Last updated 2026-07-25
TL;DR
Florida's assisted living license search lives on the Agency for Health Care Administration's (AHCA) Florida Health Finder site. Type in a facility name or county, and you'll get license status, capacity, license type, and inspection history. It's free, public, and the same tool AHCA inspectors and families use to check a facility before move-in or before submitting a licensing application.
What is the Florida assisted living license search and where do you find it?
The Florida assisted living license search is a free public database run by the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), the state agency that licenses assisted living facilities (ALFs) under Chapter 429, Part I of the Florida Statutes [1]. You reach it through the Florida Health Finder portal, specifically the "Facility Locator" tool, which lets you search by facility name, city, county, or license number [2]. Run a search and you'll get the facility's legal name, license number, license type (standard, limited nursing, extended congregate care, limited mental health), licensed bed capacity, administrator name, and licensure status (active, probation, moratorium, or revoked). Most results also link out to the facility's survey and inspection history going back several years. This tool matters for two very different audiences. Families use it to check a facility before signing an admission agreement. Operators and aspiring operators use it to check competitors' license history, confirm their own license is active and correctly listed, and verify a facility they're buying isn't sitting on unresolved deficiencies. If you're building out your own application, understanding what this database shows you is a preview of exactly what AHCA will track on you once you're licensed. AHCA's Florida Health Finder also publishes a separate consumer guide called the "Guide to Selecting an Assisted Living Facility," which walks through the same search process from the family's side [3].
How do you actually run the search step by step?
Go to the Florida Health Finder Facility Locator, select "Assisted Living Facilities" as the facility type, then search by name, county, or license number. If you only know a partial name, use that. The tool will return a list of matches with city and county shown next to each. Click into a specific facility and you'll see a summary page with license status, effective and expiration dates, capacity, and a link to inspection reports (called "surveys" in AHCA's language). Surveys show deficiencies cited, the date of the visit, and whether the facility submitted a corrective action plan. A few practical tips. Facility names on state paperwork often differ from the marketing name on a website or sign, so if a direct name search comes up empty, try searching by county and scrolling. License numbers are the most reliable search key if you have one, since names can be duplicated across the state. If you're checking a facility as part of due diligence before buying or leasing a location, also cross-check the license status against any recent moratorium or emergency suspension order, both of which AHCA posts in its administrative actions records.
What is assisted living?
Assisted living is a licensed residential care category for adults who need help with daily activities like bathing, dressing, medication reminders, and mobility, but who don't need the round-the-clock skilled nursing care a hospital or nursing home provides. In Florida, assisted living facilities are licensed under Fla. Stat. Chapter 429, Part I, and must provide "housing, meals, and personal care services" for residents who need them [1]. Assisted living sits in the middle of the long-term care spectrum. Below it, independent living and home care assume residents need little to no hands-on help. Above it, skilled nursing facilities and nursing homes handle residents with heavier medical needs, including ventilators, wound care, or post-surgical recovery. Assisted living is meant for people who need supervision and support, not medical treatment.
What is a group home?
A group home is a small residential setting, usually a single house, where a handful of unrelated residents live together with staff support. The term gets used loosely across states and populations, but it generally covers homes serving people with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD), mental health conditions, substance use recovery needs, or in some states, seniors needing lower levels of care than a full ALF. In Florida specifically, homes serving people with developmental disabilities are usually licensed by the Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) as group home facilities under Fla. Stat. Chapter 393, a separate track from AHCA's assisted living licensure [4]. If you're planning a group home for adults with IDD in Florida, you'll deal with APD, not AHCA, even though both agencies license residential care in adjoining categories. Confirm which category fits your intended population with your state licensing agency before you file anything, because applying under the wrong statute wastes months.
What is an assisted living facility?
