NBHA®National Boarding Home Association
Regulations / PennsylvaniaReviewed September 2026

Pennsylvania

A personal care home is any premises giving food, shelter and personal assistance or supervision for more than 24 hours to four or more adults who are not relatives of the operator. DHS licenses and inspects PCHs every year; they may not provide nursing or medical care. Assisted living residences are a separate, higher license (Ch. 2800), and domiciliary care homes, certified by local Area Agencies on Aging, serve no more than three people.

License categories

Personal care homesAssisted living residencesDomiciliary care homes

Key laws

55 Pa. Code Chapter 2600
Personal Care Homes — official text
55 Pa. Code Chapter 2800
Assisted Living Residences
6 Pa. Code Chapter 21
Domiciliary Care Services for Adults

Key requirements

  1. Administrators must complete DHS orientation, a 100-hour standardized administrator course and a competency test. As of July 1, 2024, the test certificate is required before orientation (55 Pa. Code 2600.64; DHS).
  2. Administrators need at least 24 hours of training a year (55 Pa. Code 2600.64).
  3. A direct care staff member aged 21 or older must be in the home whenever residents are present. Minimum personal care is 1 hour per day per mobile resident and 2 hours per day per resident with mobility needs, at least 75% of it during waking hours (55 Pa. Code 2600.57).
  4. Direct care staff who give unsupervised ADL help must complete training and pass a competency test (DHS).
  5. The personal needs allowance for SSI recipients is set by statement of policy at 55 Pa. Code 2600.25a ($85 per the 2009 text).

Sources

  1. https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dhs/resources/licensing/pch-alr-licensing
  2. https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dhs/resources/licensing/pch-alr-licensing/pch-alr-training
  3. https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dhs/resources/licensing/pch-alr-licensing/pch-alr-compliance-guides
  4. https://pa.gov/services/dhs/personal-care-home-services.html
  5. https://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/secure/pacode/data/055/chapter2600/055_2600.pdf
  6. https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/pennsylvania/55-Pa-Code-SS-2600-25a
  7. https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/pennsylvania/55-Pa-Code-SS-2600-64
  8. https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/pennsylvania/55-Pa-Code-SS-2600-57
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