Your Colorado home care office, zoning and records

No fire safety certificate for the building. Other facility types need a Department of Public Safety fire safety Certificate of Compliance for their building before CDPHE issues or renews the license; Chapter 2 sets that aside for home care agencies: "This requirement does not apply to out-patient hospice or home care agency licenses because they do not provide services on their own premises." (Ch. 2, 2.8.1(A)). Chapter 2 also says "Each facility or agency shall be in compliance with all applicable local zoning, housing, fire, and sanitary codes and ordinances of the city, city and county, or county where it is situated, to the extent that such codes and ordinances are consistent with federal law" (Ch. 2, 3.2.1); by our reading that applies to a home care office too, since nothing in Chapter 26 sets it aside.

Your name on the door. "Each licensee shall be identified by this distinctive name on stationery, billing materials, and exterior signage that clearly identifies the licensed entity." "Exterior signage shall conform to the applicable local zoning requirements." (Ch. 2, 2.3.3(A)(4)) The rule does not say whether an office must have an exterior sign.

CDPHE’s application checklist addresses this under the lease documents. Its exact words:

• "If the office location is in a residential home or apartment, please ensure the lease agreement does not include language that strictly prohibits the lessee from running a business from that leased space."
• "Landlord approval will be required if a residential lease explicitly states that no business can be operated from the space, no signage can be hung, and no clients can visit the property."

(CDPHE, Home Care Agencies Initial Application Checklist, updated July 23, 2026, Lease Agreement)

Our reading: CDPHE does not rule out an office in a home or apartment, provided the lease does not strictly prohibit business use (or the landlord approves) and your local zoning department signs off. CDPHE does not say a home office is approved as such, and the office must still meet every rule above. Neither Chapter 26 nor Chapter 2 mentions a home office.

What applies wherever your office is

• Zoning first. The zoning sign-off comes before the license (below). Our suggestion: speak to your zoning department before you sign a lease or set up at home, because a home business may need its own local permit.
• A lease, if the agency does not own the space. "REQUIRED if the agency (licensee) does not own the building or physical office location where the business will be operated." (CDPHE checklist) By our reading, if your agency is a company and the home belongs to you personally, the company does not own it, so CDPHE may expect a lease between you and the company. Ask CDPHE.
• The lease must be in effect before the survey. "The initial survey will be conducted at the physical address listed on your application. The lease needs to be effective prior to that survey." (CDPHE guidance) CDPHE’s checklist also asks that a lease give start and end dates and the leased address, be active during the license period, be signed by both parties, and say who is responsible for the property’s physical condition (CDPHE checklist; Ch. 2, 2.3.3(J)).
• CDPHE comes to that address. "The Department and any duly authorized representatives thereof shall have the right to enter upon and into the premises of any licensee or applicant in order to determine the state of compliance with the statutes and regulations" (Ch. 2, 2.10.1). Routine unannounced inspections happen only between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. (2.10.1(A)).
• Confidential and safe. In a shared home, our suggestion is a lockable cabinet for paper records, password-locked devices, and calls about consumers where household members cannot overhear. CareRulebook’s manual sets these out (Policy 1.4); they are our choices, not rule text.
• Postings in a public place. The license, complaints notice and records-access statement go where clients who come in can see them (below).

Questions to put to CDPHE

These are open in what we read. Our suggestion is to ask CDPHE’s licensing team in writing and keep the answers with your license papers:

• Does a residential office need anything beyond the zoning sign-off and a lease that allows business use, such as a separate entrance, an exterior sign or a room used only for the agency?
• If the founder owns the home and the agency is a company, does CDPHE expect a lease between them?
• Does "fixed office location" exclude a shared office or a virtual office?

CDPHE’s zoning form opens: "Written evidence of compliance with local zoning codes must be obtained prior to issuance of a state license" "Contact the city or county department in your area and have the director or designee sign below." (CDPHE, HCA zoning form, rev. 10-19-2022)

• With every initial application. CDPHE’s checklist lists the zoning form among the documents required for all initial applications. It "must be signed by your local zoning authority", and "CDPHE does not sign this form." (CDPHE checklist, HCA Zoning Form)
• Yes or no. The zoning department ticks whether the agency meets the requirements for zoning approval and explains a "no" on a separate attachment (zoning form, Section C).
• Not only at the start. The form’s purposes are an initial license, adding a branch location, a change of location and a change of branch location (zoning form, Section A). It has no box for a workstation, and we found nothing saying whether a workstation needs a zoning sign-off.

