Where are you starting?
Colorado · Home care agency license, Class B · CDPHE’s application
You apply for a Colorado home care agency license online, in CDPHE’s COHFI system, after a letter of intent. Here are CDPHE’s seven steps, every document on its checklist, the $2,720.30 CDPHE fee, what must be ready for the initial survey, what "zero deficiencies" means, and how renewal, changes, a sale and closing work.
Quick answer
Colorado’s home care agency license comes from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). For non-medical care it is the Class B license. You first send CDPHE a letter of intent (Ch. 2, 2.3.1), then apply in COHFI, CDPHE’s online system, at least 90 calendar days before your planned start-up date (Ch. 2, 2.3.2), with $2,720.30, CDPHE’s Class B initial fee on its 2026/27 schedule, not a CareRulebook price (CDPHE fee schedule).
CDPHE reviews the documents, runs a fitness review and requests a scheduled initial survey, where it expects "All required policies and procedures ready for review" (CDPHE guidance, step 6). It issues the license when that survey is completed with zero deficiencies (CDPHE guidance, step 7). CDPHE says a typical initial application, for any license type, may take 3 to 12 months, and that home care applications are currently taking additional time (CDPHE guidance).
"Rule requires" means 6 CCR 1011-1 Chapter 26 (home care agencies) or Chapter 2 (general licensure standards), and "Statute requires" C.R.S. 25-27.5. "CDPHE asks" rests on CDPHE’s initial licensing guidance (updated September 11, 2025) or its Home Care Agencies initial application checklist (updated July 23, 2026). Where we add our own reading or advice, we say so.
CDPHE’s guidance sets out seven steps for every initial license (CDPHE initial licensing guidance). Tick them off as you go; progress is saved in this browser only.
Submit CDPHE’s letter of intent form through the link on its website. It asks who will be your COHFI account manager, the person who can add other users. CDPHE then sends instructions for COHFI, its online system for applications, survey reports, plans of correction and occurrence reports.
You create the application in COHFI, complete it, pay and submit it, at least 90 calendar days before your planned start-up date. $2,720.30 is CDPHE’s Class B initial fee on its 2026/27 schedule. CDPHE does not review an application until both the complete application and the fees have arrived.
Applications are reviewed in the order received, and wait as "Technician Pending" until a licensing technician is assigned. The technician checks that every section is complete, the fees are in and the application matches the documents. Answer any written defect notice within 14 calendar days.
CDPHE reviews your fitness to run a licensed agency, by on-site inspection or other appropriate investigation, and may look at your finances, compliance history, policies and procedures, quality plans and staff credentials. CDPHE says any change to the application after this step triggers a new fitness review.
The technician collects any documents still outstanding and confirms every required, fully executed document has been submitted, reviewed and approved.
Once the fitness review is approved and the application is complete, CDPHE requests the survey. There is usually a queue; a surveyor calls to schedule it, and it is usually on site at the address on your application. What must be ready.
When the initial survey has been completed with zero deficiencies, the licensing technician issues the license as a PDF in COHFI. You display it where clients who come to the address on the license can see it. What zero deficiencies means.
Each card says whether the item comes from the rules, the statute or CDPHE’s own guidance and checklist.
CDPHE asks
The business is registered with the Colorado Secretary of State, and the registered name matches the application exactly, with no deviation and no "dba" form. A trade name, including your name without "LLC" or "Inc", is registered as a trade name too.
Rule requires
At least 21, with a high school diploma or GED and one year of documented supervisory experience in personal care, or a degree plus health care work instead. The manager completes an 8-hour manager course, or shows equivalent experience or education, and CDPHE asks for proof of the manager’s training and qualifications at the initial survey.
Rule requires; CDPHE asks (lease)
A physical business office in Colorado able to run the agency day to day, that protects consumer confidentiality and is a safe place to work. If the agency does not own the space, CDPHE asks for a lease, which must be in effect before the initial survey.
Ch. 26, 5.1, 7.1(C)(7); CDPHE checklistCan it be in your home? →
CDPHE asks
Your city or county zoning authority signs CDPHE’s HCA zoning form. CDPHE does not sign it, and needs written evidence of zoning compliance before it issues the license.
Rule requires; CDPHE asks (certificate)
At least $100,000 per occurrence and $300,000 aggregate for Class B, kept for the whole license period, with CDPHE-HFEMSD as certificate holder.
Rule requires
A list of the contiguous counties you plan to serve. You must assure adequate staffing, supervision and care across them.
CDPHE asks (chart); Rule requires (statement)
An ownership chart naming every direct and indirect owner of 5% or more, and a signed statement about the past ten years of anyone with a controlling interest: convictions, judgments for substandard care or fraud, and licensing or Medicaid and Medicare sanctions.
