How to Start a Home Care Agency in Virginia: VDH License $1,500 for 3 Years, $1 Million Liability

October 29, 2026

If you plan to start a home health care business in Virginia, your main state approval is a home care organization license from the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), Office of Licensure and Certification (OLC). The license is governed by 12VAC5-381. This guide covers the virginia home care license steps in order: the license itself, application timing, insurance and staffing rules, separate approvals, startup costs, and local requirements. It is a practical summary of virginia home care agency requirements, not a substitute for the regulations.

What You Need Before You Apply

Gather these items before you file anything. Incomplete paperwork is the fastest way to lose time.

• A legal entity, either a limited liability company (LLC) or a corporation, with articles filed with the State Corporation Commission (SCC)
• A Virginia registered agent with a Virginia street address
• A business name that is available in the SCC Clerk's Information System
• A written list of the services you will provide in the client's residence
• A qualified administrator for the agency
• Written policies, a plan for client records, and a credential file for each staff member
• Insurance quotes for the three coverages described in Step 5
• The $1,500 license application fee

Step 1: Form Your Entity and Reserve Your Name

Form the entity first, because the license application identifies the organization. For an LLC, file Articles of Organization (Form LLC1011) with the SCC for $100. The name must contain limited liability company, limited company, LLC, L.L.C., LC or L.C., and it must be distinguishable from names already on file. If you need time to decide, you can reserve a name for $10 for 120 days.

Online filings through the SCC Clerk's Information System (CIS) can be expedited. Next-day service costs $50 or $100 if submitted by 2:00 PM Eastern, with a response by 4:00 PM the next business day. Same-day service costs $200 if submitted by 10:00 AM Eastern, with a response by 4:00 PM. Expedited service is online only and nonrefundable, so use it only when your timeline requires it.

A corporation files Articles of Incorporation (Form SCC619) for $75. It also owes an annual report and annual registration fee, which starts at $100 for up to 5,000 authorized shares plus $30 for each additional 5,000 shares. Confirm the current figure on the SCC annual fee schedule. The annual registration fee is due the last day of the formation month, and the annual report is due the last day of the 12th month after formation.

Every Virginia entity must keep a registered agent who is a Virginia resident with a Virginia street registered office, available during business hours. The agent must be a member of the Virginia State Bar, or a member, manager, officer, trustee or general partner of the entity. An entity cannot be its own agent. If no one on your team qualifies, a commercial registered agent is an option, but its fees vary, so get quotes.

If you will operate under a name other than your legal entity name, file an Assumed Name Certificate with the SCC for $10. It is filed with the SCC, not the circuit court, and no newspaper publication is required.

Step 2: Understand the Home Care Organization License

The OLC licenses home care organizations under 12VAC5-381. One home care organization license covers home health, pharmaceutical and personal care services provided in the client's residence (12VAC5-381-10). If you searched for a home health agency license in Virginia, you will find that the same license covers personal care. You do not apply for a separate home health license and a separate personal care license. Describe every service you plan to deliver on one application.

The fee is $1,500 for each initial application and each renewal. Licenses are renewed every three years (12VAC5-381-70 and 12VAC5-381-40). A late renewal carries a $50 fee. Fees are not refunded, so confirm your services and locations before you submit.

Step 3: Time Your Application

For initial licensure, submit a completed application at least 60 days before your intended opening date (12VAC5-381-40 D). Treat the 60 days as lead time. The rule requires you to file early enough for the OLC to process the application. It is not a promise that the OLC will act within 60 days, and it is not a fixed window.

An incomplete application has its own deadline. It becomes inactive six months after the OLC receives it. Then you must reapply and pay the $1,500 fee again. A complete application filed early avoids that cost.

Do not open, admit clients, or advertise as an operating agency until your license is issued. Count back 60 days from your planned opening date to set your filing deadline, and keep your opening date flexible until the license is in hand.

Step 4: Prepare the Application Contents

Before it licenses you, the OLC reviews your staff credentials, your policies, your client records, and your qualified administrator. Prepare each item as a finished file, not a draft. Request the OLC's current application packet and check it against 12VAC5-381 so you know exactly what it expects.

Keep your written policies consistent with the services and staffing described in your application. Changes after filing can slow the review.

Step 5: Buy the Required Insurance

Virginia requires three separate coverages, and one policy does not satisfy all of them.

• General liability insurance of at least $1 million per occurrence
• Third-party crime insurance or a blanket fidelity bond of at least $50,000
• Malpractice insurance consistent with Va. Code 8.01-581.15

Premiums depend on your services, staff size, and claims history, so this guide does not list a premium figure. Get written quotes from carriers that write home care coverage, and confirm the malpractice coverage with the carrier and the OLC before you bind your policies.

Step 6: Set Up Hiring and Background Checks

You must obtain a criminal record report for each employee within 30 days of hire. The report must be an original, and it cannot be older than 90 days. Build this into your onboarding checklist so that no employee's file has a missing or expired report.

Staff credentials are part of the OLC review, so keep a current credential file for each person and update it when a certification or license changes.