The form does not say what the zoning department checks, and that varies by city and county. Our suggestion: ask the zoning office what it needs from you (for example a home occupation permit) before you sign anything.

The license. CDPHE issues it as a PDF in COHFI, and it "is required to be displayed in a conspicuous location, readily visible to clients who enter at the address that appears on the license." (CDPHE guidance, step 7). "No licensee shall display a license after it has been invalidated." (Ch. 2, 2.14.3)

The complaints notice. "Each facility or agency shall post a clear and unambiguous notice in a public location in the facility or agency specifying that complaints may be registered with the facility or agency, the Department, and with the appropriate oversight board at the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA)." "Upon request, the facility or agency shall provide the client and any interested person with contact information for registering complaints." (Ch. 2, 7.1.4) CDPHE’s consumer rights form gives its complaint numbers as "303-692-2910 or 1-800-842-8826" (CDPHE rights notice). The rule does not say which DORA board a Class B agency should name when its staff hold no DORA license; ask CDPHE. CareRulebook’s manual leaves that line for you to fill in (Policy 1.4).

The records-access statement. "A statement of the facility's or agency’s procedures for obtaining records, and the right to appeal grievances regarding access to records to the Department of Public Health and Environment shall be posted in conspicuous public places on the premises and made available to each client upon admission to the facility or agency." (Ch. 2, 6.1.2) CareRulebook’s manual has the statement in Policy 5.2, posted beside the complaints notice and given with the start-of-service notices.

The rules do not say what counts as a public place in an office clients rarely visit. Our suggestion: by the entrance or wherever visitors are met.

• Within 30 minutes. "The consumer file and administrative records, including but not limited to, census and demographic information, complaint and incident reports, meeting minutes, quality assurance, and annual program review documents shall be provided to the inspector commencing within thirty (30) minutes of request". The time can be extended at CDPHE’s discretion (Ch. 26, 4.6(A)(1)(b)).
• Within 2 hours for papers in the home. Consumer documents kept in the home and not in the agency’s permanent record "shall be made available to the Department within two (2) hours of request if the last visit occurred fourteen (14) or more days prior to the request" (4.6(A)(1)(a)).
• Not in clients’ homes without consent. "Inspections shall not be conducted in a home care consumer’s home without the consumer’s consent." (4.6(A)(2))
• Where records are kept. Your application gives the address where records are stored for CDPHE’s review if it differs from the office (Ch. 2, 2.3.3(F)). A workstation may not store consumer records (Ch. 26, 2.33).
• Paper or electronic. The agency runs a paper or electronic information management system that protects privacy and uses standard formats without pre-filled future documentation, with extra controls for electronic records (5.15(A)-(B)).
• Clients see their own records within 3 business days normally (10 after discharge), with no charge for inspection (Ch. 2, 6.1.3-6.1.5).

Our suggestion: keep a short index of where each kind of record is (paper or electronic), so whoever is in the office, or the acting manager, can start producing records within the 30 minutes. If records are electronic, make sure someone on site can log in. CareRulebook’s manual covers this in Policy 5.1 and Policy 1.6.

No period for personnel files. Chapter 26 lists what personnel records hold but sets no retention period, and neither does Chapter 2 (Ch. 26, 5.9(B)). Chapter 2 says records are kept in line with all applicable state and federal laws (Ch. 2, 6.1.7); employment, tax and payroll laws set their own periods, which we did not review. CareRulebook’s manual keeps personnel files at least one year after a person leaves, because a returning employee’s training exemption depends on the old records, and suggests five years as recommended practice (Policy 5.3). Those periods are the manual’s choices.

If the agency closes. "When an HCA discontinues operation, it shall inform the state agency of where clinical records will be maintained." (Ch. 26, 5.15(D)(1)(b)) On surrendering the license, the licensee tells CDPHE its storage plan within 10 days before closing, tells every client in writing within 10 days of closing how to get their records, and stores them securely (Ch. 2, 2.14.6). Chapter 26, 5.15(D)(1)(a) refers permanent closures to "Part 2.14.4", which is the temporary closure rule; by our reading 2.14.6 is meant (Ch. 26, 5.15(D)(1)(a)).

