How to Start a Home Care or Home Health Agency in Pennsylvania

Starting a home care or home health agency in Pennsylvania is a licensing project before it is a business project. The Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH), Division of Home Health, issues the state license, and the type you choose decides which regulations apply, what you pay, and how you apply. Settle that choice first, then build your business entity, tax accounts, and staffing model around it.

This guide follows the order most new owners find works: choose the right license, form the entity, register for taxes, prepare the DOH application, pass inspection, and plan for caregiver hiring and renewals. Fees listed here are the ones confirmed for this guide. Where a figure is not confirmed, the text says so, and you should check it with the named agency before you budget for it.

Disclaimer: This article is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Home care regulation is detailed and changes over time. Talk with a Pennsylvania health care attorney and a CPA before you file, especially if you plan to use independent contractors or bill Medicare or Medicaid.

Start by choosing the right license

Pennsylvania regulates home-based care under Title 28 of the Pennsylvania Code, and it splits the work into two license types. Many owners assume one license covers everything. It does not, and filing for the wrong one costs time and money. Your PA home care license and your PA home health agency license are separate applications with separate rules.

Item	Home care agency or registry	Home health agency
Governing rules	28 Pa. Code Chapter 611 (non-medical)	28 Pa. Code Chapter 601
Services	Non-medical care for people at home	Skilled nursing plus at least one other therapeutic service
License fee	$100 per license	$250 per license
Locations	Separate license for each location	Confirm the per-location rule with DOH
Filing method	Online only (mailed or emailed applications not accepted since March 31, 2026)	Confirm the current filing method with DOH
Inspection	Required before the initial license and before each renewal	Confirm the inspection process with DOH

A home care agency employs its caregivers. A registry refers independent contractors to clients and does not employ them. That difference changes your payroll, insurance, and liability picture, so decide your staffing model before you apply. If you are unsure which one fits, a CPA and an attorney can review the arrangement with you.

What you need before you apply

• A business name that meets Pennsylvania naming rules (covered in Step 2)
• A Pennsylvania registered office street address, or a contract with a Commercial Registered Office Provider (CROP)
• Formation documents: a Certificate of Organization (Form DSCB:15-8821) for an LLC, or Articles of Incorporation (For Profit) for a corporation, each filed with a Docketing Statement (DSCB:15-134A)
• The $125 filing fee for either entity type
• A federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS
• Pennsylvania tax accounts registered through myPATH
• The address of every location you plan to license, since each one needs its own license
• Written policies, staffing plans, and personnel records (confirm the exact document list in the DOH application)
• The license fee for your type: $100 for home care, $250 for home health
• Staff time and a plan for the pre-licensure inspection

Step-by-step: how to start your Pennsylvania agency

Step 1: Confirm your license type and staffing model

Write down the services you will provide. If you will provide non-medical personal care and companion services, you are looking at a home care agency license under Chapter 611. If you will provide skilled nursing plus at least one other therapeutic service, such as physical or occupational therapy, you are looking at a home health agency license under Chapter 601. Some owners plan both, so confirm early whether each one needs its own application and fee.

Step 2: Form your business entity

Pennsylvania has no general business license, so your entity filing is the first state filing you will make. It goes through the Department of State, Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations, using Business Filing Services at file.dos.pa.gov.

For an LLC, file the Certificate of Organization with the Docketing Statement and the $125 filing fee. The Bureau asks filers to allow about 15 business days for processing, and current times are posted on the portal. Expedited service is optional, online or in person only, and costs extra on top of the $125 fee: same day (received before 10:00 a.m.) is $100, 3 hour (received before 2:00 p.m.) is $300, and 1 hour (received before 4:00 p.m.) is $1,000. An LLC has no publication requirement.

For a corporation, file Articles of Incorporation with the same $125 fee and Docketing Statement. A corporation must also advertise notice of the intent to file or of the filing in two newspapers of general circulation, one preferably a legal journal, and keep the proof in the corporate minutes.

Naming rules matter for home care businesses. An LLC name must include company, limited, or limited liability company, or an accepted abbreviation. It may not include words that suggest a business corporation, such as corporation or incorporated. The name must also be distinguishable from names already on file. You can search the records at file.dos.pa.gov/search/business. A name reservation lasts 120 days and costs $70.

Pennsylvania does not use registered agents. Instead, your entity needs a registered office with a street address and number in Pennsylvania. A post office box alone is not accepted. If you have no Pennsylvania address, you may contract with a CROP under 15 Pa.C.S. section 109 and list the CROP name and county of venue. Listing a CROP without a contract can carry civil and criminal penalties, and a CROP cannot be used where a principal place of business is required, such as a fictitious name registration.

If you will operate under a name other than your legal entity name, register a fictitious name. The fee is $70, and the filing is made statewide with the Department of State, not the county.

Plan for the annual report too. LLCs file online from January 1 through September 30 each year, and the fee is $7. Corporations file from January 1 through June 30 each year, also at $7.

