How to Verify a Pennsylvania Home Care Agency's License (and What That License Guarantees You)

Why the license matters more than the brochure

Anyone can print “trusted, compassionate caregivers” on a website. In Pennsylvania, what separates a legitimate home care company from an unregulated one is a license from the Department of Health under 28 Pa. Code Chapter 611, which has governed home care agencies and registries since 2009. The license means the company is inspected, its caregivers are screened and trained to a defined standard, and you have specific rights the state will enforce. This guide shows you how to check a license in two minutes and what to expect once you have.

Step 1: Look up the license

1. Go to the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s home care page (pa.gov, under Facilities → Out-patient healthcare facilities → Home Care). It links to two tools: a license search and a “Find a Home Care Agency/Registry Near You” locator.
2. In the license search, enter the company’s name. Try a shorter version if the full name returns nothing; licenses are issued under legal names that sometimes differ from the marketing name.
3. Confirm three things on the result: the license type (Home Care Agency or Home Care Registry), the status (current), and the address, which should match the office the company tells you about.
4. If you cannot find the company at all, ask them for their license number and the name the license is issued under. A licensed company will answer immediately; the license must be posted in its office.

Step 2: Understand “agency” versus “registry”

Pennsylvania licenses two different business models under the same chapter, and the difference determines who is legally responsible for the caregiver in your home.

Both are legal and regulated. But if you want a company to stand behind the caregiver, handle payroll and taxes, and send a substitute when someone is sick, you want an agency. It’s Your Home Care is licensed as an agency; every caregiver is our employee.

Step 3: Know what the agency must give you before care starts

Section 611.57 of the regulations requires a licensed agency to provide, before services begin and in an easily read form:

• A description of the services to be provided and the identity of the caregiver who will provide them.
• The hours when services will be provided.
• Who to contact at the Department of Health for information about licensure and compliance.
• The Department’s complaint hotline (1-866-826-3644 as printed in the regulation) and the telephone number of the long-term care ombudsman at your county Area Agency on Aging.
• The agency’s hiring and competency requirements for caregivers.
• The Department’s standard notice of the caregiver’s employee or independent contractor status and the tax and insurance obligations that follow.

Step 4: Know how caregivers must be screened and trained

The regulations set a floor that every licensed agency or registry must meet before a caregiver is assigned to you:

• Face-to-face interview (which since Act 96 of 2024 may be by two-way video) and two satisfactory references.
• Pennsylvania State Police criminal history check, plus an FBI fingerprint check and Department of Aging letter of determination for anyone who has not lived in Pennsylvania for the past two years. People with certain convictions listed in the Older Adults Protective Services Act regulations may not be hired.
• ChildLine (child abuse history) clearance.
• TB screening within the prior year, repeated every 12 months.
• Competency: a valid nursing license, a passing score on the agency’s competency exam, or completion of an approved training program covering confidentiality, consumer control, daily living assistance, recognizing changes that need attention, infection control, emergencies, documentation, recognizing and reporting abuse, and handling difficult behaviors; personal-care workers add bathing, grooming, transfers, meal preparation, toileting and assistance with self-administration of medications. Competency must be re-evaluated at least annually.

You can ask any agency to show you how it meets each of these. We are happy to.

Step 5: Know your ongoing rights

Under the same section of the regulations:

• You have the right to be involved in planning your services and to have your preferences reasonably accommodated.
• The agency must give you at least 10 calendar days’ written notice before it ends services (shorter only for non-payment after notice or a safety threat to the caregiver).
• No one affiliated with the agency may act as your power of attorney or guardian, and the agency may not require you to endorse checks over to it.

Questions to ask once the license checks out

The license is the floor. These questions tell you about the ceiling:

1. Who will actually be my caregiver, and will I meet them before the first shift?
2. What happens when my caregiver is sick? How quickly is a substitute arranged?
3. How do you match caregivers to clients, and what if the match is not working?
4. How will the family receive updates, and who do I call after hours?
5. Do you accept long-term care insurance, VA benefits, OPTIONS and Community HealthChoices, and will you handle the paperwork?
6. May I speak with two current clients or families?

Red flags

• The company cannot or will not give you a license number.
• Caregivers are described as “1099” or “independent” but the company calls itself an agency.
• Marketing that promises “nursing,” “skilled” or “medical” care without a home health license to back it up.
• Pressure to sign a long contract, or to switch from another agency, especially if you are on a Medicaid program (participants have the right to choose any willing and qualified provider, and inducements to switch are prohibited).
• Reviews that cannot be traced to real clients, or an unwillingness to let you speak to one.