Wisconsin’s DHS 83 regulations set the operating rules for every Community-Based Residential Facility (CBRF) in the state, covering licensing, building standards, staffing, training, admissions, resident rights, and enforcement. The chapter works in tandem with Wisconsin Statutes section 50.01(1g), which defines a CBRF as a place where five or more unrelated adults live together and receive care beyond room and board, but no more than three hours of nursing care per resident per week.1Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Statutes 50.01 If you’re opening a facility, working in one, or placing a family member, DHS 83 is the rulebook that decides what the facility must do.
What Counts as a CBRF
A CBRF sits between independent housing and a nursing home. Residents need more support than a landlord provides but less medical care than skilled nursing delivers. The three-hour weekly nursing cap is the dividing line: once a resident consistently needs more, the facility either obtains a waiver or the placement ends.1Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Statutes 50.01 Typical residents include older adults, people with developmental disabilities, individuals managing chronic mental health conditions, and people in substance use recovery.
Some group living arrangements are excluded from the CBRF definition even when they house five or more adults. Convents and religious order facilities serving only members, domestic abuse shelters, emergency shelters, adult family homes, and residential care apartment complexes are not CBRFs. Neither is a lodging facility where every resident evacuates independently and nobody receives personal care, medication management, or supervision.1Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Statutes 50.01
License Categories: Size and Class
DHS 83.04 sorts CBRFs by size and by the mobility and cognitive ability of residents. The size tiers:
- Small: 5 to 8 residents
- Medium: 9 to 20 residents
- Large: 21 or more residents
Classification is the other axis, and it drives fire safety standards and building requirements. Class A facilities serve only residents who can recognize a fire alarm and exit the building on their own without prompting. Class C facilities serve at least one resident who cannot do that, whether the limitation is cognitive or physical. Within each class, further distinctions apply based on whether residents are ambulatory, semi-ambulatory, or non-ambulatory.2Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Administrative Code DHS 83.04 – Licensing Categories A Class C non-ambulatory facility can serve wheelchair users who cannot exit without staff help; a Class A ambulatory facility cannot.
Classification shapes bedroom size minimums, staffing obligations, and fire protection standards. Get it wrong at the design stage and the building may not qualify for the residents you intended to serve.
Applying for a License
DHS 83.05 lays out what an initial application must contain:
- A program statement describing client groups, staffing patterns, services, and admission criteria
- A dimensioned floor plan showing exits and room usage
- A fire inspection form completed by the local fire authority
- A balance sheet showing current financial position
- Evidence of at least 60 days of projected operating funds in reserve
- All required fees
The program statement is the facility’s operating blueprint. DHS 83.06 requires it to name the licensee and administrator, describe 24-hour staffing, state licensed capacity and DHS 83.04 classification, describe program goals and services, spell out who the facility will and will not serve, and note whether respite care is offered. Facilities serving more than one client group must explain how those groups are compatible.4Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Administrative Code DHS 83.06 – Program Statement
The application fee is $389 plus $50.25 per resident based on licensed capacity. A probationary license costs half that.5Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Residential and Community-Based Care Licensing and Certification – Community-Based Residential Facility Every applicant must complete a compliance statement before the state schedules an initial licensing survey.6Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Community-Based Residential Facilities – Opening a Community-Based Residential Facility Inspectors then walk the building to confirm it matches the submitted floor plan, review staff training records, and verify readiness. If everything checks out, the department issues the initial license and admissions can begin.
Building and Fire Safety Standards
Bedrooms
For Class A ambulatory and Class C ambulatory facilities, a single-occupancy bedroom needs at least 80 square feet and a shared bedroom needs at least 60 square feet per person. Facilities classified as semi-ambulatory or non-ambulatory, along with all newly constructed CBRFs regardless of classification, must meet 100 square feet for a single and 80 square feet per person in a shared room. Closets and bathrooms do not count toward the square footage. When residents with different classifications share a room, the room must meet the highest applicable standard.7Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Administrative Code DHS 83.54 – Bedrooms
Common Areas and Bathrooms
Common dining and living space must provide at least 60 square feet per ambulatory or semi-ambulatory resident and 90 square feet per non-ambulatory resident. The dining area must seat all residents in no more than two meal shifts, and egress paths through common areas do not count toward the space requirement. The bathroom ratio is one toilet, one sink, and one bath or shower for every ten residents and other occupants.8Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Administrative Code DHS 83.55 – Bathrooms
Fire Protection
Every CBRF must have an interconnected smoke detection system and an interconnected heat detection system covering the whole building, so any single detector triggers an alarm audible throughout the facility. Smoke detectors are required in every bedroom, at the top of every open stairway, in corridors spaced no more than 30 feet apart, in all common-use rooms except kitchens and bathrooms, and in the basement.9Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Administrative Code DHS 83.48 – Smoke and Heat Detection
Each floor needs at least one portable fire extinguisher with a minimum 2A, 10-B-C rating. Extinguishers must be clearly visible, mounted no higher than five feet, never locked in a cabinet or placed on the floor, and spaced so that no point on the floor is more than 75 feet from the nearest one. A qualified professional must inspect every extinguisher annually starting one year after purchase. Exit diagrams must be posted on each floor in a location visible to residents.10Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Administrative Code DHS 83.47 – Fire Safety
Staffing
DHS 83 doesn’t prescribe a fixed staff-to-resident ratio. It requires enough employees on a 24-hour basis to meet resident needs, with these hard minimums:
- An administrator or other designated qualified staff member on-site daily
- At least one qualified resident care worker in the building whenever any residents are there
- At least one staff member on duty and awake if any resident needs 24-hour supervision or has an evacuation time of four minutes or more
- At least one qualified staff member reachable when all residents are away, in case someone returns early
The facility must keep a written staffing schedule showing each employee’s name, assignment, and hours. The awake-staff rule catches new operators off guard. If even one resident has dementia, a history of elopement, unstable health, or self-harming behavior, someone must be awake overnight.
