses into Florida home health services; license must identify authorized services | HHA resources |
| Business refers nurses, aides, CNAs, homemakers, or companions for contracts | AHCA Nurse Registry license | Referral model using independent contractors | Nurse Registry resources |
Hands-on personal care changes the answer
Florida’s companion and homemaker definitions do not allow hands-on personal care. AHCA specifically says an HCS registrant cannot provide personal care such as bathing, feeding, or changing a client. Florida’s personal-care definition includes help with activities such as dressing, bathing, eating, hygiene, transfers, ambulation, and medication assistance permitted by rule.
Use AHCA’s current application system
AHCA’s Online Licensing System accepts initial applications, renewals, and eligible changes during a licensure period for HHA, HCS, and Nurse Registry providers. AHCA says all provider renewals must be submitted electronically through that system. Change of ownership and change of controlling interest applications are exceptions that are not submitted electronically through the system at this time.
Start from AHCA’s Online Licensing System instructions so you do not rely on an obsolete portal or mailing workflow. Keep the provider-specific checklist open while you complete the application because the supporting documents differ by credential and application type.
Path 1: Homemaker and Companion Services registration
Section 400.509, Florida Statutes, creates the narrower path for providers of homemaker or companion services that do not provide a home health service. AHCA’s current FAQ says even a single individual working alone must register.
Covered work can include companionship, outings, meal preparation, housekeeping, shopping assistance, and routine household activities. It does not include hands-on personal care.
Application, fee, and screening
AHCA lists Form 3110-1003 for HCS providers. Its current guidance lists a $50.75 fee for a two-year registration, plus background-screening costs. Applicants need Level 2 screening for specified management/financial roles, and newly hired homemakers and companions must be screened before hiring.
Home office, name, and advertising
AHCA says an HCS provider may operate from a Florida home in the area it intends to serve. The business name, street address, and telephone number can appear publicly in Florida Health Finder. Local zoning and home-business rules still apply separately.
AHCA warns HCS applicants not to use a provider name that implies broader home health, nursing, personal-care, or medical services. Florida law also requires covered HCS advertising to include the AHCA registration number. AHCA says the number should appear on the provider’s website and printed promotional materials when used.
Insurance is different for HCS
AHCA says current Florida law does not require liability insurance as a condition of HCS registration. That differs from the HHA path. A provider can still buy coverage for business-risk reasons.
Path 2: Florida Home Health Agency license
A Florida HHA can provide skilled and/or unskilled home health services. Unskilled services can include work by home health aides, CNAs, homemakers, and companions. A company calling itself “non-medical” can therefore still need an HHA license if caregivers provide hands-on personal care.
License scope and application
Florida law requires the HHA license to specify the home health services the agency may perform and whether they are skilled. AHCA currently lists Form 3110-1011, an application checklist, a licensing addendum, and a Proof of Financial Ability to Operate form.
For initial licensure, change of ownership, and addition of skilled services, Florida law requires specified information including the service list, professional staffing, a business plan, contingency funding, and financial statements showing ability to operate. For those application situations, section 400.471 also requires accreditation documentation or an accreditation application when skilled care is involved; a non-skilled-only HHA is exempt from that particular accreditation paragraph.
Insurance, location, and service area
An HHA must maintain malpractice insurance and liability insurance of at least $250,000 per claim for each coverage, with proof at initial licensure and renewal. AHCA’s HHA checklist also calls for proof of the legal right to occupy the property and local zoning documentation in specified application situations.
The application identifies counties the agency expects to serve. Florida uses geographic service areas for HHAs, and moving to a different geographic service area not listed on the license can require an initial license application for the new location.
Personnel and emergency planning
Staffing requirements depend on services offered. Skilled nursing agencies have director-of-nursing requirements, and the current Chapter 59A-8 rules govern administrators, professional staff, aides, CNAs, supervision, and related duties. HHAs also have comprehensive emergency-management planning requirements, with AHCA publishing current forms and county submission resources.
Medicare is separate
An AHCA license does not automatically make the agency Medicare-certified. A business seeking Medicare participation must separately follow CMS institutional-provider enrollment and certification requirements and meet the federal Home Health Agency Conditions of Participation.
Path 3: Florida Nurse Registry license
A nurse registry is a separate licensed model, not another name for an HHA. AHCA describes it as an agency offering health-care-related contracts for nurses, home health aides, CNAs, homemakers, and companions in a patient’s home and for certain temporary staffing.
