An administrator with the required experience
At least one year of training and experience in direct health care delivery, with at least one year in the last five of supervisory or administrative management in home health care or a related program.
Virginia · Home care organization license · VDH OLC Portal
Virginia home care license application: the OLC Portal, fees and timeline
Virginia home care organization licenses are applied for online, through the VDH OLC Portal, at least 60 days before you open. Here is what to have ready, each step after you apply, the OLC’s fees, and how renewals and changes work.
- Rule-verified October 1, 2026
- Quoted from 12VAC5-381 and the Code of Virginia
- From VDH’s own portal instructions
Quick answer
You apply for a Virginia home care organization (HCO) license through the VDH OLC Portal, run by the Virginia Department of Health’s Office of Licensure and Certification. New applicants request a user access account first. Then submit a complete application at least 60 days before your planned opening date, with the OLC’s $1,500 fee.
Once a complete application is on file, the OLC offers a prelicensure consultation, inspects, and issues the license when it finds you comply. Wait for the license before serving clients. It lasts three years.
What to have ready before you apply
Virginia asks you to apply at least 60 days before you open, so have these in place first.
A registered nurse for personal care
You must designate an RN to supervise personal care services. The RN writes each client’s plan of services.
An operating budget and reserve funds
A detailed operating budget for the first three months after licensing, and proof of reserve operating funds to cover those three months.
Insurance
At least $1 million general liability per occurrence, third-party crime insurance or a blanket fidelity bond of at least $50,000, and malpractice insurance consistent with Va. Code § 8.01-581.15.
Written policies on every listed topic
Approved by your governing body: 18 administrative and operational topics, 6 financial, 7 personnel, and admission and discharge.
Applying, step by step
Tick steps off as you go; progress is saved in this browser only.
Check you need an HCO license
FirstPersonal care, meaning hands-on help with daily activities, needs one. Providers of only homemaker, chore or companion services are outside the HCO regulations.
Request access to the VDH OLC Portal
Before day 0New applicants without a license request a user access account first. In the portal choose Login, then Request Access, and identify your organization. The name you enter as your DBA is what appears on your license; if you have none, enter your legal name.
Submit a complete application at least 60 days before opening
Day 0 (60+ days before opening)With the OLC’s $1,500 fee, which is not refundable. If anything is missing, the OLC tells you in writing; an incomplete application becomes inactive after six months and you reapply with a new fee.
Take up the prelicensure consultation
After a complete applicationOnce a complete application is on file, the OLC offers a consultation to explain the regulation and the survey process.
Inspection and license
Before openingApplicants are subject to OLC inspection. The license is issued once the OLC finds you comply with the law and the regulation. Wait for it before serving clients: operating an unlicensed home care organization is a Class 6 felony.
Renew every three years
Every three yearsThe OLC makes renewal applications available at least 60 days before your license expires. File on time and your current license stays in effect until the new one is issued.
The $1,500 is the OLC’s fee, not a CareRulebook price. VDH confirms the $1,500 triennial fee for every HCO license applies from May 22, 2025. VDH OLC
CareRulebook
Your policies, ready before you apply
Virginia’s regulation lists the topics your written policies must cover, approved by your governing body and reviewed every year. CareRulebook writes every one for your organization, with the rule quoted under each policy.
- 35 policies, 85 rule requirements mapped
- Every topic in 12VAC5-381-180
- Editable Word and PDF, delivered instantly
Preview your manual
$199CareRulebook founding price for the first 50 Virginia organizations, then $249. Not an OLC fee.
OLC fees
| Fee | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Initial or renewal license application (three years) | $1,500 | 12VAC5-381-70 A |
| Late renewal | $50 | 12VAC5-381-70 B |
| Reissued or replacement license | $250 | 12VAC5-381-70 C |
| Exemption from licensure (one time) | $75 | 12VAC5-381-70 D |
These are the OLC’s fees, not CareRulebook prices. License fees are not refundable.
License cost and timeline: insurance minimums, reserve funds and every deadline →
Changes, branches and closing
Changes go through the VDH OLC Portal, which handles applications, renewals, exemptions and changes.
Most changes
30 days before
Service area, mailing address, ownership, services, operator, administrator, name, or closing.
12VAC5-381-150 ENew operator, name or address
30 working days
These need a reissued license and the OLC’s $250 fee. Give written notice addressed to the director of the OLC.
12VAC5-381-60 BBranch offices
When you add one
Branches run under the main license. Send the OLC each branch address and it issues an updated license.
§ 32.1-162.9 CSelling the business
New license
A license cannot be transferred or assigned, so a new owner needs its own license.
12VAC5-381-20 EClosing
30 days before
Tell clients and the OLC in writing, return the license within five working days of stopping, and say where client records will be kept.
