Nevada has its own framework for licensing senior-care facilities, separate from but interlocking with federal Medicare and Medicaid certification. This page walks through how Nevada licensing works — who issues licenses, what each license category covers, how surveys work, and what families should look for when checking a facility's regulatory record.
Who regulates senior care in Nevada
The lead state agency is the Bureau of Health Care Quality and Compliance (BHCQC), a division within the Nevada Department of Public and Behavioral Health (DPBH). BHCQC issues and surveys licenses, investigates complaints, and maintains the public license registry. Every active senior-care facility license in Nevada is on the BHCQC registry — we rebuild our directory from this registry quarterly.
For facilities that also participate in Medicare or Medicaid (most skilled nursing facilities, all home health agencies, and most hospices), the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) layers on additional oversight through the Medicare Conditions of Participation. State surveyors typically conduct CMS surveys under contract.
The main license categories
Residential Facility for Groups (RFG / AGC license code)
What most people mean by "assisted living" — communities providing personal care, meals, medication assistance, and supervision in a homelike setting. Capacity ranges from small (15 beds) to large (200+ beds). RFGs are not required to staff a registered nurse around the clock.
Community-Based Living Arrangement (CBLA / CBL license code)
Used for memory care and behavioral support settings. CBLA-licensed memory care facilities operate as secured environments with staff trained in dementia-specific care.
Home for Individual Residential Care (HIC license code)
Small board-and-care homes, typically a single-family residence licensed for a small number of residents (4-8 is common). Same care scope as RFG but at much smaller scale.
Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF license code)
The highest-acuity senior care license. Requires 24-hour licensed nursing. Most SNFs are also CMS-certified for Medicare and Medicaid participation.
Facility for the Care of Adults During the Day (FCADD / ADC license code)
Adult day care programs. Daytime supervision, meals, activities, and (in many cases) health monitoring for adults living at home.
Hospice — Program of Care (HPC license code)
End-of-life comfort care delivered in the patient's residence or in a stand-alone hospice facility. Most are also Medicare-certified.
Personal Care Services in the Home (PCS license code)
Non-medical in-home care agencies — bathing, dressing, meal prep, medication reminders, companionship. Distinct from Home Health which is clinical.
Home Health Agency (HHA license code)
Skilled clinical care at home — nursing, therapy, social work. Almost all are Medicare-certified.
Intermediate Care Facility (ICF)
Long-term-care setting primarily for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Uncommon in the senior-care context.
How state surveys work
Licensed facilities undergo annual relicensure surveys conducted by BHCQC surveyors. Surveys cover medication management, resident care plans, incident reports, staffing patterns, environmental safety, infection control, and resident-rights compliance. Survey findings are recorded in a deficiency table — citation severity ranges from minor procedural issues to severe findings involving actual or potential harm to residents.
Beyond annual surveys, BHCQC investigates complaints — anyone (family member, current or former staff, current or former resident) can file a complaint. Investigation may trigger a survey outside the annual schedule.
How CMS surveys work (for SNFs, HHAs, hospices)
Federally certified providers undergo recertification surveys (annual for SNFs, every 36 months for HHAs and hospices) plus complaint investigations. State surveyors conduct these as CMS contractors. CMS publishes survey results, deficiencies, civil monetary penalties, and star ratings on the Care Compare site at medicare.gov/care-compare.
What to look for when checking a facility's regulatory record
- Active license status — confirms the operator is currently authorized. Surrender or revocation history is a red flag.
- Recent citation severity — minor procedural citations are normal; severe citations involving harm or substantial likelihood of harm warrant deep follow-up.
- Citation recurrence — repeat citations on the same issue across multiple surveys suggest the operator hasn't actually addressed the underlying problem.
- Civil monetary penalties — financial penalties indicate the regulator considered the deficiency significant.
- Special focus status (CMS) — federally certified facilities flagged as Special Focus by CMS have had persistent quality issues; treat with extreme caution.
How we use this data
Our operator-screening process pulls active license data from BHCQC every quarter and CMS data continuously for federally certified providers. We use both to filter operators we'll recommend, and we surface the relevant regulatory history when proposing operators to families. If you want to verify any facility yourself, the BHCQC public registry and Care Compare are the authoritative sources.
Questions about a specific facility's regulatory history? Call (702) 802-0093.