To start a companion care business in Florida, you form a legal business entity, secure liability and workers’ compensation insurance, clear Level 2 background screenings for every owner and manager, and register with the Agency for Health Care Administration before you take on a single client. The registration itself costs $50.75 for a two-year certificate. The work around it — entity formation, screenings, insurance, and getting your worker classification right — is where new owners usually get stuck.
Know What Companion Care Can and Cannot Include
Florida draws a hard line between companion and homemaker services, which only require AHCA registration, and home health services, which require full licensure as a home health agency under Florida Statutes 400.464.1Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 400.464 – Home Health Agencies; Licensure; Exemptions; Unlawful Acts; Penalties Getting this wrong can shut your business down before it starts.
A registered companion care provider handles non-medical support: light housekeeping, meal preparation, grocery shopping, transportation to appointments, and social engagement like conversation, games, or accompanying clients on walks. The purpose is helping elderly or disabled clients maintain independence at home while providing fellowship and monitoring safety.2Florida Senate. Florida Code 400.509 – Registration of Particular Service Providers Exempt From Licensure
What you cannot do under a companion care registration is anything medical. Bathing, wound care, medication administration, catheter maintenance, physical therapy exercises, and vital sign monitoring all require a licensed home health agency. Providing or even advertising services beyond the non-medical scope on your registration counts as unlicensed activity, and misrepresenting your scope to AHCA can trigger fines or denial of your registration.
Form Your Business Entity
You need a legal entity in place before AHCA will process a registration. Most small companion care owners form an LLC through the Florida Division of Corporations (Sunbiz) for the liability protection and simpler management structure.3Division of Corporations – Florida Department of State. Start a Business
Filing Articles of Organization for a Florida LLC costs $125 total — a $100 filing fee plus a $25 registered agent designation.4Division of Corporations – Florida Department of State. LLC Fees Every Florida entity must designate a registered agent who lives in the state and agrees to receive legal documents. You can be your own registered agent if you have a Florida street address.
If you plan to operate under a name different from your LLC’s registered name, Florida law requires you to advertise the intended name at least once in a local newspaper before filing the fictitious name registration with Sunbiz.5Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 865.09 – Fictitious Name Registration Operating under your LLC’s exact legal name skips this step.6Division of Corporations. FL Fictitious Name Registration
After forming the entity, apply for a free Employer Identification Number from the IRS. You will need it to open a business bank account, file tax returns, and run payroll once you hire caregivers.7Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number Many Florida counties also require a local business tax receipt, so check with your county tax collector.
Line Up Insurance
AHCA requires proof of insurance with your registration application. At minimum, that means professional liability (covering claims from the care your staff provides) and general liability (covering property damage at client homes and injuries on your premises). Carriers that specialize in home care policies typically offer sublimits for license defense, assault incidents, and damage to client property. Have your policy documents ready before you start the AHCA application.
Workers’ compensation is separate. Florida requires it for any non-construction employer with four or more employees, and LLC members and corporate officers count toward that headcount.8Florida Department of Financial Services. Coverage Requirements Sole proprietors and partners without employees can opt in but are not required to carry it personally.9Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 440.02 – Definitions Given how physical caregiving is, one back injury from lifting a client can generate a claim that dwarfs an annual premium, so many owners carry it before hitting the threshold.
Clear Level 2 Background Screenings
Every person with a financial interest in the business, a management role, or direct client access has to pass a Level 2 background screening before AHCA will approve your registration. There is no provisional workaround; anyone who fails cannot be part of the business.10Florida Senate. Florida Code 408.809 – Background Screening
Level 2 screening runs electronic fingerprints through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the FBI, processed via the AHCA Background Screening Clearinghouse. Either the business or the individual can pay the cost.11Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 408.809 – Background Screening Fingerprints are retained by FDLE and enrolled in the national retained print arrest notification program, so any future arrest triggers an automatic alert.
Screening results less than five years old from a position requiring the same level can sometimes transfer, provided the person has not had a break in service exceeding 90 days. Everyone rescreens every five years to keep their eligibility active. This tripping point catches growing agencies: every new hire with client access needs to be cleared before they start working, not after.
Register With AHCA
With the entity formed, insurance in hand, and screenings cleared, you file for registration through AHCA’s Online Licensing System. Paper submissions still go to AHCA headquarters, but the digital portal is much faster.
The application uses the health care licensing addendum, AHCA Form 3110-1024, along with supporting documents.12eLaws. Health Care Licensing Application Addendum AHCA Form 3110-1024 You provide details on your business structure, the names and screening statuses of all owners and managers, your physical business address, insurance documentation, and a description of the services you plan to offer. That services description locks in the scope of your registration, so keep it inside the non-medical boundary.
