How to Get a Home Care License in Minnesota: Fees, Survey, Renewal

To get a home care license in Minnesota, you apply to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) for either a Basic or Comprehensive license, pay a $2,100 or $4,200 application fee, submit business filings, insurance proof, written policies, and background studies for owners and key staff, and then operate under a temporary license until MDH surveys your agency and issues full licensure. The entire path from application to first survey typically runs several months, and the sequence below is built to keep you from losing time or money at any step.

Pick the Right License Before You Apply

Minnesota issues home care licenses at two levels, and the fee you pay is non-refundable, so choosing correctly is the first real decision.

A Basic Home Care license covers personal assistance and household support: dressing, bathing, grooming, toileting, oral hygiene, standby assistance, verbal or visual medication reminders, reminders for scheduled treatments, preparing modified diets, and household tasks like laundry and meal preparation when combined with at least one personal care task.¹ Basic licensees do not perform clinical interventions.

A Comprehensive Home Care license covers everything in the basic license plus clinical and specialized services: nursing care from RNs or LPNs, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology, respiratory therapy, social work, medication management, hands-on transfer and mobility assistance, and tasks delegated to unlicensed staff under RN supervision.¹ If you plan to administer medications, do wound care, manage tube feeding, or deliver any service that requires a licensed health professional, you need the comprehensive license.

You can move from basic to comprehensive during your temporary license period by notifying the commissioner in writing and paying the fee difference. Going the other direction is allowed, but no refund is issued.²

Check Whether You Even Need a License

Minnesota Statutes section 144A.471, subdivisions 8 and 9, list providers that are exempt from or excluded from licensure, including certain government-provided services and other narrowly defined arrangements.³ Review those subdivisions before you spend anything. Exempt providers must still comply with the Minnesota Home Care Bill of Rights.

Assemble the Application Package

MDH will not process an incomplete package, so gather every piece before you submit.

Business Filings

Your agency must have an active filing with the Minnesota Secretary of State. Include a certificate of incorporation if you are a for-profit or nonprofit corporation, or articles of organization if you are an LLC. If you operate under an assumed name, include that certificate too.⁴

Insurance

Workers’ compensation coverage is mandatory if you have employees. State law requires the Commissioner of Health to withhold your license until you present acceptable evidence of workers’ compensation compliance, and an application for coverage does not count — you need an active policy listing your agency as the insured.⁴ Professional liability insurance is also required; the application does not specify a minimum dollar amount.

Written Policies

Your application must include written policies covering client intake, grievance procedures, emergency protocols, and service delivery standards. These policies must align with the Minnesota Home Care Bill of Rights, which gives clients the right to receive written information about their rights in plain language before services begin, the right to participate in care planning, and protections against being required to surrender any rights as a condition of receiving services.⁵ MDH publishes a combined federal and state Home Care Bill of Rights document in multiple languages that your agency must give to every client.⁶

Write policies you can actually follow from day one. Surveyors will later check whether your practice matches your paperwork.

Key Personnel

Every agency must designate a manager responsible for day-to-day operations and regulatory compliance. A comprehensive license applicant must also designate a registered nurse to oversee clinical activities, including delegation of tasks to unlicensed staff.¹ Name these people in the application. They must complete background studies before you submit.

Run Background Studies Through NETStudy 2.0

Every owner, managerial official, and direct-contact employee must complete a background study through the Department of Human Services NETStudy 2.0 system.⁷ The owner or managerial official first submits a form to create the agency’s NETStudy 2.0 account, then uses that account to submit study requests for everyone else.⁸

The commissioner will disqualify an individual from any direct-contact position if the study reveals a conviction, admission, or Alford plea to crimes listed in section 245C.15, or if a preponderance of the evidence shows the person committed acts meeting the definition of those crimes. A separate disqualification applies to ownership and management positions for violations involving certain fraud and billing-related statutes.⁹ A disqualification affecting anyone in a key role blocks the whole application until you replace the person or obtain a set-aside.

Submit the Application, Pay the Fee, and Wait on the Clock

Send the complete package to the MDH Financial Management section with the statutory fee:

Basic Home Care license: $2,100
Comprehensive Home Care license: $4,200

These amounts apply to first-time applicants and to change-of-ownership filings alike.¹⁰ The fee is non-refundable.