The core distinction is referral: Florida’s nurse registry framework uses independent contractors for referred caregivers. If the business plans to recruit caregivers and refer them to clients rather than operate an ordinary employee-based agency, review the registry rules first.
AHCA lists Form 3110-7004, an application checklist, a licensing addendum, and Proof of Financial Ability to Operate. Section 400.506 requires a Nurse Registry license and regulates operational sites. The current licensure rule, 59A-18.004, was amended effective August 17, 2026. Registries also have screening, contractor-record, and emergency-management duties.
Level 2 background screening is a core step
AHCA’s current screening matrix lists HHAs, Homemaker/Sitter/Companion providers, and Nurse Registries among provider types subject to Level 2 screening for covered ownership, administrative, financial, direct-service, contractor, and client-access roles. Use the current AHCA screening matrix and Clearinghouse instructions for the exact role.
City and county rules still matter
AHCA controls the state health-care credential, but it does not replace every local requirement. Florida law allows counties and municipalities to levy local business taxes. Zoning, home-occupation rules, and office-use approvals depend on the address. One county or city may use a local business tax receipt while another local process can look different, so verify the exact jurisdiction.
For an HHA, local zoning can become part of the state application file. For a home-based HCS provider, AHCA may allow the home address while the city or county still regulates land use.
Use BLG’s verified Florida business license guide for the broader state/local map, City License vs County License vs State Registration for the government layers, and the Home Occupation Permit guide if you plan a home office.
Check the address before signing a lease
Ask the city or county whether the proposed office use is allowed and whether a local business tax receipt, certificate of use, occupancy approval, or home-occupation approval applies. These are local, address-specific questions; there is no safe statewide answer.
Entity, name, tax, and employer setup
Entity: If you form an LLC, corporation, or other registered entity, use the Florida Department of State’s Sunbiz Start a Business page. Entity formation is separate from AHCA licensing. BLG’s Business License vs LLC vs DBA vs Seller’s Permit guide explains the difference.
Fictitious name: If the business uses a name different from the legal owner/entity name, review the official Florida fictitious-name filing. HCS applicants should also avoid names that imply services beyond the HCS scope.
EIN: The IRS issues EINs free through its official EIN application. The IRS advises forming a corporation or LLC with the state before applying for the EIN.
Employees: Check Florida Department of Revenue employer and reemployment-tax duties when hiring. Reemployment-tax e-filing moved to the new eFile and Pay system on August 24, 2026. Florida also requires employers to report newly hired and rehired employees to the state directory; the Department of Revenue’s Child Support Services for Employers site is the current reporting route. Do not automatically copy an employee tax path onto a Nurse Registry’s independent-contractor model; Florida’s reporting system also has rules for certain independent contractors.
Three Florida examples
Companion-only service: A provider offers companionship, grocery shopping, meal preparation, and light housekeeping, with no bathing, dressing, transfers, or medication help. The starting path is HCS registration plus screening, business setup, and local address rules.
Private-pay personal care agency: An agency wants caregivers to help clients bathe, dress, transfer, and handle other activities of daily living. Even if the company calls this “non-medical,” the tasks cross the HCS line and point toward HHA licensing.
Referral business: A company matches clients with independent-contractor CNAs, aides, homemakers, companions, or nurses. That model points toward Nurse Registry licensing rather than a simple HCS registration.
Costs: use the fee for the exact credential
- HCS: AHCA currently lists $50.75 for a two-year registration, plus background-screening costs.
- HHA: use the current AHCA application for the exact filing fee. The statutory HHA license-fee ceiling is not a quote for your application.
- HHA insurance: malpractice and liability coverage must each be at least $250,000 per claim.
- Nurse Registry: use the current Form 3110-7004 and Rule 59A-18.004 rather than an old third-party fee table.
- Separate costs: entity/name filings, screening, local approvals, insurance, and accreditation when applicable are not one combined “home care license fee.”
Common mistakes
- Treating “non-medical” as a Florida license class.
- Using HCS registration for bathing, dressing, transfers, or other hands-on personal care.
- Mixing an employee-based agency with an independent-contractor registry model.
- Assuming an LLC or fictitious name is the health-care license.
- Advertising services before the AHCA credential matches them.
- Waiting until after hiring to address background screening.
- Ignoring local zoning because care occurs in clients’ homes.
- Assuming AHCA licensure automatically includes Medicare certification.
Florida home care startup checklist
- Write the exact service list and highlight hands-on personal care or skilled services.
- Choose employee/agency or independent-contractor referral model.
- Confirm HCS, HHA, or Nurse Registry classification with current AHCA sources.