Step 7: Confirm You Do Not Need a Certificate of Public Need

Virginia's certificate of public need (COPN) process does not apply to home care or home health agencies, so you do not need COPN approval before applying for your home care organization license. Va. Code 32.1-102.1:3 lists the facilities and services that COPN covers.

Step 8: Handle the Approvals That Are Separate

Several approvals sit outside the OLC license. Plan each one as its own project.

• Medicaid enrollment runs through the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS). It is separate from the OLC license, so the license does not enroll you in Medicaid. See https://www.dmas.virginia.gov/ for enrollment information.
• Medicare certification for home health is a separate federal process. This guide does not confirm its steps or timing, so check with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (https://www.cms.gov/) and the OLC.
• Other care types have their own licensors. Assisted living and adult day care are licensed by the Department of Social Services, and child day centers and family day homes are licensed by the Department of Education. Plan these separately if you expand.

This guide gives no timelines for Medicaid or Medicare. Ask each agency for its current process before you choose a launch date.

Step 9: Estimate Your Startup Costs

The state fees below are fixed and easy to budget. The larger costs are ones you must quote yourself.

Item	Amount	Notes
LLC Articles of Organization (Form LLC1011)	$100	Filed with the SCC
Name reservation (optional)	$10	Holds a name for 120 days
Expedited LLC filing (optional)	$50, $100 or $200	Online only, nonrefundable
Assumed name certificate (if needed)	$10	Filed with the SCC
Home care organization license	$1,500	Initial application, renewed every 3 years
LLC annual registration fee	$50 per year	Due the last day of the 12th month after organization, then every year
Late license renewal	$50	Applies only if renewal is late
Insurance, office, payroll and software	Varies	Get written quotes; this guide gives no figure

Build your payroll budget around Virginia's minimum wage schedule: $12.77 in 2026, $13.75 in 2027 and $15.00 in 2028. Plan for the step-ups, not just today's rate.

Virginia Tax (https://www.tax.virginia.gov/) administers state income tax, where the corporate rate is a 6% flat rate and individual rates run from 2% to 5.75%. The base state sales tax is 5.3% (state plus local), with higher rates in some localities. Ask Virginia Tax or a certified public accountant (CPA) which taxes apply to your services and supplies.

Step 10: Check Local Requirements

Virginia has no general statewide business license, and the SCC issues none. The local business license is the Business, Professional and Occupational License (BPOL) tax under Va. Code 58.1-3700 et seq. Each city or county administers it, usually through the Commissioner of the Revenue.

BPOL is a local tax, and not every locality levies a general one. Va. Code 58.1-3704 allows a locality to levy none. Stafford, Rockingham, Bedford County, Washington County, Montgomery County, Louisa and Fluvanna are examples of localities without a general county license. A town can displace the county tax, so check both the county and any town where you will operate.

Population sets the minimum a locality may charge. A locality over 50,000 people cannot require a license for gross receipts under $100,000. A locality with 25,000 to 50,000 people cannot require one for gross receipts under $50,000. No statutory floor applies under 25,000 people. Localities over 50,000 may waive the license for gross receipts up to $200,000, but confirm that ceiling with your locality before relying on it.

Localities set their own rates and filing deadlines, so do not copy a rate from a neighboring county. Ask the Commissioner of the Revenue for the current rate, due dates, and whether your business is taxed. Also ask whether your office address needs zoning approval.

Tips for a Faster Launch

• Start insurance quotes and background check procedures while your SCC filing is pending, since those run in parallel.
• Put every service on one license application so you do not have to reconcile separate plans later.
• Build one compliance calendar covering the three-year license renewal, the yearly LLC fee, and the local BPOL deadlines.
• Ask the Virginia Small Business Development Center network (https://www.virginiasbdc.org/) for business advising before you commit to a structure.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Treating the 60 days as a processing promise. It is lead time only.
• Filing an incomplete application and missing the six-month inactive deadline.
• Opening, admitting clients, or advertising before the license is issued.
• Applying for separate home health and personal care licenses when one license covers both.
• Skipping one of the three insurance coverages, or assuming one policy meets all three requirements.
• Missing the 30-day background check window, or using a report older than 90 days.
• Assuming a Virginia home care license also enrolls you in Medicaid.
• Assuming every locality charges the same BPOL tax, or skipping the local check because you assume none applies.
• Forgetting the LLC annual registration fee, which is due in the 12th month after organization and every year after that.

What to Expect After Licensing

With the license in hand and separate approvals underway, your agency can begin serving clients. Results depend on local demand, payer mix, staffing, and how quickly you finish your separate enrollments, so plan conservatively. A license is not a guarantee of revenue. Many new agencies may find that their first months go to enrollment, hiring, and building referral relationships.

Official Resources

• State Corporation Commission, Clerk's Office: https://www.scc.virginia.gov/businesses/ (filing portal: https://cis.scc.virginia.gov/)
• Virginia Department of Health: https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/
• Virginia Tax: https://www.tax.virginia.gov/
• Code of Virginia: https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/

This article is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Requirements change, and the figures here are as of October 29, 2026. Confirm current requirements with the Virginia Department of Health (OLC), the State Corporation Commission, Virginia Tax and your locality before you act. For complex situations, consult a Virginia attorney and a CPA before you form your entity or sign leases, insurance policies, or payer agreements.