An assisted living facility (ALF) is the legal, licensed version of assisted living: a building or licensed location where a facility operator provides housing, supervision, and personal care to residents under a state license. In Florida, an ALF must hold a license issued by AHCA before admitting a single resident, and operating without one is a criminal offense under Fla. Stat. 429.19 [1]. ALFs in Florida come in several license types, and the type dictates what level of resident you can legally admit. A standard license permits residents who need help with activities of daily living. A limited nursing services (LNS) license allows the facility to provide certain nursing tasks, like insulin administration, performed by a licensed nurse. An extended congregate care (ECC) license permits higher acuity residents who'd otherwise need nursing home placement. A limited mental health (LMH) license is required for facilities admitting residents with a mental health diagnosis who receive optional state supplementation payments [1]. Each license type has its own staffing and training rules, so before you assume your building qualifies for a certain resident population, check exactly which license category you're applying for.
What is assisted living facility (in plain terms residents and families understand)?
In plain language, an assisted living facility is a place to live, not a hospital. Residents have their own room or apartment, get meals, and get help with things like medication reminders, dressing, or getting to the bathroom safely. Staff are present but residents are not under constant medical supervision the way a nursing home patient would be. Florida's AHCA describes the core purpose of ALF licensure as ensuring facilities provide "housing, meals and personal care services" while protecting resident rights and safety [1]. Families searching "what is assisted living facility" are usually trying to figure out if a parent or spouse needs this level of care versus home care or a nursing home. The honest answer: if the person can still manage most of their day but needs supervision, reminders, and help with a few ADLs, assisted living is usually the right fit. If they need daily skilled nursing, wound care, or IV therapy, that's a nursing home question, not an ALF question.
What is assisted living vs nursing home?
| Licensing agency (FL) | AHCA, Fla. Stat. Ch. 429 [1] | AHCA, Fla. Stat. Ch. 400 Part II [1] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Staffing | Caregivers, some licensed nurses depending on license type | 24-hour licensed nursing staff required | |
| Typical resident need | ADL help, supervision, medication reminders | Skilled nursing, rehab, complex medical care | |
| Room setup | Private or semi-private apartment/room | Often semi-private, hospital-style | |
| Medicare coverage | Not covered as room and board | Short-term skilled stays covered under conditions [5] | The practical rule of thumb: if a physician says the person needs daily skilled nursing intervention, a nursing home (or home health with skilled visits) is the right setting. If they mainly need help with daily tasks and supervision, assisted living fits. |
The core difference is the level of medical care and the license category. Assisted living facilities are licensed for personal care and supervision. Nursing homes (also called skilled nursing facilities) are licensed to provide 24-hour skilled nursing care, and in Florida they're licensed under a different chapter (Fla. Stat. Chapter 400, Part II) and regulated federally as well through Medicare/Medicaid Conditions of Participation [1]. Here's a side-by-side: | Feature | Assisted living facility | Nursing home |
What does assisted living provide?
Assisted living provides housing, meals, help with activities of daily living, medication management or reminders, social and recreational activities, and 24-hour staff availability for supervision and emergencies. Florida law requires ALFs to provide "housing, meals, and personal care services" at minimum, with additional services layered on depending on license type [1]. Specific services vary by facility and by license category. A standard ALF might offer three meals a day, housekeeping, laundry, transportation to medical appointments, and staff who help residents get dressed or bathe. A facility with an LNS license adds limited nursing tasks. An ECC license adds services for residents with greater physical or cognitive needs, potentially including two-person transfer assistance or more intensive incontinence care. What assisted living does not typically provide: ongoing IV therapy, ventilator care, ongoing wound care beyond very basic first aid, or 24-hour skilled nursing supervision. Those needs generally point toward a nursing home or a hospital-based post-acute unit.
