For home owners
How do I get licensed as a Type B assisted living home in Texas, step by step?
. By Erika Crossley, AI Perfect Fit Senior Living Placement, Houston.
Type B licensing in Texas runs through HHSC in seven steps: finish the pre-licensure online course, apply in TULIP, pay the fee ($300 plus $15 per bed, capped at $2,250 for a three-year license), submit ownership documents, pass the Life Safety Code inspection, move in one to three residents and pass the health inspection, then receive the license. Budget several months, and expect the fire inspection to be the step that slows most first-time owners down.
Step by step
Decide Type B, and know what small means
Under 26 TAC 553.5, a Type B home may keep residents who need a caregiver's help to get out in an emergency, need someone up at night, or cannot follow directions in an emergency, as long as they are not permanently bedfast. Type A cannot. A small home is licensed for 16 or fewer residents (26 TAC 553.3). Almost every 6 to 16 bed house that wants residents to stay as they decline needs Type B.
Step 1: take the HHSC pre-licensure course before you apply
26 TAC 553.23(a) says the applicant must complete the HHSC pre-licensure training course before submitting an initial application. HHSC's page says it runs one to two hours online with no time limit. You submit the certificate with your application.
Step 2: apply in TULIP and pay the fee
Applications go through TULIP, the Texas Unified Licensure Information Portal. The fee under 26 TAC 553.47(a) is $300 plus $15 for each bed you want licensed, with a maximum of $2,250 for a three-year license. A 10-bed home pays $450. Adding beds later costs $15 per bed. Alzheimer's certification adds $300. HHSC reviews the application within 30 days of receiving it and the fee and tells you what is missing.
Step 3: submit ownership documents and the people behind the license
HHSC's steps include submitting appropriate ownership documents and background information for the owner and controlling persons. Have the entity paperwork, the lease or deed, and the administrator named before you file; a missing document restarts the clock.
Step 4: pass the Life Safety Code inspection
HHSC inspects the building against NFPA 101 and the construction rules in Chapter 553 Subchapter D before anyone moves in. For a small Type B home that includes a fire sprinkler system (see the sprinkler article). Under 26 TAC 553.23, if the home does not meet the requirements within 120 days after the initial Life Safety Code inspection, HHSC denies the application. A third inspection on the same application costs $25 per bed with a $1,000 minimum (26 TAC 553.47(h)).
Step 5: move in one to three residents, then call for the health inspection
26 TAC 553.23 says that after the building passes, and after you have admitted at least one but no more than three residents, you notify HHSC through the portal that you are ready for the health inspection. Surveyors check resident care and operations against Subchapter E. Again, 120 days after that first inspection to meet the standards or the application is denied. Your first residents' service plans, medication records and files are what they read.
Step 6: receive the license
The rule (26 TAC 553.23) says HHSC issues the license within 30 days after it determines you have met the requirements; HHSC's own how-to page says 45 days. Plan on the longer one. Until the license is issued, Health and Safety Code 247.021 says you may not operate as, or call yourself, assisted living.
Step 7: set the renewal and the yearly fire marshal visit on the calendar
Renew before the 45th day ahead of expiration or pay a late fee of half the basic fee (26 TAC 553.47(b), Health and Safety Code 247.024(e)). Get the local fire marshal inspection every 12 months and keep the record at the home (26 TAC 553.104(a)).
Sourced facts
Every law, fee and coverage statement above rests on one of these government pages, read on October 7, 2026. Anything marked ESTIMATE on this page is not from a government source and is labeled where it appears.
- Type B residents may need help evacuating, nighttime attendance, and may be unable to follow emergency directions, but may not be permanently bedfast. Source: Texas Secretary of State, Texas Register (26 TAC §553.5, in-force text), 26 TAC §553.5 Types of Assisted Living Facilities: Type A and Type B.
- Small means licensed for 16 or fewer residents. Source: Texas Secretary of State, Texas Register (26 TAC §553.3, in-force text), 26 TAC §553.3 Definitions: small facility and large facility.
- The pre-licensure course must be completed before the initial application is submitted. Source: Texas Secretary of State, Texas Register (26 TAC §553.23, in-force text), 26 TAC §553.23 Initial License Application Procedures and Requirements.
- The pre-licensure course takes one to two hours online. Source: Texas Health and Human Services Commission, ALF Pre-licensure Computer-Based Training Information.
- License fee: $300 plus $15 per bed, maximum $2,250 for a three-year license; capacity increase $15 per bed; Alzheimer's certification $300 more; late renewal costs half the basic fee. Source: Texas Secretary of State, Texas Register (26 TAC §553.47, in-force text), 26 TAC §553.47 License Fees.
- HHSC's listed steps: training certificate, application, documents, fee, ownership documents, Life Safety Code and health inspections, approval; HHSC says it issues the license within 45 days. Source: Texas Health and Human Services Commission, How to Become an ALF Provider.
- 120 days after the initial Life Safety Code inspection, and 120 days after the initial health inspection, to meet requirements or the application is denied; HHSC issues the license within 30 days of determining requirements are met. Source: Texas Secretary of State, Texas Register (26 TAC §553.23, in-force text), 26 TAC §553.23 Initial License Application Procedures and Requirements.
- Operating without a license, or using the words assisted living without one, is prohibited. Source: Texas Legislature, Health and Safety Code, Health and Safety Code §247.021 License Required.
- Statute caps the license fee at $2,250 and allows a late fee for renewals filed later than the 45th day before expiration. Source: Texas Legislature, Health and Safety Code, Health and Safety Code §247.024 Fees and §247.026(e) Local standards.
- Applications and notices go through TULIP; HHSC licensing contact 512-438-2630. Source: Texas Health and Human Services Commission, Assisted Living Facilities (ALF): program page, Type A and Type B, TULIP, directory link.
9 government sources cited on this page.
Questions people ask next
How long does the whole thing take?
No agency publishes an average. The rule gives HHSC 30 days to review the application, you up to 120 days after each initial inspection to fix what they cite, and HHSC 30 to 45 days to issue the license. Owners in Houston groups describe a year or more from first application to license when construction fixes are needed; that is an ESTIMATE from their posts, not a published figure.
Can I buy a licensed home and keep its license?
A change of ownership is its own application and pays the same $300 plus $15 per bed fee under 26 TAC 553.47(a). Ask HHSC Licensing at 512-438-2630 about the change-of-ownership process before you sign a purchase contract.
Do I need a nurse on staff for Type B?
This page does not state a staffing rule because the staffing sections of Chapter 553 were not among the rule text read for it. HHSC is also reorganizing Chapter 553 (proposal published September 4, 2026). Read the current Subchapter E rules on HHSC's site or ask HHSC Licensing before you hire.
What does Type B cost compared to Type A?
The license fee is identical: $300 plus $15 per bed. The real difference is construction: a small Type B home must have a sprinkler system, and an existing small Type A home may run without one.
From Erika
When the license comes through, the next problem is the quiet one: nobody knows your home exists yet. I keep the state's list and I match families and discharge planners to licensed homes with open beds, so list your home the week you are licensed and I will read the profile myself. I am not a lawyer and I do not run a home, so none of this is legal advice; it is what the state's own pages say, linked so you can read them yourself.