12VAC5-381-140Looking up a Virginia home care license
The OLC’s Division of Acute Care Services lists a "Home Care Organization Directory (04/05/2024)" among its quick links. VDH, Division of Acute Care Services
For anything the directory does not answer, the OLC’s Home Care Organization supervisor is on (804) 367-2104 or (804) 367-4879, and the OLC’s main number is (804) 367-2102. VDH OLC, Contact us
Myths about applying
Can you start serving clients once your Virginia HCO application is in?
No. Running an unlicensed home care organization is a Class 6 felony. Apply at least 60 days before your planned opening; the Commissioner issues the license only after finding you comply, and applicants are subject to OLC inspection.
"A completed application for initial licensure must be submitted at least 60 days prior to the organization's planned opening date to allow the OLC time to process the application."
Do you renew a Virginia HCO license every year?
No. Licenses are renewed every three years, at $1,500 per renewal application. The statute says each license expires on the third anniversary of its issue or renewal.
"Every such license shall expire on the third anniversary of its issuance or renewal."
Does each Virginia branch office need its own license?
No. Branch offices operate under the main license. Send OLC the branch address and it issues an updated license within 10 business days. A drop site used as a business office is different: it counts as a separate organization and needs its own license.
"Branch offices shall be operated under the initial license issued to the home care organization and shall not be required to obtain an additional license."
Do you need a Virginia HCO license for companion or homemaker services only?
No. The HCO regulations do not apply to providers of only homemaker, chore or companion services. Homemaker services stop short of feeding, bed baths, transferring and lifting. Help with activities of daily living is personal care, which needs an HCO license.
"In addition, this chapter is not applicable to those providers of only homemaker, chore or companion services as defined in 12VAC5-381-10."
Frequently asked questions
How do I apply for a home care license in Virginia?
Through the VDH OLC Portal. Request a user access account as a new applicant, then submit a complete home care organization application at least 60 days before your planned opening date, with the OLC’s $1,500 fee. Have your administrator, a registered nurse to supervise personal care, insurance, a three-month operating budget with reserve funds, and your written policies ready first.
What is the Virginia home care license portal?
The VDH OLC Portal is the Office of Licensure and Certification’s online system for licensing applications, renewals, exemption requests and changes. VDH says it is for licensing only.
How much does a Virginia home care license cost?
The OLC charges $1,500 for each initial or renewal application, which covers three years. There is a $50 late fee for late renewal and $250 to reissue or replace a license. These are the OLC’s fees, not CareRulebook prices, and they are not refundable.
How long does it take to get a home care license in Virginia?
Apply at least 60 days before you plan to open. The OLC offers a prelicensure consultation once a complete application is on file, and issues the license once it finds you comply. An incomplete application becomes inactive after six months.
Can I serve clients while my application is pending?
No. The license is issued only once the OLC finds you comply, and operating an unlicensed home care organization is a Class 6 felony.
How do I look up a Virginia home care license?
The OLC’s Division of Acute Care Services lists a Home Care Organization Directory among its quick links. You can also call the OLC’s Home Care Organization supervisor on (804) 367-2104 or (804) 367-4879.
Who do I contact at VDH about an HCO application?
The Office of Licensure and Certification: main number (804) 367-2102, and the Home Care Organization supervisor on (804) 367-2104 or (804) 367-4879.
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Keep reading
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How to start a home care agency in Virginia
The HCO license, RN supervision every 90 days and the 35 policy topics.
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Virginia license checklist
Every step, tailored to your organization, emailed to you.
Manual
Virginia policy manual
Every policy topic in 12VAC5-381-180, written for your organization.
Georgia
The Georgia license application
How Georgia does it: GAHLES and a three-month provisional license.
Sources
- 12VAC5-381, Regulations for the Licensure of Home Care Organizations · Virginia State Board of Health (Virginia Administrative Code, law.lis.virginia.gov) · retrieved October 1, 2026
- Code of Virginia §§ 32.1-162.7 to 32.1-162.15, Home care organizations (incl. § 32.1-162.9:1, barrier crimes, criminal records checks and drug testing) · Virginia General Assembly (Code of Virginia, law.lis.virginia.gov) · retrieved October 1, 2026
- Office of Licensure and Certification · Virginia Department of Health · retrieved October 1, 2026
- Requesting User Access as an Applicant for Licensure (VDH OLC Portal) · Virginia Department of Health, Office of Licensure and Certification · retrieved October 1, 2026
- Division of Acute Care Services · Virginia Department of Health, Office of Licensure and Certification · retrieved October 1, 2026
- Contact Us · Virginia Department of Health, Office of Licensure and Certification · retrieved October 1, 2026