If the agency is sold. "When an HCA has a change of ownership, the existing owner shall provide the new owner with all consumer records." (5.15(D)(3))

What a branch needs

• Notice in advance with a description of its services, the area it will serve (within the parent’s area) and how the parent will supervise it every day (Ch. 26, 5.2(A)), with the branch fee (4.5(C)(2)).
• Close enough to supervise. The parent shares administration, supervision, personnel and services with the branch every day, keeps backup coverage ready for every scheduled consumer, and makes an on-site visit as your policy sets (5.2(C)-(E), (H)).
• A supervisor during branch hours. For a personal care agency, "personnel that meet the qualifications of a supervisor shall be available during all operating hours" (5.2(E)(1)).
• Policies and records. A copy of all agency policies at the branch, and consumer records readily accessible to all staff giving care (5.2(F)-(G)).
• Same governance. CDPHE’s checklist adds: "Branch locations must have the same governing body and management staff" (CDPHE checklist, Branch Location).
• From the start. "The Application to add a Branch must be submitted alongside the initial licensure application, including the fee." The same goes for a workstation (CDPHE checklist).

The rules do not set a distance limit for a branch. They do not say whether CDPHE’s license lists branch addresses or whether a copy of the license is displayed at a branch; ask CDPHE.

Medicaid sites

CDPHE’s checklist sets an exception for Medicaid: "Each physical site providing services under the HCBS waivers programs must be separately licensed, as separate certifications are required for each physical site providing services." (CDPHE checklist, Branch Exception). It speaks of the HCBS waiver programs. Whether it also applies to Community First Choice personal care, which moved out of the waivers, is not stated in what we read; ask CDPHE before a branch serves Medicaid clients. Medicaid in the guide →

Moving and a new manager. The move rule asks for the same governing body and administrator, and Chapter 26 uses "manager" and "administrator" for the same role (Ch. 26, 4.2(E)(1); 2.15). By our reading, changing manager around the time of a move could mean a new license; ask CDPHE before you plan both. When the manager changes →

CareRulebook’s manual keeps a CDPHE notice log for every change and sets out the move, branch and workstation steps in Policy 1.5 and Policy 1.4.

Chapter 2 says "“temporary closure” shall include any time the facility or agency drops to a zero client census for any reason." (Ch. 2, 2.14.4(A)). A license becomes invalid when the licensee "drops to a zero client census for any reason and has failed to notify the Department per Part 2.14.4, Temporary Closures" (2.14.1(B)(4)), or "suspends operation for longer than the 90 days allowed for temporary closure under 6 CCR 1011-1, Section 2.14.4(B)" (2.14.1(B)(3)).

To keep the license through a temporary closure, the licensee sends CDPHE a detailed written notice for its approval:

• Planned: "the closure shall be reported at least thirty (30) days prior to the suspension of operation". The license may be kept if the closure is 90 days or less, clients are not discharged, and the agency plans to reopen at the same location with the same services (2.14.4(B)(1)).
• Unplanned, non-emergency: as soon as practicable and no more than 7 calendar days after the event, with the same 90-day limit, no current client discharged, and the agency working to fix the cause (2.14.4(B)(2)).
• Not reopening by day 90: contact CDPHE at least 14 calendar days before the 90th day (2.14.4(C)).

What the rule leaves open

The rule says "any time" and "for any reason". It does not say whether that includes the time between a new agency’s license and its first client, or a gap of a few days between one client’s discharge and the next admission. CDPHE has not said in anything we read.

Our reading, and how the manual handles it: treat any drop to zero clients as a temporary closure. CareRulebook’s manual sends CDPHE the written notice no more than 7 calendar days after the census drops to zero, even if a client has started again by then, and has the manager ask CDPHE in writing, when the license is issued, whether a notice is needed until the first client is admitted. If CDPHE has not answered, its recommended practice is to send the notice anyway (Policy 1.5). Those are the manual’s choices, made because the rule is silent.