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Georgia · Office, records and premises · 111-8-65-.05
Georgia’s private home care rules do not say yes or no to a home office. They set what your licensed location must do: carry its own license, display it, let DCH in during business hours and hold a local business license with your address. Here is every office, records and premises rule, and what to ask DCH.
Quick answer
Georgia’s rules do not say either way. Georgia’s private home care rules (Chapter 111-8-65) and DCH’s application checklist do not mention a home address, for or against. We found no rule that bans a home office, and none that allows one.
What the rules do set for your licensed location: each office location needs its own license, the license is displayed there, DCH can enter during regular business hours to inspect, and you give DCH 15 days’ notice before you move. DCH also asks for a current local business license with the facility name and address, so your city or county has a real say in whether a home address works.
Before you commit to an address, ask your local government about the business license, then confirm with DCH’s Private Home Care Team at hfrd.phcp@dch.ga.gov.
Six rules apply to the place your agency runs from, wherever it is. Care itself happens elsewhere: ""Private home care services" means those items and services provided at a patient's residence that involve direct care to that patient". 111-8-65-.03(r)
If you run offices in more than one place, each location is licensed separately.
"If a governing body maintains offices as a private home care provider in more than one location, then each location shall be separately licensed."
111-8-65-.05(2)(a)Your licensed location is where the license hangs.
"The license shall be prominently and appropriately displayed at the private home care providers licensed location."
111-8-65-.05(2)(b)Applying for or holding a license means you, and the owner of the premises, consent to DCH entering for inspections during regular business hours.
"constitutes consent by the applicant or licensee and the owner of the premises for the department's representatives to enter the premises for the purpose of conducting any inspection during regular business hours."
111-8-65-.08(2)DCH’s application checklist asks for a current city or county business license showing the agency’s name and address.
"Copy of Business License from local city/county government. The business license must be current with the facility name and address."
DCH checklist, item 4Tell DCH before a change of location, not after.
"The department shall be provided 15 days notice in advance of any providers change in location."
111-8-65-.05(2)(c)It cannot be transferred, and goes back to DCH when the name, location, ownership or governing body changes.
"No license issued under these rules is assignable or transferable. Each license or provisional license shall be returned to the department in cases of changes in name, location, ownership or governing body"
111-8-65-.05(2)(c)Because the rules are silent, three practical tests decide whether a home office works for you.
Texas answers this question in writing: its regulator lets a home address be the place of business, with conditions. Georgia has no equivalent guidance that we could find. See how Texas handles home offices.
Unlike Texas, Georgia’s rules do not say where records must be stored. They say what you keep, how long and who may see it, and they give DCH access at inspection.
A separate file with all written records of the services you give each client, kept at least five years from the last service.
"At a minimum, all client records shall be retained for five years from the date of last service provided."
111-8-65-.09(4)(a)-(b)Separate written records for each employee, including identification, employment history, qualifications and health screening.
"A provider shall maintain separate written records for each employee and the records shall include the following"
111-8-65-.09(4)(c)Files documenting every complaint, and incident reports kept at least five years.
"A provider shall also maintain on file for a minimum of five years all incident reports or reports of unusual occurrences"
111-8-65-.09(4)(d)Who supervises the records, who has custody, who they may be released to and how long they are kept. Keep client records confidential.
"specifying who shall supervise the maintenance of records, who shall have custody of records, to whom records may be released and for what purposes and how long the records will be retained"
111-8-65-.09(4)(b)At an inspection, surveyors get access to your premises, all records relevant to licensure and all staff, and staff hand over documents without unreasonable delay.
"Department representatives shall be allowed reasonable and meaningful access to the provider's premises, all records relevant to licensure and all provider staff."
111-8-65-.08(2)(a)DCH can also require any document related to your licensing.
"The department shall have the authority to require the production of any documents related to the initial and continued licensing of any facility."