Within 14 calendar days of receiving your application, the commissioner must acknowledge receipt in writing and tell you whether the application appears complete or whether more information is needed. Once MDH considers the application complete, the commissioner has 90 days to issue a temporary license, renew an existing license, or deny the application.² The 90-day clock runs from the completeness date, not from the mailing date.

Operate Under a Temporary License

New applicants get a temporary license, valid for up to one year, that lets you enroll clients and begin providing services. One deadline catches people out: within five days of beginning to provide services, you must notify the commissioner in writing by mail or email. If you never provide services during the entire temporary license period, the license expires and you start over with a new application.²

That five-day notice is what triggers the survey process. The commissioner must survey your agency within 90 calendar days of being notified that you are serving clients.²

Pass the Initial Survey

The initial survey checks whether your agency actually complies with Minnesota’s home care regulations in practice. Surveyors review client records, interview clients and staff, and observe care delivery. The survey must be completed within 14 months of the date MDH issued your temporary license. If you pass, MDH issues a full license valid for up to one year, and your agency moves into the regular renewal cycle with ongoing surveys at least once every three years.¹¹

If surveyors find deficiencies, the commissioner mails or emails a correction order within 30 calendar days after the exit date, and your agency must document corrective action by the date specified in the order.¹¹ Unresolved deficiencies can escalate to fines, license conditions, or revocation.

Plan for Renewal

A Minnesota home care license is valid for one year. Submit the renewal application at least 30 days before expiration, with verification that your policies are current and that you have delivered home care services within the past 12 months.¹²

Renewal fees scale with revenue from home care services during the prior calendar year, running from $231 for agencies earning $25,000 or less up to $7,651 for agencies earning more than $1,500,000.¹² A new agency pays little; renewal costs climb as the client base grows. Budget for it from year one.

Federal Obligations the State License Doesn’t Cover

A Minnesota license authorizes you to operate under state law. Several federal rules sit alongside it and apply the moment you hire staff or bill a federal program.

Worker Classification and Wages

You cannot classify caregivers as independent contractors by labeling them that way. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the test is economic reality: if your workers depend on your agency for schedules, client assignments, and training, they are employees regardless of the contract.¹³

Third-party employers like home care staffing agencies cannot claim the FLSA companionship services exemption, which is only available when a worker is employed directly by a family or household. Agencies must pay at least the applicable minimum wage and overtime at one-and-a-half times the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek.¹⁴ Minnesota’s minimum wage is $11.41 per hour as of January 2026, higher than the federal floor.¹⁵

Medicare Certification

Billing Medicare for home health services requires more than a state license. You must meet federal Conditions of Participation under 42 CFR Part 484, including patient assessment, OASIS quality reporting, and patient satisfaction survey data, and Medicare-certified agencies must also obtain a surety bond.¹⁶ Medicare certification runs through CMS and involves a separate federal survey. Many agencies start with private-pay and Medicaid clients and pursue Medicare certification later.

HIPAA

Any agency that transmits health information electronically is a covered entity under HIPAA and must maintain written privacy and security policies, train staff on protected health information, and safeguard electronic records. Build HIPAA-compliant record-keeping into your operations from the start.

1
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes 144A.471 – Home Care Provider and Home Care Services
2
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes 144A.473 – Issuance of Temporary License and License Renewal
3
Minnesota Department of Health. Information About Starting a Home Care Agency in Minnesota
4
Minnesota Department of Health. Application of Licensure Temporary Comprehensive Home Care
5
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes 144A.44 – Home Care Bill of Rights
6
Minnesota Department of Health. Patient, Resident, and Home Care Bill of Rights
7
Minnesota Department of Human Services. NETStudy 2.0 FAQs
8
Minnesota Department of Human Services. CBSM – DHS Background Study Process for Lead Agencies
9
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes 245C.14 – Disqualification From Direct Contact
10
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 144A.472 – Home Care Providers
11
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes 144A.474 – Surveys and Investigations
12
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes 144A.472 – Home Care Providers
13
Federal Register. Employee or Independent Contractor Status Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, and Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act
14
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 79A: Companionship Services Under the Fair Labor Standards Act
15
Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. Minimum Wage in Minnesota
16
eCFR. Part 484 Home Health Services