CDPHE asks
Not on CDPHE’s upload checklist, but CDPHE’s guidance says all required policies and procedures must be ready for review at the initial survey, and the fitness review may look at them. Our suggestion: have them written and adopted before you apply.
CDPHE guidance, step 6; Ch. 2, 2.7.1(D)The written policies →
CDPHE’s Home Care Agencies checklist (updated July 23, 2026) lists what goes with the application, and is uploaded with it: "Complete YOUR copy of this checklist and submit the completed form as an attachment in the Required Documents section of the Initial Application in COHFI." (CDPHE checklist) Chapter 2 adds the ten-year history statement, and Chapter 26 the list of counties you plan to serve (Ch. 26, 4.2(C)).
| Document | What it must show | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Your copy of CDPHE’s checklistCDPHE asks | You make a copy of CDPHE’s checklist, complete it and attach it in the Required Documents section of the application. | CDPHE checklist |
| The signed application and the feeRule requires; CDPHE asks | Every required section completed, with an authorized signature. Chapter 2 says the application is signed under penalty of perjury by an authorized individual such as a corporate officer, general partner, administrator or sole proprietor, and CDPHE accepts only fully executed documents with verified or wet signatures. | Ch. 2, 2.3.4; CDPHE guidance, step 2 |
| Secretary of State registrationCDPHE asks | The business entity’s registration, with the name exactly as on the application, and a registered trade name if you use one. A trade name goes in the Facility Name field and the business entity in the Ownership section; an application that enters "Business Entity LLC dba Trade Name" is returned for correction. | CDPHE checklist |
| Organizing documentsCDPHE asks | Fully executed, signed and dated: for an LLC, the articles of organization and a signed operating agreement; for a corporation, the articles of incorporation and signed bylaws; for a partnership, the statement of partnership authority and a signed partnership agreement. | CDPHE checklist |
| Certificate of insuranceCDPHE asks | General or professional liability insurance, or a surety bond, at the Class B minimums, listing your physical address, effective for the license period and naming CDPHE-HFEMSD, 4300 Cherry Creek Drive South, Denver, CO 80246, as certificate holder. | CDPHE checklist |
| HCA zoning formCDPHE asks | In the Preparing to Apply/Forms and Instructions phase of the COHFI application, signed at the bottom by your local zoning authority before you submit it. | CDPHE checklist |
| HCA Form 1CDPHE asks | Signed with full legal names by the administrator and every owner with 50% or more direct ownership. It starts their background checks; CDPHE sends further details once it has matched the form to the application. | CDPHE checklist |
| Ownership organizational chartCDPHE asks | Legal names and ownership percentages for every direct and indirect owner of 5% or more. CDPHE says not to send a staff organizational chart. | CDPHE checklist |
| Ten-year history statementRule requires | A signed and dated statement, on your letterhead if you have one, on whether anyone with a controlling interest has, in the past ten years, been the subject of the convictions, judgments or sanctions Chapter 2 lists. | Ch. 2, 2.3.3(K) |
| LeaseIf it applies | If the agency does not own the office: fully signed by the agency and the building owner, with start and end dates and the leased address, active during the license period, and saying which party is responsible for the property’s physical condition. With a sublease, the master lease too. | CDPHE checklist |
| Management agreementIf it applies | If a management company will run the agency’s day-to-day operations: an agreement naming both parties, signed by both, with its dates. | CDPHE checklist |
| Branch and workstation applicationsIf it applies | For each branch or workstation applied for at the start: an entry in the Additional Locations section and CDPHE’s separate application, with its fee ($247.30 per branch, $61.83 per workstation, CDPHE’s fees). | CDPHE checklist |
| Medicaid HCBS certification applicationIf it applies | Only if you want Medicaid certification (Personal Care/Homemaker under CFC, specialty 666, or In-Home Support Services, 656). Send it with the license application to combine the initial surveys, and be ready to be surveyed for those services. | CDPHE checklist |
These are CDPHE’s fees from its home care fee schedule for July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027, and the CDHS fee for a CAPS check. They are paid to the state and are not CareRulebook prices.