How to start a group home in Florida (and what a license search tells you before you apply)
Starting a group home or ALF in Florida means picking the right license category first, then working through zoning, life safety, staffing, and application requirements before you ever admit a resident. Before you file anything, run your own facility name and address through the AHCA Florida Health Finder search [2] to confirm there isn't already a license tied to that address, and to see what license type similar homes nearby are operating under. The general path looks like this. First, decide your population and license type. ALF (AHCA) for general assisted living needs, APD group home licensure for IDD populations under Chapter 393, or a different license track entirely if you're serving mental health or substance recovery populations under Florida's behavioral health statutes. Second, confirm your property meets local zoning for a group care use. This is often the first wall operators hit, since single-family zoning in many municipalities restricts group living occupancy; check with your specific county or city planning department, because rules vary significantly even within Florida [6]. Third, complete required life safety inspections, usually coordinated with your local fire marshal and AHCA's plan review process before licensure. Fourth, submit your license application to AHCA (or APD for IDD group homes), including proof of financial ability to operate, background screening for all staff and owners under Fla. Stat. 435, and your facility's policy and procedure manual. Fifth, pass your initial licensure survey. Building the actual paperwork, staffing plan, and policy manual from scratch eats weeks most operators don't have, which is the gap our $299 State Group Home Licensing Kit is built to close: state-specific templates instead of a blank page. It won't get you approved faster and it's not a guarantee, but it gives you a starting draft instead of a blank page.
What is the difference between assisted living and nursing home? (follow-up detail)
Beyond the staffing and licensing differences already covered, the practical difference shows up in cost structure, length of stay, and how Medicare and Medicaid treat each setting. Nursing home stays are frequently short-term and rehab-focused, sometimes covered by Medicare for a limited period after a qualifying hospital stay. Assisted living stays are almost always long-term and private-pay or Medicaid waiver-funded, not Medicare-covered [5]. Another difference: discharge and transfer rules. Nursing homes operate under federal Conditions of Participation tied to Medicare/Medicaid certification, giving residents specific federal protections around discharge notices . Assisted living facilities are licensed at the state level only (no federal Medicare/Medicaid certification exists for ALFs as a category), so protections come entirely from state statute and the facility's own admission agreement.
Does Medicare cover assisted living facilities?
No. Medicare does not cover the cost of room, board, or personal care in an assisted living facility. CMS is explicit that Medicare covers medically necessary skilled nursing care in a certified skilled nursing facility only under specific conditions, such as a qualifying prior hospital stay of at least three days, and even then only for a limited benefit period [5]. Assisted living is generally paid for out of pocket, through long-term care insurance, or in some states through a Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waiver that covers the personal care component of an ALF stay, though not room and board . Florida's Statewide Medicaid Managed Care Long-Term Care (SMMC LTC) program can help cover certain assisted living services for financially and functionally eligible residents, but families should confirm current eligibility rules and covered services directly with the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration or the Department of Elder Affairs, since waiver rules change .
How do I start a group home? (the short version)
Starting a group home means matching your intended resident population to the correct state license category, securing a property that meets zoning and fire/life safety rules for group residential use, completing background screening and staff training requirements, and passing a pre-licensure inspection before your first resident moves in. The order matters. Pick population and license type first. Then property and zoning. Then staffing plan and policies. Then application and inspection. Operators who reverse this order (buying a house first, figuring out licensing later) are the ones who end up stuck with a property that can't legally be used for the population they wanted to serve. If you're comparing paths across license types, our guides on assisted living facility licensing and assisted living basics break down the category differences state by state.
What should you check for when you find a facility in the license search results?
Once you pull up a result in the Florida Health Finder search, check five things: license status (active vs. probation, suspended, or revoked), license type (does it match the population you're researching), licensed bed capacity (compare against what the facility advertises), the administrator of record, and the survey/inspection history link. A facility on probation or with a recent moratorium is worth extra scrutiny, for a family member vetting a placement and for an operator evaluating an acquisition target alike. AHCA posts administrative actions, including emergency suspension orders and moratoriums on new admissions, as part of its public enforcement record [2]. If you're buying an existing facility, also confirm the license is not tied to a specific individual in a way that would require a change-of-ownership application rather than a simple transfer, since Florida treats ALF licenses as facility-specific and non-transferable to a new owner without a new application.
Frequently asked questions
Where exactly do I go to search Florida assisted living licenses?