Administrator Qualifications
A CBRF administrator must be at least 21 years old and meet one of these paths:
- An associate degree or higher in a healthcare-related field
- A bachelor’s degree in a non-healthcare field plus one year of direct-contact experience with a CBRF client group
- A bachelor’s degree in a non-healthcare field plus a department-approved assisted living administrator training course
- Two years of direct-contact healthcare experience plus an approved administrator training course
- A valid Wisconsin nursing home administrator’s license
There is no standalone “high school diploma plus experience” path. Every route requires either a college degree or a mix of hands-on experience and a department-approved training course.
Training and Continuing Education
Two training categories exist: what must be done before certain duties, and what must be done within 90 days of hire.
Before handling duties involving potential exposure to blood or body fluids, an employee must complete standard precautions training. Before managing or administering any medications, the employee must complete medication administration training. No grace period applies to either.13Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Administrative Code DHS 83.20 – Approved Courses
Within 90 days of starting work, every employee must also complete training in fire safety; first aid and choking procedures; resident rights including confidentiality, restraints, grievance procedures, and self-determination; the characteristics and needs of the facility’s client group; and recognizing and responding to challenging behaviors such as elopement, aggression, and suicide risk. Facilities that serve more than one client group must train employees on each group separately.14Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Administrative Code DHS 83.20 and 83.21 – Employee Training
After the initial training period, administrators and resident care staff must complete at least 15 hours of continuing education per calendar year, starting with the first full calendar year of employment.15Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Administrative Code DHS 83.25 – Continuing Education
Who a CBRF Can and Can’t Admit
DHS 83.27 sets clear limits on admissions and retentions. A facility may never exceed its licensed bed capacity, and it may not admit or retain:
- A person whose mobility or cognitive abilities don’t match the facility’s license classification
- A person who is destructive or abusive, unless the facility has enough resources to manage the behavior and protect everyone
- A person whose physical, mental, or social needs don’t fit the client group in the program statement
- A person who requires more than three hours of nursing care per week, except temporarily for up to 30 days
The three-hour cap has a safety valve. A facility can request a departmental waiver for a resident with a long-term condition exceeding three hours per week, provided the condition is stable and predictable, the resident is otherwise appropriate for CBRF-level care, and the necessary services are available. Without a waiver, no more than four residents or 10 percent of licensed capacity (whichever is greater) may temporarily exceed the three-hour limit at any given time.16Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Administrative Code DHS 83.27 – Limitations on Admissions and Retentions
Resident Rights
DHS 83.32 spells out rights that every CBRF must explain to residents before the admission agreement is signed, and post in a prominent public location. Coercion aimed at discouraging a resident from exercising any of these rights is prohibited, along with retaliation against a resident, a legal representative, or an employee who helps a resident assert them.17Cornell Law Institute. Wisconsin Administrative Code DHS 83.32 – Resident Rights
Residents can make and receive phone calls in privacy, with the facility providing at least one non-pay telephone. Health and personal records are confidential; the facility may not release them without the resident’s approval except when required by law or when transferring the resident to another facility. Residents can request copies of their own records within 30 days at no more than reproduction cost. Every resident has the right to be free from physical, sexual, and mental abuse, from neglect, and from financial exploitation.17Cornell Law Institute. Wisconsin Administrative Code DHS 83.32 – Resident Rights
No resident may be recorded, filmed, or photographed without written consent from them or their legal representative. Identification photos are allowed, and department inspectors may photograph during an investigation, but routine recording without consent is prohibited.
Mandatory Reporting
CBRF employees are mandatory reporters under Wisconsin Statutes sections 46.90 and 55.043. A staff member with reasonable cause to believe an adult at risk faces imminent danger of serious bodily harm, death, sexual assault, or significant property loss must report to the local elder or adult-at-risk agency, law enforcement, or the county social services department. When a report involves abuse or neglect by a caregiver or non-client resident inside a licensed facility, the receiving agency must refer it to the appropriate state department within 24 hours.
Reporters have civil and criminal immunity for good-faith reports, and retaliation is illegal. If a facility takes adverse action against an employee within 120 days of that employee filing a report, the law presumes the action was retaliatory and the employer must prove otherwise.
Enforcement and Penalties
When a CBRF violates DHS 83 or Chapter 50, the Department of Health Services has several tools. Consequences scale with severity:
- Forfeitures of $10 to $1,000 per day per violation
- An admission freeze halting new placements
- License revocation for substantial violations or conditions that directly threaten resident health, safety, or welfare
- A $200 revisit inspection fee when the department returns to verify a correction
- Resident relocation, in the most serious cases, on a submitted plan
The daily-fine structure makes unresolved violations expensive fast. A fire safety citation left uncorrected for two weeks can accumulate up to $14,000 in penalties on that issue alone. When a citation lands, the correction timeline matters as much as the correction itself.