| State fee | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Initial license, Class B | $2,720.30 | CDPHE fee schedule |
| Initial license, Class A (for comparison) | $3,709.49 | CDPHE fee schedule |
| Each branch or workstation added | $247.30 / $61.83 | CDPHE fee schedule |
| Provisional license, each term | 15% of the initial fee | CDPHE fee schedule |
| Conditional license (an enforcement action) | $1,938.29 | CDPHE fee schedule |
| Renewal, Class B base fee (each year) | $1,638.36 | CDPHE fee schedule |
| Change of name or address, each | $92.74 | CDPHE fee schedule |
| Change of ownership, Class B | $2,720.30 | CDPHE fee schedule |
| Second and later revisit for the same deficiency | 100% of the initial or renewal fee | CDPHE fee schedule |
| CAPS check, per worker (CDHS) | $9.00 plus processing | CDHS CAPS Check FAQ |
Chapter 2 says: "The Department shall determine by on-site inspection or other appropriate investigation the applicant’s compliance with applicable statutes and regulations." CDPHE may consider your legal status, whether your finances appear adequate to staff and run the agency (including, if warranted, your credit report), your compliance history, your policies and procedures, quality improvement plans, a physical inspection, staff credentials, staff interviews and other documents (Ch. 2, 2.7.1).
CDPHE’s guidance says that, if applicable, the fire safety Certificate of Compliance, FGI approval and proof of insurance are not required before the fitness review, and that any change to the application after the fitness review triggers a new fitness review, full or limited in scope depending on the change. (CDPHE guidance, step 4) Our suggestion: settle your owners, manager, office and counties before you apply, since a change after this step means another review.
After the fitness review is approved, the technician collects any documents still outstanding and confirms that every required, fully executed document has been submitted, reviewed and approved. (CDPHE guidance, step 5) Insurance, if future-dated, must be updated before the license is issued (CDPHE guidance).
"The initial survey is a scheduled survey, typically onsite. A representative from the HFEMSD survey team will call the applicant to schedule a time for the survey." "There is typically a queue for surveys, and the wait time can vary depending on facility/agency type." (CDPHE guidance, step 6). The survey is held at the physical address on your application, so CDPHE says any lease must be in effect before it (CDPHE guidance). CDPHE’s guidance lists what the agency must have ready:
If you also applied for Medicaid certification, CDPHE’s checklist says you must be ready to be surveyed for those services too (CDPHE checklist).
The Colorado CDPHE survey in detail, and the written policies CDPHE checks.
Step 7
CDPHE’s guidance: "When the initial survey has been completed with zero deficiencies, the survey team will notify the licensing team that the applicant has successfully completed the initial survey." (CDPHE guidance, step 7)
Chapter 2 defines the word: "“Deficiency” means a failure to fully comply with any statutory and/or regulatory requirements applicable to a licensee." (Ch. 2, 1.15). By our reading, zero deficiencies means the survey cited no unmet requirement of any kind, not just no serious one. The statute also says CDPHE determines an applicant’s compliance with the statute and rules before it issues a license (C.R.S. 25-27.5-106(2)(a)(I)).
The isolated-event rule, and its limits. A Colorado statute says: "The department shall not cite as a deficiency in a report resulting from a survey or inspection of a licensed health facility any deficiency from an isolated event identified by the department that can be effectively remedied during the survey or inspection of the health facility, unless the deficiency caused harm or a potential for harm, created a life- or limb-threatening emergency, or was due to abuse or neglect." (C.R.S. 25-1.5-103(1)(a)(I)(E)). It speaks of a licensed health facility, and nothing we found says whether it applies to an applicant’s initial survey. It covers only an isolated event that can be fixed during the survey, and not one that caused harm or a potential for harm, created a life- or limb-threatening emergency, or came from abuse or neglect. Our suggestion: do not plan around it. Prepare as if every problem would be cited, and if a surveyor points one out, fix it there and then where you can and record what you did.
CDPHE has not said what happens next: its guidance does not describe this path. What the rules and statute say:
The statute says "The department may issue a provisional license to an applicant for the purpose of operating a home care agency for a period of ninety days if the applicant is temporarily unable to conform to all of the minimum standards required under this article 27.5", and goes on: "no license shall be issued to an applicant if the operation of the applicant’s home care agency will adversely affect the health, safety, or welfare of the home care consumers of such home care agency. As a condition of obtaining a provisional license, the applicant shall show proof to the department that attempts are being made to conform and comply with applicable standards." (C.R.S. 25-27.5-106(6)).
What we cannot tell you. CDPHE’s licensing guidance describes the license being issued after a survey with zero deficiencies and does not mention provisional licenses for new home care agencies, so we cannot say when, or whether, CDPHE uses one. Plan for a survey with zero deficiencies.
CareRulebook
CareRulebook’s Colorado manual is built on the Class B requirements in Chapters 26 and 2 and the Colorado statutes they rest on, written from your answers, with the rule each policy meets quoted under it and the forms the policies use. It includes a survey-day checklist and a plan of correction worksheet. Recommended practice is added only if you choose it. Read every policy and adopt it before the survey.
