West Virginia home care license requirements
Bottom line: Registration — OHFLAC home care service provider registration (§15-2C-7).
- License required?
- Registration
- License / pathway
- OHFLAC home care service provider registration (§15-2C-7)
- Fees (initial / renewal)
- No fee for registration
From the 50-state summary. Fees shown as stated in the state entry; see each entry for conditions, conflicts, and sources.
West Virginia requirements, item by item
Bracketed numbers link to the official sources at the bottom of this page.
Not confirmed in official sources — check with the state agency We could not confirm this item on an official state source during our review, so we did not estimate it.
| Item | What the guide found |
|---|---|
| License required? | Under W. Va. Code § 15-2C-7, home care service providers not already licensed, certified, or registered by the department must register with the Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification. The sources reviewed do not establish a separate general license requirement for non-medical agencies; Medicaid Personal Care providers have additional program requirements. [1][2] |
| License type / name | General home care provider: registration with the Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification under § 15-2C-7. Separate Medicaid Personal Care pathway: generally a Certificate of Need from the WV Health Care Authority, followed by Operating Agency certification and Medicaid enrollment; stated exemptions apply to the CON requirement. [1][2][3] |
| Licensing agency | General registration: Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification. For the Medicaid Personal Care pathway, the WV Health Care Authority issues the CON, the Operating Agency certifies providers, and the BMS fiscal agent handles Medicaid enrollment. [1][2][3] |
| Agency website | Not confirmed in official sources — check with the state agency |
| Initial application / license fee | Not confirmed in official sources — check with the state agency — No fee may be charged for registration under § 15-2C-7. Fees for the separate Medicaid CON or certification pathway are not stated in the sources reviewed. [1] |
| Renewal fee | Not confirmed in official sources — check with the state agency |
| Renewal cycle | For Medicaid Personal Care provider agencies, designated evidence of continuing compliance must be submitted to the Operating Agency every 12 months. The sources reviewed do not state a renewal cycle for general § 15-2C-7 registration. [2][3] |
| Typical approval timeline | No official timeline published — check with the agency |
| Administrator qualifications | Not confirmed in official sources — check with the state agency |
| Caregiver background checks | For Medicaid Personal Care direct-access personnel, the 2018 standards require fingerprinting for state and federal criminal history checks and an employment-fitness determination. The 2014 materials also state that an FBI check must be initiated if a prospective employee lived out of state within the previous five years. [2][4] |
| Caregiver training hours | For Medicaid Personal Care direct-care workers, four hours of training focused on service-delivery knowledge and skills are required annually, in addition to specified other training; competency-based training is required before providing service. [2][5] |
| Registry checks | For Medicaid Personal Care direct-access personnel, the 2018 standards provide for prescreening through WV CARES registry and licensure-database searches; current employees are rechecked monthly. [2][3] |
| General liability insurance | Not confirmed in official sources — check with the state agency |
| Workers' compensation | Not confirmed in official sources — check with the state agency |
| Bonding (surety / dishonesty) | Not confirmed in official sources — check with the state agency |
| Rule changes 2025–2026 | Not confirmed in official sources — check with the state agency |
Source notes and conflicts
The sources describe distinct pathways rather than a direct conflict: § 15-2C-7 registration applies to covered home care service providers, while the CON, Operating Agency certification, and Medicaid enrollment requirements concern agencies providing Medicaid Personal Care services. The legally unlicensed-home registration provisions concern homes serving one to three residents for more than 24 hours and do not establish requirements for an ordinary home care agency.
Sources
- West Virginia Code | §15-2C-7
https://code.wvlegislature.gov/15-2C-7/ - [PDF] Chapter 517 PERSONAL CARE SERVICES
https://bms.wv.gov/media/40115/download?inline - [PDF] Chapter 517 PERSONAL CARE SERVICES - West Virginia Medicaid
https://bms.wv.gov/media/22006/download?inline - [PDF] Chapter 517 - West Virginia Medicaid - WV.gov
https://bms.wv.gov/media/21106/download?inline - Chapter 517 - Bureau for Medical Services - WV.gov
https://bms.wv.gov/media/41163/download?inline
Limits: fees and forms change often. Agencies sometimes post conflicting figures (a statute vs. an older form); those conflicts are shown, not resolved by guessing. Confirm the current fee with the agency before filing. This guide is a research reference, not legal advice.
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