111-8-25-.06(2)(a)DCH’s 2022 application packet also said agencies keep "on site documentation of qualifications" for each contracted RN or LPN. DCH 2022 packet, item 12 The current checklist does not repeat it, but if you use contracted nurses, keeping those files at the office is the safe course. Your policies themselves must be "readily available for review" at unannounced inspections. DCH Affidavit of Compliance
Clients need to be able to reach your office. The rules build this into three documents:
If you work from home, these documents carry your business address to every client. You may prefer a separate business phone line for that reason. If you serve medically frail clients with personal care, you also need "a representative on call and accessible" who can reach a nurse supervisor. 111-8-65-.10(2)(d)
Office hours. The rules set no minimum office hours. They refer to DCH inspecting "during regular business hours" without defining them, and DCH’s affidavit warns that inspections are unannounced. 111-8-65-.08(2) Decide your hours, put them in writing and plan who can let a surveyor in when you are out on a supervisory visit.
Tick the steps off as you go; your ticks are saved in this browser only.
DCH asks for a current local business license with the agency’s name and address. Ask your local government whether it will license a home care business at the address you have in mind, home or rented. If it will not issue one, DCH asks for a written explanation from the local government giving the reason.
Applying for a license is consent by you and by the owner of the premises for DCH to enter for inspections during regular business hours. If you rent, your landlord is the owner of the premises.
A separate file for each client and each employee, kept confidential, with client records kept at least five years from the last service and incident reports at least five years.
Say who supervises the records, who has custody of them, who they may be released to and for what purposes, and how long they are kept.
The service agreement gives a provider phone number for questions and complaints, and the rights notice and complaint procedure give a business address and phone number for the supervisor and the complaints contact.
Inspections can be unannounced, and DCH gets reasonable and meaningful access to your premises, all records relevant to licensure and all staff. Decide who opens up and finds documents when the administrator is out on a visit.
Hang the provisional license, and later the permanent permit, at the licensed location.
Your application sets out where you will work: "Such application shall include a description of the private home care provider services to be offered by the applicant and the geographic area that will be served." 111-8-65-.06(1)
DCH’s checklist sends requests for "adding counties to an existing permit" to the Private Home Care Team at hfrd.phcp@dch.ga.gov. DCH checklist, p. 1 The rules set no distance limit between your office and your clients. If you plan to grow into new counties, email the team before you take the first client there.
Supervisors visit clients at home: at least every 92 days for personal care and every 122 days for companion or sitter care. 111-8-65-.10(2) A wide service area means more driving for those visits, so it is worth planning around. Supervisors and supervisory visits.
Give DCH 15 days’ notice before the move. DCH’s checklist lists the documents for a physical relocation: a current local business license with the new address, a notarized Affidavit of Personal Identification and the photo ID shown to the notary. The license goes back to DCH when the location changes.
111-8-65-.05(2)(c); DCH checklistEach office location needs its own license, so a second office means another license.
111-8-65-.05(2)(a)Requests to add counties to an existing permit go to the Private Home Care Team at hfrd.phcp@dch.ga.gov.
DCH checklist, p. 1Contact detail updates, such as email address and phone numbers, go to the same team.
DCH checklist, p. 1Tell DCH at least 30 days before an ownership change, through a change of ownership application in GAHLES. The license itself cannot be transferred.
DCH CHOW FAQ; 111-8-65-.05(2)(c)Other changes, such as a new name or adding a service category, have their own lists of documents. The Georgia license application, including every change. For DCH’s fees, see Georgia license cost and timeline.
We read Chapter 111-8-65, Chapter 111-8-25, DCH’s July 2026 application checklist, its 2022 packet and its change of ownership FAQ. None of them settles these points. Ask DCH’s Private Home Care Team at hfrd.phcp@dch.ga.gov, and keep the reply on file.
Neither Chapter 111-8-65 nor DCH’s application checklist mentions a home address, for or against.
The state rules do not cover zoning. Your city or county decides whether it will issue the business license DCH asks for.
We found nothing on them in the rules or DCH’s checklist. Since DCH inspects your premises and the business license carries your address, a mailbox alone is unlikely to work, but only DCH can say.
