Last verified: October 2026
Who regulates senior care in Pennsylvania?
Three agencies split the job: the Department of Human Services licenses and inspects personal care homes and assisted living residences, the Department of Health licenses nursing homes (which CMS certifies and rates), and the Department of Aging runs the Area Agencies on Aging, protective services and the Long-Term Care Ombudsman.
Around Pittsburgh, DHS oversees 231 personal care homes and assisted living residences and the Department of Health 111 certified nursing homes in our seven counties.
Which Pennsylvania rules matter most when choosing a home?
Four rules come up on nearly every tour: the license category (personal care home under Chapter 2600 or assisted living residence under Chapter 2800), whether a secured dementia unit is on the certificate, the home's license type and inspection history, and the contract's notice and fee terms.
Each has its own guide below, written from the Pennsylvania Code and the agencies' own pages.
Where can you read the Pennsylvania rules yourself?
The personal care home rules are 55 Pa. Code Chapter 2600 and the assisted living residence rules are Chapter 2800, both free on the Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin website; general licensing procedures, including provisional certificates, are in Chapter 20.
The DHS Human Services Provider Directory shows how those rules play out for a specific home, through its license type and posted inspection summaries.
Pennsylvania rules guides
- Personal care home vs. assisted living residence in Pennsylvania — How Pennsylvania's two residential care licenses differ: living units, nursing, dementia units, fees and the legal use of the words 'assisted living'.
- Pennsylvania's memory care rules: secured dementia units and special care units — Pennsylvania has no memory-care license. Here is how Secure Dementia Care Units (PCH) and Special Care Units (ALR) work, and how many exist around Pittsburgh.
- How to check a Pennsylvania personal care home's license and inspection reports — Use the PA DHS Human Services Provider Directory to see a personal care home's license type, capacity, dementia unit and every posted Licensing Inspection Summary.
- What a provisional license means for a Pennsylvania personal care home — A provisional certificate of compliance means substantial but not complete compliance. See the rule and which Pittsburgh-area homes hold one.
- Contracts and discharge notice in Pennsylvania personal care and assisted living — What a Pennsylvania ALR resident contract must contain: month-to-month terms, 14- and 30-day notice, personal needs allowance, fee schedule and refunds.
- Staffing and training rules in Pennsylvania personal care homes and assisted living — Pennsylvania's minimum direct care hours, administrator training, ALR nurse requirement and dementia training, from 55 Pa. Code.
- How to file a complaint or report abuse in Pennsylvania senior care — Who takes complaints about Pennsylvania personal care homes (DHS), nursing homes (DOH), and abuse of older adults (county protective services), with phone numbers.
- How nursing homes are licensed and rated in Pennsylvania — Pennsylvania DOH licenses nursing homes; CMS certifies and rates them. How the Five-Star rating works and how 111 Pittsburgh-area nursing homes score.
Who regulates what in Pennsylvania
| Regulates | Does not regulate | |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Human Services | personal care homes, assisted living residences | nursing homes |
| Department of Health | nursing homes | personal care homes |
| Department of Aging | AAAs, protective services, ombudsman | facility licenses |