Step 3: Register for taxes and employer accounts

Register your business for state tax accounts through myPATH at pa.gov. The paper PA-100 was retired in 2022, so do not look for it. Tax treatment depends on your entity and its federal classification. A single-member LLC that is not taxed as a corporation passes income to the owner, taxed at the flat 3.07 percent Personal Income Tax rate. A corporation pays Corporate Net Income Tax, which is 7.49 percent for tax years beginning in 2026. Ask your CPA how these apply to your setup.

Ask the Department of Revenue whether any sales tax account applies to your services, and whether you need employer withholding accounts before your first payroll. Pennsylvania's state sales tax rate is 6 percent, but whether it applies to your agency's services is a question to confirm with the Department, not assume.

Step 4: Check local requirements

Pennsylvania has no county business license and no general state business license. Activity licenses depend on what you do and where you do it, and the state's Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations does not issue them. Check with your municipality about zoning if you plan to operate from a home office, and ask whether any local business tax applies. Some municipalities levy one, so confirm before you assume none does.

Step 5: Prepare and file the DOH application

For a home care agency or registry, the application is online only. Mailed or emailed applications have not been accepted since March 31, 2026. Build your application package before you log in, so you do not have to stop midway. Assemble the policies, staffing plans, and personnel records DOH requires, and keep a separate file for each location. A home care license is required for each location, so a second office means a second application and a second $100 fee.

For a home health agency, the license fee is $250 per license, and a state license must be in place before Medicare certification. Confirm the current filing method, required documents, and inspection steps for home health with DOH directly before you prepare your package.

Step 6: Pass the inspection and receive your license

Home care agencies and registries are inspected before the initial license is issued and again before each renewal. Treat the inspection as the real test of your paperwork. Have your policies in writing, your records organized, and your staff able to explain their duties. Ask DOH for the current inspection checklist so you know what the surveyor will look for.

Medicaid is a separate track. Enrollment in Medicaid waiver programs runs through the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL), and it is not part of your DOH license. Medicare certification for a home health agency comes after your state license, so do not schedule billing or referrals as if certification is already done.

Step 7: Recruit and train caregivers

This is where many owners of a PA home care agency license get into trouble. Hiring, training, and background checks must match the chapter that governs your license, and the rules differ for employees and independent contractors. Confirm the training and competency requirements in Chapter 611 and the background checks required before a caregiver works in a client's home. Do not rely on a summary from a website, including this one.

If you are looking into how to become a home health aide in PA, the path usually runs through an agency that employs aides under a valid license. Anyone who wants to enter the field should check the current DOH rules and the specific training an agency requires, since those requirements shape both hiring and who you can place with clients.

Step 8: Plan for renewal and ongoing compliance

Your license is not permanent. Renewal brings a new inspection for home care agencies, so keep your records current throughout the year rather than rebuilding them at renewal time. Put the DOH renewal date, your LLC annual report deadline of September 30, or your corporate deadline of June 30, and your tax filing dates on one shared calendar.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Filing for the wrong license. A non-medical care business that applies under Chapter 601 will have to refile, and a skilled service business that applies under Chapter 611 will face the same problem.
• Submitting a home care application by mail or email. Those methods have not been accepted since March 31, 2026.
• Listing a post office box as the registered office. Pennsylvania requires a street address or a valid CROP arrangement.
• Using a restricted word in an LLC name. Words such as corporation or incorporated will be rejected.
• Skipping the corporate publication step. A corporation must advertise and keep proof in its minutes.
• Assuming an LLC has a publication requirement. It does not.
• Treating employed caregivers as independent contractors. The label does not control the outcome, so ask a CPA and attorney to review how you engage staff.
• Forgetting that each location needs its own license. Confirm this rule for home health as well.
• Looking for a state or county business license. Pennsylvania has neither, though activity and local requirements still apply.
• Treating Medicaid or Medicare enrollment as automatic. Each is a separate process with its own timeline.
• Missing the annual report. The LLC deadline is September 30 and the corporate deadline is June 30.

What results to expect

A well-prepared application may help you move through filing and inspection with fewer requests for correction. Many new agencies find that the biggest delays come from incomplete entity paperwork, a registered office problem, or a document missing from the DOH package, so a careful checklist can reduce those risks. Expedited service can shorten the state entity step, but it does not change how DOH schedules your application or inspection.

No one can promise a specific approval date. DOH processing and inspection timelines are not stated in this guide, so confirm current timing with DOH before you set a launch date, sign a lease, or accept a client referral.

Next steps and official resources

• Business entity filings and name searches: file.dos.pa.gov
• Department of State business programs: pa.gov/agencies/dos/programs/business
• Fictitious name registration: fictitious names page
• Tax registration through myPATH: register my business for taxes
• Department of Revenue: pa.gov/agencies/revenue
• Pennsylvania Department of Health, Division of Home Health: find the current licensing page through pa.gov and confirm all fees, forms, and inspection steps there
• Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers for planning help: pasbdc.org

Start with the license type decision, then file your entity, then build the DOH package. Keep a written record of every filing, fee, and confirmation number. When a figure in this guide is marked for confirmation, verify it with the agency before you rely on it.