The biennial registration fee is $50.75.13Florida Agency for Health Care Administration. Homemaker Companion Services Provider General Information Payment goes through the portal by electronic check or credit card. Expect a review period of roughly 30 to 60 days. If AHCA sends a “not complete” letter requesting missing information or unfinished screenings, you have a limited response window before the agency withdraws the application, so watch your mail and portal notifications. Once AHCA verifies everything, it issues a certificate of registration authorizing you to operate.
Classify Caregivers Correctly
Companion care agencies make their most expensive early mistake here. Classifying caregivers as independent contractors instead of employees eliminates payroll taxes, workers’ compensation, and overtime obligations, and the temptation is real. But the IRS looks at three factors: whether you control how the work is done, whether you direct the financial aspects of the job, and whether the relationship resembles employment (ongoing work, benefits, and the work being central to your business).14Internal Revenue Service. Worker Classification 101: Employee or Independent Contractor
A caregiver who works a schedule your agency sets, serves clients you assign, and follows your care protocols is an employee under almost any analysis. Enforcement actions in the home care industry have produced penalties in the millions of dollars for misclassifying caregivers, covering unpaid wages, overtime, liquidated damages, and per-worker fines for willful misclassification. If you assign clients, set schedules, and dictate how care is delivered, your workers are employees.
Understand the Wage and Tax Obligations of Employing Caregivers
Florida’s minimum wage is $14.00 per hour through September 29, 2026, then rises to $15.00 on September 30, 2026. Companion caregivers are not tipped workers and must be paid the full minimum wage.
One federal rule catches many new agency owners: the Fair Labor Standards Act’s companionship services overtime exemption does not apply to third-party employers like staffing agencies. Only an individual or family that directly and solely employs a caregiver can claim it.15U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 79A: Companionship Services Under the Fair Labor Standards Act Your agency owes overtime at one and a half times the regular rate for every hour over 40 in a workweek. No exception.
Travel between client homes during the workday is also paid time. If a caregiver finishes with one client at noon and drives 30 minutes to the next, that drive counts as work.16U.S. Department of Labor. Travel Time Only the initial commute from home to the first client and the final commute home are excluded.
On the tax side, you withhold federal income tax, Social Security (6.2%), and Medicare (1.45%) from wages and report them quarterly on Form 941. Very small agencies expecting $1,000 or less in annual employment taxes may qualify for annual Form 944 filing, but only after receiving written IRS approval.17Internal Revenue Service. Publication 15 (2026), Employer’s Tax Guide Federal unemployment tax goes on Form 940 annually. Florida has no personal income tax, but you owe Florida reemployment tax. New employers pay 2.7% on the first $7,000 in wages per employee per year, adjusting after roughly ten quarters based on claims history.18FloridaJobs.org. Florida Reemployment Tax Employer Guide
Renewals and Reporting Changes
Your AHCA registration lasts two years. The renewal application must reach AHCA no earlier than 120 days and no later than 60 days before the certificate expires; applications outside that window get returned.19Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 408.806 – License or Registration Application If AHCA has the renewal before the expiration date, your registration stays active during the review.
Report any change to registration information — ownership, business address, management, contact details — to AHCA within 21 calendar days of the effective date.20Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 408.810 – Minimum Licensure Requirements Ownership changes require a new application filed at least 60 days before the transfer.
AHCA expects you to keep detailed records at your place of business for inspections: current Level 2 screening results for every associated person, service documentation for each client, and copies of your insurance policies. The five-year rescreening cycle means you need a system to track expiration dates for every screened individual, not just something you look at during renewal.
What Operating Without AHCA Registration Costs
Florida does not treat unregistered companion care as a paperwork issue. Operating without AHCA registration is unlicensed activity, and either AHCA or a state attorney can seek an injunction to shut it down.1Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 400.464 – Home Health Agencies; Licensure; Exemptions; Unlawful Acts; Penalties
Once AHCA notifies you and you continue operating, the fine is $1,000 for each day of noncompliance, with each day counting as a separate offense.21Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 408.812 – Unlicensed Activity A first violation is a second-degree misdemeanor; second or subsequent violations are first-degree misdemeanors. If the unregistered operator also controls other licensed Florida health care providers, AHCA has authority to revoke those licenses too. Set against a $50.75 biennial fee, the cost of skipping registration is orders of magnitude higher than the cost of doing it right.