Assisted Living
Assisted Living in Texas: How to Check a License and What Type A and Type B Mean
Every assisted living facility in Texas holds an HHSC license, either Type A or Type B. See how to check a license in the state search and what each type says about the care a home can give.
Key takeaways
- HHSC licenses assisted living facilities in Texas under state law (Health and Safety Code, Chapter 247) and state rules (Texas Administrative Code, Title 26, Chapter 553).
- A Type A license covers residents who can get out of the building in an emergency without staff help, can follow directions in an emergency, and do not need routine staff attendance at night.
- A Type B license covers residents who may need staff help to get out, may not be able to follow directions in an emergency, and may need staff attendance at night. A Type B resident must not be permanently bedfast.
- A facility that markets care for people with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias must hold a Type B license and a separate Alzheimer's certification.
- You can look up a facility in the HHSC Long-Term Care provider search before you tour. Check the license type, the licensed capacity, and whether the license is current.
In Texas, an assisted living home must hold a state license to operate. HHSC, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, issues the license. The license type tells you a lot before you ever take a tour. It states who the facility is allowed to care for and what must happen in an emergency.
This guide shows how to check a license and explains the two main license types, Type A and Type B. Our Assisted Living section holds our other guides for this care setting, and the Texas provider listings under /providers/ list facilities by area.
How to check a license
Start with the home's exact name and address. Names can be close. One company may run homes in more than one town.
If a home is not in the state search, or the staff cannot show a license, do not move forward until that is cleared up. Care sold without a license has no state oversight behind it.
- Search for the home in the HHSC Long-Term Care provider search, called the LTC Search, on the HHSC site. The HHSC assisted living page points families to that search to find and compare Texas homes.
- Match the address on the license record to the address you plan to tour. If they differ, ask the home why.
- Read the license type on the record: Type A or Type B. Read the licensed capacity too. A home may not house more people than its license allows.
- Ask the home to show you the license on your tour. It should name the same home, address, type, and size as the state record.
- Ask about survey and inspection history. HHSC oversees these homes and takes complaints. The HHSC assisted living information pamphlet lists the complaint line at 800-458-9858.
What Type A means
The state rule (Title 26, Texas Administrative Code, Section 553.5) ties the license type to how well residents can get out in an emergency. In a Type A home, a resident must be able to get out with no help from staff. That can include a person who uses a wheelchair or an electric cart, as long as the person can move and get out on their own in an emergency.
A Type A resident does not need routine staff attendance during the night. The resident must be able to follow directions in an emergency. The resident must also be able to show HHSC that they can meet the building's exit rules.
In plain terms, Type A fits people who need daily help, such as meals, baths, and medication support, but who can still get themselves out of the building if a fire alarm sounds at night.
What Type B means
In a Type B home, a resident may need staff help to get out in an emergency. The resident may need staff attendance during the night. The resident may not be able to follow directions in an emergency. The resident may need help moving to and from a wheelchair. One hard limit stands: a Type B resident must not be permanently bedfast.
Type B fits people with more care needs, such as people with dementia who would not respond to an alarm on their own. That is also why the dementia rule sits here. A home or unit that markets care for Alzheimer's disease or related disorders must hold a Type B license. It must also earn the Alzheimer's certification on top of it.
The license type is about the resident's abilities, not about how nice the building is. A person whose needs grow past what a Type A license allows has to move, even if the family loves the home. Ask on the tour what happens when a resident's needs grow. Our guides on how to check a care home license and on level of care assessments, both in the Assisted Living section, go deeper on those checks.
What the license does not tell you
A license is a floor, not a grade. It does not tell you how the food tastes, how kind the staff are, or how fast call lights get answered. It does not set the price. The national median cost of an assisted living community is $6,200 a month (Ledger F4, CareScout 2025 survey). That is a national survey median. It is not a Texas price and it is not a quote for any one home. Ask each Texas home for its own rate sheet, in print, with the cost of each added level of care.
Use the license check as step one. Then tour at more than one time of day, eat a meal if you can, and talk with residents and their families.
Who pays for what
- Medicare does not pay for assisted living room and board. Medicare pays for health care, not for housing and daily care.
- Medicaid: Texas Medicaid can help pay for services in some assisted living settings for people who qualify, under state program rules. The resident still pays toward room and board. Ask the facility and the state program which parts each side pays.
- Private pay: most residents pay the monthly rate from income and savings. That is the common path the $6,200 national median in Ledger F4 describes.
- The facility provides housing, meals, and the care services in its contract, at the level its license allows.
Sample situation
Maria is looking at two homes near her mother in Fort Worth. Her mother uses a walker, needs help with baths, and wakes at night confused about where she is. The first home holds a Type A license. Its record in the state search matches its address and capacity, but the type is the problem: her mother cannot get out on her own in an emergency and needs staff nearby at night. The second home holds a Type B license with Alzheimer's certification, which fits her mother's needs. Maria tours the second home, asks for its rate sheet in print, and tests its base rate against the $6,200 national median in Ledger F4 to see how it compares with the country as a whole, while treating the home's own sheet as the real price.
Steps to check any Texas facility
- Find the facility in the HHSC Long-Term Care provider search and match the name and address.
- Note the license type and capacity, then ask to see the license on your tour.
- Match the type to your family member's real abilities at night and in an emergency.
- If dementia care is marketed, ask to see the Alzheimer's certification and confirm the license is Type B.
- Get the rate sheet in print, and ask what happens when care needs grow.