$199CareRulebook founding price for the first 50 Colorado agencies, then $249. Not a CDPHE fee.
"All licenses shall expire one year from the date of issuance" (Ch. 2, 2.1). The renewal application and CDPHE’s fee are due at least 60 calendar days before the license expires (Ch. 2, 2.5.1), or at least 90 days if your insurance has any self-insured retention or alternate form of security (Ch. 2, 2.5.1(A)).
Proposed, not in force. Chapter 26 applies Chapter 2’s survey cycle rule to home care agencies (Ch. 26, 4.6(A)). On September 21, 2026 a notice was filed for amendments to Chapter 2 (eDocket 2026-00434), with a Board of Health hearing on November 18, 2026. They would schedule a licensee meeting every listed criterion for a three-year extended survey cycle; the criteria include three years of licensure and, in the three years before the survey, timely license documents and fees and no failure to report occurrences (eDocket 2026-00434). The proposal in full.
Any information on the license application that changes during the license term must be reported to CDPHE within the time frames in the rules. (CDPHE guidance) Notices and requests go through COHFI.
Rule requires
A letter of intent at least 30 calendar days ahead, and CDPHE’s approval before the change, for a new management company, license category, scope of services, service area or legal name.
Ch. 2, 2.9.6(B)Rule requires; CDPHE fee
Tell CDPHE 30 days before. The license carries over only if the new office is in your existing service area with the same governing body and administrator; otherwise you apply for a new license. CDPHE’s fee for a change of address is $92.74, requested in COHFI at least 30 days ahead.
Ch. 26, 4.2(E); CDPHE fee scheduleRule requires
Changes to the information in your last application, such as the manager’s name and contact details, go to CDPHE as soon as practicable. A new owner or manager submits fingerprints to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation within 10 calendar days of the change.
Ch. 2, 2.9.6(A); Ch. 26, 4.2(D)Rule requires
CDPHE is told in advance, and its branch fee ($247.30 on the 2026/27 schedule) goes with the notice. A branch provides the same services as the parent, inside its service area, under daily supervision from the parent. Changes to a branch’s address or organization need 30 days’ notice.
Ch. 26, 4.5(C)(2), 5.2, 4.2(F)Rule requires
A Class B agency that wants to become Class A files a new initial application and pays the Class A initial fee ($3,709.49 on the 2026/27 schedule).
Ch. 26, 4.5(A)(2)Rule requires
Each owner, applicant or licensee must tell CDPHE about a conviction for a felony, or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude or conduct CDPHE decides could put consumers at risk. Not telling CDPHE can lead to non-renewal or other sanctions.
Ch. 26, 4.2(D)(4)Rule requires
Chapter 2 counts any time with zero clients as a temporary closure. To keep the license, CDPHE gets a detailed written notice 30 days ahead for a planned closure, or within 7 calendar days of the event for an unplanned one, and a temporary closure is limited to 90 days.
Ch. 2, 2.14.4Whether the time between a first license and the first client counts as a zero census is not stated in the rules; ask CDPHE in writing when the license is issued (Ch. 2, 2.14.4(A)).
Chapter 26 points permanent closures to Chapter 2 "Part 2.14.4", which is the temporary closure rule; the permanent closure steps are in 2.14.6. If in doubt, ask CDPHE before you close (CDPHE licensing).
No. The 90 days is how early you must apply: at least 90 calendar days before your planned start-up date. CDPHE says that is a submission deadline and does not reflect how long it takes to process an application. It gives 3 to 12 months as the typical range for initial applications of any license type, and says home care applications are currently taking additional time.
"PLEASE NOTE: This is a submission timeline requirement and in no way reflects the amount of time it will take for CDPHE staff to process your application."
No. CDPHE’s checklist says HCA Form 1, signed by the administrator and every owner with 50% or more direct ownership, starts the background check process, and asks applicants not to be fingerprinted before submitting Form 1 or before receiving CDPHE’s instructions, because they may have to repeat it. After that, each owner and manager is fingerprinted for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and pays its fee.
"Please do not complete your fingerprint background check prior to submitting the Form 1, or prior to receiving the background check instructions directly from CDPHE."
It depends. Not as a listed document: CDPHE’s initial application checklist does not include policies. But CDPHE may review your policies and procedures in the fitness review, and its guidance says all required policies and procedures must be ready for review at the initial survey. Our suggestion: have them written and adopted before you apply, so you can send them if CDPHE asks.