Use the Florida Health Finder Facility Locator, run by AHCA. Select "Assisted Living Facilities" as the type, then search by name, county, or license number. It's free and public, and it's the same database AHCA field staff use for licensure records [2].
Is the Florida assisted living license search free to use?
Yes. Florida Health Finder is a free, publicly funded consumer tool operated by AHCA. There's no login or fee required to search facility names, check license status, or view inspection survey history [2].
What is assisted living?
Assisted living is licensed residential care for adults who need help with daily activities like bathing, dressing, and medication reminders, but not full-time skilled nursing. In Florida it's licensed under Fla. Stat. Chapter 429, Part I, and regulated by AHCA [1].
What is a group home?
A group home is a small residential setting, usually a house, where several unrelated residents live with staff support. In Florida, homes for people with developmental disabilities are licensed separately by the Agency for Persons with Disabilities under Chapter 393, not by AHCA [4].
What is an assisted living facility?
An assisted living facility is the licensed version of assisted living: a building where an operator holds an AHCA license to provide housing, supervision, and personal care. Operating without a license is a criminal offense under Fla. Stat. 429.19 [1].
What is the difference between assisted living and nursing home?
Assisted living provides housing and personal care for residents who don't need daily skilled nursing. Nursing homes provide 24-hour skilled nursing care and are licensed under a different Florida statute (Chapter 400, Part II) with federal Medicare/Medicaid certification requirements [1][5].
Does Medicare cover assisted living facilities?
No. Medicare does not pay for room, board, or personal care in assisted living. It covers short-term skilled nursing facility stays only under specific conditions, like a prior qualifying hospital stay of three days or more [6].
How do I start a group home in Florida?
Pick the correct license category for your population (AHCA for general ALF, APD for IDD group homes under Chapter 393), confirm zoning with your local municipality, complete staff background screening and training, and pass a pre-licensure inspection before admitting residents.
What does assisted living provide that a group home for IDD doesn't, or vice versa?
ALFs focus on ADL help, meals, and supervision for adults, often seniors. IDD group homes under APD licensure focus on habilitation, skill-building, and support tailored to developmental disabilities, often with different staffing ratios and training requirements set by Chapter 393 rather than Chapter 429.
Can I use the AHCA license search to check a facility before buying it?
Yes, and you should. Check license status, type, bed capacity, and survey history before any acquisition. Also check AHCA's administrative actions records for moratoriums or suspension orders, since Florida ALF licenses are facility-specific and not automatically transferable to a new owner [2].
What license types exist for Florida assisted living facilities?
Florida offers standard, limited nursing services (LNS), extended congregate care (ECC), and limited mental health (LMH) licenses, each permitting different levels of resident acuity and requiring different staffing and training under Fla. Stat. Chapter 429, Part I [1].
Does Florida Medicaid pay for assisted living?
Florida's Statewide Medicaid Managed Care Long-Term Care program can cover certain personal care services in an ALF for financially and functionally eligible residents, but it generally doesn't cover room and board. Confirm current eligibility and covered services with AHCA or the Department of Elder Affairs [9].
Sources
- Florida Legislature, Statutes: Florida assisted living facilities are licensed under Fla. Stat. Chapter 429, Part I, requiring housing, meals, and personal care services, and license types include standard, LNS, ECC, and LMH
- Florida Legislature, Statutes: Group homes serving people with developmental disabilities in Florida are licensed under Chapter 393 by the Agency for Persons with Disabilities
- Florida Legislature, Statutes: Florida nursing homes are licensed under Fla. Stat. Chapter 400, Part II, a separate statute from assisted living facility licensure
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Medicare Coverage of Skilled Nursing Facility Care: Medicare covers skilled nursing facility care only under specific conditions, including a qualifying prior hospital stay, and does not cover assisted living room and board
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Nursing Home Conditions of Participation: Nursing homes certified for Medicare/Medicaid operate under federal Conditions of Participation including resident discharge and transfer protections
- Medicaid.gov, Home & Community-Based Services: Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services waivers can cover personal care services for assisted living residents in some states, though not room and board