Guides · Adult family homes
How to open an adult family home in Washington
You need three things before the state will license you: qualified people, a house that passes inspection, and an approved application. In order, you set up the business, finish the training, show 1,000 hours of caregiving experience, get the house through a local building inspection, and then apply to DSHS online and pay the $2,750 fee. DSHS reviews the file and inspects the home before it issues the license. Plan in months, not weeks, and plan to carry the house while you wait.
The order it happens in#
Most delays come from doing these out of order. The application cannot be sent until the training and the building inspection are done.
- Set up the business first. Decide if you apply as yourself or as a company (an LLC, for example). Get the federal tax number (EIN) and the state business license (UBI), and register a company with the Secretary of State. The names must match exactly everywhere. Changing the business form after you are licensed counts as a change of ownership and needs a new license.
- Make sure the people qualify. Every applicant must be 21 or older, show a high school diploma or an accepted equivalent, and show 1,000 hours of hands-on caregiving.
- Finish the training. The 54-hour administrator class at a community college, the long-term care worker training and Home Care Aide certification, in-person CPR and first aid, and a food worker card.
- Get the house through a local building inspection. The city or county signs the state's building inspection checklist as passed. You also need a floor plan, and the owner's written permission if you do not own the house.
- Apply online and pay. The application goes through DSHS's licensing portal with your documents and the $2,750 fee for a new license.
- DSHS reviews and inspects. DSHS checks the file, runs credit and background checks, and may send it back for fixes. When it is complete, an inspector visits the home before the license is issued.
- After the license. Have liability insurance in place, apply for a Medicaid contract if you want Medicaid residents, post the license in the home, and pay the yearly fee.
Rules, programs and costs change, and they differ between Seattle and each surrounding city. Figures on this page are dated where they appear. Confirm anything specific with the relevant city or agency before you rely on it.
Who can hold the license#
Age and education. You must be 21 or older and show a US high school diploma or equivalency, or an accepted foreign or college document. DSHS says there are no exceptions to the education rule, and foreign documents must come with a certified translation.
1,000 hours of caregiving. You need at least 1,000 hours of direct care for vulnerable adults in a licensed or contracted setting, in the last five years, after age 18. The proof is DSHS form 10-417, signed by someone who saw your work and notarized. Volunteer hours in an adult family home do not count. Licensed physicians, physician assistants, registered nurses, nurse practitioners and practical nurses do not need the 1,000 hours.
Money and background. DSHS runs a credit check. Debt that is past due must be brought current before the license, except medical debt, which needs a short statement and a repayment plan. Payment plans on other debt are not accepted. DSHS also runs background checks on you and on others in the household.
Couples cannot hold separate licenses. They apply together if both qualify, or one applies alone.
Someone must live in the home or staff it around the clock. The licensee lives there, or hires a resident manager who does, unless the home has staff on site 24 hours a day.
Want this checked against a specific property?
Get a straight read on your optionsThe training#
The administrator class is 54 hours and is taught only at community colleges under contract with DSHS. DSHS lists the cost at about $649; college listings run about $699 to $875. You must finish it before you apply.
Home Care Aide certification comes after the 75-hour long-term care worker training, and you need it before you are licensed.
CPR and first aid must be taken in person, and you need a food worker card. If you plan to care for people with dementia, mental illness or developmental disabilities, the specialty training for those comes too.
The house: where most first-time owners lose time#
The house has to pass a local building inspection on the state's checklist before you can apply. The city or county building official signs it. So the house has to be bought or leased, and often changed, long before any income starts.
One floor is the thing to look for. Many residents arrive after a fall. A house with no stairs to the entry and none between bedroom and bathroom is easier to license and is what families are looking for. Bedrooms need a way out at ground level for residents who need help leaving in an emergency, and since September 20, 2026 the state rules call for 27-inch doors. What a house needs to pass goes room by room.
Zoning is rarely the problem; the permit is. In Seattle, starting this use needs a construction permit even when you build nothing. Read zoning and permits for an adult family home before you write an offer.
If you lease the house, the owner gives written permission. An owner who takes an active part, such as rent based on revenue or helping run the home, must be named on your application.
Apply, review, inspect#
You apply on DSHS's licensing site with a Secure Access Washington login, upload your documents, sign online and pay $2,750 for a new license. DSHS's licensing unit reviews the file. If something is missing it sends the file back, and you have 60 calendar days to answer.
When the file is complete, it goes to the inspection unit. The first inspection takes three to five hours, and it can take up to three visits. When the home passes, DSHS emails the license.
After the license: have liability insurance in place by your first resident, ask for a Medicaid contract if you want Medicaid residents, and pay the yearly license fee every year in the month you were licensed.
The money and the clock#
The fees are the small number. The big one is the time you carry the house before the first resident: mortgage or rent, taxes, insurance and any changes, all with no income. My parents' conversion took two years from the first day of construction to the license, and they had their first resident within a month of opening.
What it costs to start an adult family home lists the costs, and is an adult family home profitable? shows how the revenue side works.
Or buy one that is already open#
Buying an operating home skips the building and the wait for residents, but you still apply for your own license. Buy a licensed home, or convert a house? compares the two, and buying an adult family home business explains how that sale works.
Where I come in#
I handle the house: finding one that can pass, checking it against the state's rules before you offer, and getting you to closing. I am not a licensing consultant, an accountant or an attorney, and DSHS decides the license. If you have a house in mind, send me the address and I will tell you what I see.
Common questions#
How long does it take to open an adult family home in Washington?
There is no single official number. You cannot apply until your training and the house's building inspection are done, then DSHS reviews the file and inspects the home. Plan in months. My parents' conversion took two years from the start of construction to the license.
How much does it cost to open an adult family home?
The state fee for a new license is $2,750, and the 54-hour administrator class runs about $649 to $875. The largest cost is the house and the months you carry it before the first resident. See the startup cost guide for the full list.
Do I need to own the house?
No. You can lease it. The owner must give written permission to use it as an adult family home, and an owner who takes an active part in the business must be named on the application.
Can I open an adult family home without caregiving experience?
Not as the licensee. You need 1,000 hours of direct care in the last five years, proven on DSHS form 10-417 and notarized, unless you are a licensed physician, physician assistant, registered nurse, nurse practitioner or practical nurse.
How many residents can an adult family home have?
Two to six. Seven or eight is possible later, with department approval that takes at least 24 months of licensed operation and other conditions, plus sprinklers.
Related guides
- Buying an adult family home in Washington: the buyer's guide
- Zoning and permits for an adult family home in Seattle
- Is an adult family home profitable?
- What it costs to start an adult family home in Washington