- Use the current AHCA application and checklist.
- Complete Level 2 screening for covered people and roles.
- Form the entity and register a fictitious name if needed.
- Verify zoning, home-occupation, and local business-tax rules for the address.
- Prepare HHA financial, insurance, staffing, service-area, and zoning documents when applicable.
- Register applicable employer accounts if hiring.
- Complete the separate CMS path if seeking Medicare participation.
- Check marketing and client agreements against the approved service scope.
What to ask AHCA before you file
Phone or email script
“I am starting a Florida business that will provide these exact services: [list tasks]. Caregivers will be [employees / independent contractors referred to clients]. We will operate from [office or home] and serve [counties]. Should I apply as a Homemaker and Companion Services provider, Home Health Agency, or Nurse Registry? Which current application, service classification, screening steps, and service-area requirements apply before I advertise or begin service?”
Describe the tasks and worker relationship instead of asking about a vague “senior care” business.
What if the planned model does not fit?
Change the service package before spending heavily on branding or recruiting. A business can launch with true homemaker/companion services only, or build the more demanding HHA or Nurse Registry structure if personal care or referrals are central. If AHCA identifies an application deficiency, use the current agency process and do not operate beyond authority already issued.
Official resources
- AHCA licensing applications — HHA, HCS, and Nurse Registry forms/checklists.
- AHCA Online Licensing System.
- AHCA HCS General Information.
- AHCA Home Health Agencies.
- AHCA Nurse Registries.
- Florida Statutes §400.509 — HCS.
- Florida Statutes §400.506 — Nurse Registries.
- Florida Statutes §400.471 — HHA application and insurance.
- Florida Administrative Code Chapter 59A-8 — HHA rules.
- Florida Administrative Code Chapter 59A-18 — Nurse Registry rules.
- Florida Division of Corporations.
- Florida Department of Revenue — Reemployment Tax.
- CMS Home Health Agencies.
About BLG
BusinessLicenseGuide.com explains licensing layers in plain English. BLG is not a government agency and does not issue licenses. For broader Florida requirements, use the Florida business license guide.
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FAQ
Do I need an AHCA license to start a non-medical home care business in Florida?
It depends on the services and worker model. Homemaker and companion work without hands-on personal care generally uses an AHCA HCS registration. Hands-on personal care or other home health services may require a Home Health Agency license. A business that refers independent-contractor nurses, aides, CNAs, homemakers, or companions may fit the Nurse Registry license.
Can a Florida homemaker and companion service help with bathing or dressing?
No. AHCA says the HCS registration does not allow hands-on personal care. Florida separates homemaker and companion work from personal care such as bathing, dressing, eating, hygiene, transfers, ambulation, and permitted medication assistance. Review the Home Health Agency or Nurse Registry path before offering those services.
Can I run a Florida homemaker and companion service from my home?
AHCA says an HCS provider may operate from a Florida home in the area it intends to serve. The business address and telephone number can appear publicly in Florida Health Finder. Local zoning, lease, HOA, home-occupation, and city or county business-tax rules remain separate.
What is the difference between a Florida home health agency and a nurse registry?
A Home Health Agency provides authorized home health services through the licensed agency. A Nurse Registry is a separately licensed referral model for nurses, home health aides, CNAs, homemakers, and companions who are referred as independent contractors. The compliance and staffing structures are different.
Does an AHCA home health agency license automatically let me bill Medicare?
No. AHCA licensure and federal Medicare participation are separate. A business that wants to participate in Medicare as a home health agency must also follow CMS enrollment and certification requirements and meet the federal Home Health Agency Conditions of Participation.
Do I still need city or county approvals after AHCA registration or licensure?
Possibly. Florida counties and municipalities may levy local business taxes, and local zoning or home-occupation rules can apply to the office address. AHCA’s Home Health Agency checklist also calls for local zoning documentation in specified application situations. The state credential does not replace local land-use rules.
Update note
Last updated: October 14, 2026
Next review: January 12, 2027
This guide rechecked Florida’s HCS, HHA, and Nurse Registry paths; the hands-on personal-care boundary; current AHCA applications and screening; HHA insurance and zoning documentation; 2026 rule updates; local business-tax authority; and the August 2026 reemployment-tax portal change.
Important note
This guide is for general information only. Home care, employment, tax, zoning, Medicare, and licensing rules can change and depend on the services, worker relationship, address, ownership, and payer model. Confirm current requirements with AHCA and the other official agencies before you advertise, hire, sign a lease, accept clients, or pay a filing fee.