The rules set no office hours. They refer to inspections “during regular business hours” without defining them.
The rules say what records you keep and for how long, not that they must sit at the licensed office. They are silent on electronic records too.
The current fee rule lists the $300 application processing fee for a new application, change of ownership, change in service level and name change, but not a relocation. DCH’s 2022 packet said an address change needed an application and a fee.
Fee sources: 111-8-25-.03(8), DCH 2022 packet, Address Change. The $300 is a state fee paid to DCH.
Adopted July 9, 2026 · effective date not yet confirmed
No. The adopted text of the 2026 amendment keeps rule .05(2) as it is, including "The department shall be provided 15 days notice in advance of any providers change in location." Adopted 111-8-65-.05(2) The amendment changes background checks and health and TB screening.
What the 2026 rule change means for your agency →No. Not that we found. Neither Chapter 111-8-65 nor DCH’s application checklist mentions a home address, for or against. In practice your city or county has a big say, because DCH asks for a current local business license with the agency’s name and address. The licensed location is also where you display the license and where DCH can inspect during regular business hours. Ask DCH and your local government before you commit.
"Copy of Business License from local city/county government. The business license must be current with the facility name and address."
No. DCH needs 15 days’ notice before the move, and the license goes back to DCH when the location changes. DCH’s checklist lists the documents for a relocation, starting with a current local business license for the new address.
"The department shall be provided 15 days notice in advance of any providers change in location."
No. Each office location needs its own license.
"If a governing body maintains offices as a private home care provider in more than one location, then each location shall be separately licensed."
It depends. Your application describes the geographic area you will serve, and DCH’s Private Home Care Team handles requests to add counties to an existing permit. The rules set no distance limit from your office. Before taking clients outside the area on your application, email hfrd.phcp@dch.ga.gov.
"Such application shall include a description of the private home care provider services to be offered by the applicant and the geographic area that will be served."
CareRulebook
Your Affidavit of Compliance says the policies already exist. Answer a few questions and CareRulebook writes every policy Chapter 111-8-65 requires for the categories you offer, with your agency’s name, address and contacts filled in and the rule quoted under each one.
$199CareRulebook founding price for the first 50 Georgia agencies, then $249. Not a DCH fee.
Georgia’s private home care rules (Chapter 111-8-65) and DCH’s application checklist do not mention a home address, for or against. What they do require is a current local business license with the agency’s name and address, the license displayed at the licensed location, and access for DCH to inspect your premises during regular business hours. Your city or county decides whether it will license a home-based business at that address, so ask them first, then confirm with DCH at hfrd.phcp@dch.ga.gov.
Yes. Rule 111-8-65-.05(2)(a) says that if a governing body maintains offices as a private home care provider in more than one location, each location is licensed separately.
Fifteen days. Rule 111-8-65-.05(2)(c) says DCH is given 15 days’ notice in advance of any change in location, and the license is returned to DCH on a change of location. DCH’s checklist lists the documents for a relocation, starting with a current local business license with the new address.
The current fee rule lists the $300 application processing fee for a new application, change of ownership, change in service level requiring an on-site visit and name change. A relocation is not on that list, and DCH’s fee schedule shows no separate relocation fee. DCH’s 2022 application packet did say an address change needed an application and a fee, so ask DCH before you move.
Client records at least five years from the date of the last service, and incident reports at least five years. Your written records policy must also say how long records are kept, who has custody of them and who they may be released to.
The rules do not say so. They require a separate file for each client and employee, confidentiality, a records policy and five-year retention, and they give DCH access to all records relevant to licensure at an inspection. Keep records where you can produce them without delay, and ask DCH if you plan to keep them electronically or off site.
Your application describes the geographic area you will serve, and DCH’s Private Home Care Team handles requests to add counties to an existing permit. Email hfrd.phcp@dch.ga.gov before taking clients outside the area on your application.
No. The 2026 amendment to Chapter 111-8-65, adopted on July 9, 2026 with its effective date not yet confirmed, keeps the location rules in .05(2) as they are. It changes background checks and health screening.
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