"Review of the applicant’s policies and procedures,"
No. A Colorado license cannot be sold, assigned or transferred. For a change of ownership the seller sends CDPHE a letter of intent and the buyer files a change of ownership application with CDPHE’s fee, both at least 60 calendar days before the change, and CDPHE issues a license to the new owner. The seller stays responsible for running the agency until then.
"The license is only valid while in the possession of the licensee to whom it is issued and shall not be subject to sale, assignment, or other transfer"
Send CDPHE its letter of intent form first. CDPHE replies with instructions for COHFI, its online licensing system, where you create the application, upload the documents on CDPHE’s Home Care Agencies checklist and pay CDPHE’s $2,720.30 Class B initial fee (2026/27 schedule), at least 90 calendar days before you plan to start. CDPHE then reviews the documents, runs a fitness review and a final document review, and requests a scheduled initial survey. It issues the license when that survey is completed with zero deficiencies.
CDPHE says typical initial applications, for any license type, may take 3 to 12 months from submission to license, shorter for complete applications and responsive applicants, and that home care agency applications are currently taking additional time because of the number coming in. In February 2025 HCPF estimated about 8 months for licensing and Medicaid provider enrollment together. We found no CDPHE figure for home care applications alone.
No. Running a home care agency that provides in-home personal care without a license is a misdemeanor, and CDPHE may also assess a civil penalty of up to $10,000 for each violation. The statute does allow a 90-day provisional license "for the purpose of operating a home care agency" to an applicant temporarily unable to meet every standard, but CDPHE’s guidance describes the license being issued after a survey with zero deficiencies and does not say when it uses provisional licenses.
They are not on CDPHE’s initial application checklist. But Chapter 2 lets CDPHE review your policies and procedures in the fitness review, and CDPHE’s guidance says all required policies and procedures must be ready for review at the initial survey. Our suggestion: have them written and adopted before you apply, so you can send them if CDPHE asks.
CDPHE has not said. Its guidance describes the license being issued after a survey completed with zero deficiencies, and no license is issued until the applicant conforms to all applicable statutes and rules. Chapter 2 lets CDPHE ask a licensee for a plan of correction after any review, due within 10 calendar days of its written notice of deficiencies, and the statute requires a home care agency to submit a written plan to correct violations CDPHE finds in its inspections. By our reading those could be used before a first license, but whether CDPHE uses a plan of correction and revisit, a provisional license, a new survey or a denial is a question for CDPHE. Ask when the surveyor calls.
No. CDPHE’s fees are non-refundable. Its guidance says an applicant who feels a refund is warranted can ask through the State Regulation Waiver Application process, with no guarantee, and that overpayments are refunded by check.
Yes, if you register it with the Secretary of State as a trade name linked to your business entity. CDPHE’s checklist says that is needed even when you only drop "LLC" or "Inc", that the trade name goes in the application’s Facility Name field, and that the names must match the registration exactly.
No. CDPHE’s guidance lists home care agencies, Class A and Class B, among the license types exempt from the fire safety plan review and the FGI design review, and Chapter 2 says the fire safety certificate requirement does not apply to home care agencies because they do not serve clients on their own premises.
CDPHE has proposed changes to Chapter 2 (comments due November 12, 2026), and the home care law is due for review before September 1, 2028. Leave your email and we will tell you when a Colorado change affects your application or your policies.
No spam. Only emails about Colorado home care rule changes. How we use your email.
Colorado
How to start a home care agency in Colorado
Who needs the license, Class A vs Class B, training, background checks and fees.
Tool
Colorado license checklist
Every step, tailored to your agency, emailed to you.
Manual
Colorado policy manual
Every written policy Colorado’s Class B rules require. Preview free.
Colorado
Colorado license cost and timeline
CDPHE’s fees, the other costs, and how long licensing takes.
Colorado
The Colorado CDPHE survey
The initial survey, re-licensure surveys, plans of correction and fines.
Colorado
Colorado policies and procedures
The written policies CDPHE checks at the initial survey.
Colorado
Colorado office and premises rules
Home offices, the zoning form, branches and workstations.
Washington
The Washington license application
How Washington does it: DOH’s orientation class, a paper packet and a manual DOH approves.
Indiana
The Indiana license application
How Indiana does it: the IDOH Gateway, nine policies with seven forms, and IDOH’s $250 fee each year.
Illinois
The Illinois license application
How Illinois does it: a paper form, your policies in the envelope and a 240-day provisional license.
North Carolina
The North Carolina license application
DHSR also reviews your policies before it licenses you.
Georgia
The Georgia license application
GAHLES and a three-month provisional license.
Virginia
The Virginia license application
The VDH OLC Portal, 60 days before opening.
Texas
Applying in TULIP, step by step
How Texas does it: an online HCSSA application.