The short answer: Every assisted living facility in Florida holds a standard license from the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA). Some also hold one or more specialty licenses: Extended Congregate Care (ECC), Limited Nursing Services (LNS) and Limited Mental Health (LMH). A fifth category, memory care services, was added to the law in 2026. The specialty licenses decide how much care a facility may legally provide, which in turn decides whether your parent can stay as their needs grow.
Florida law lists the categories plainly: licenses are issued for "standard, extended congregate care, limited nursing services, limited mental health, or memory care services" (s. 429.07).
How common is each license?
A Florida Senate analysis published in February 2026 counted, as of January 27, 2026, "2,989 licensed ALFs in Florida with 171 licensed to provide ECC, 396 licensed to provide LNS, and 703 licensed to provide LMH" (Senate bill analysis, SB 1404). In other words, fewer than 6% of Florida facilities hold an ECC license, and about 13% hold LNS. If keeping a parent in one place for as long as possible matters to you, the license narrows the field quickly.
| License | What it allows | Who it's for | Facilities (Jan 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | Housing, meals, supervision, help with daily activities and medications | Residents who don't need nursing care beyond the basics | All 2,989 |
| Limited Nursing Services (LNS) | Specific nursing services for residents who don't need 24-hour nursing supervision | Residents with routine nursing needs, such as dressings or cast care | 396 |
| Extended Congregate Care (ECC) | More nursing and personal care so residents can stay as they become more impaired | Residents who would otherwise have to move out | 171 |
| Limited Mental Health (LMH) | Serving residents who receive mental health services in the community | Facilities with one or more mental health residents | 703 |
| Memory care services | New in 2026; rules still being written | Facilities that serve or advertise memory care | Not yet issued |
What does a standard license cover?
A standard license is for facilities providing one or more of the personal services defined in Florida law: help with bathing, dressing, eating, grooming and similar daily activities, plus supervision. A standard-licensed facility may also employ or contract with licensed nurses "to administer medications and perform other tasks" (s. 429.07(3)(a)).
What a standard facility cannot do is keep residents whose needs cross the state's continued-residency line. Among other things, a resident must not need 24-hour nursing supervision, must not be bedridden for more than 7 consecutive days, and must not need IV therapy or dialysis inside the facility (s. 429.26; rule 59A-36.006). Residents receiving licensed hospice care are the exception.
What is Limited Nursing Services (LNS)?
An LNS license lets a facility provide nursing care to residents who don't need 24-hour nursing supervision, and to residents enrolled in hospice (rule 59A-36.022). The law describes these as services "not complex enough to require 24-hour nursing supervision," such as "routine dressings and care of casts, braces, and splints" (s. 429.02).
Key requirements:
- Each nursing service needs a health care practitioner's order.
- The facility must employ or contract with nurses, and a nursing assessment is done at least monthly.
- Residents must still meet the standard admission and continued-residency rules, unless the facility also holds ECC.
- To get an LNS license, a facility must have kept its standard license without sanctions affecting residents' health, safety and welfare for the previous two years.
In practice, LNS means a parent with a healing wound or a new cast may not need to move out to get that care.
What is Extended Congregate Care (ECC)?
ECC is Florida's "aging in place" license. It allows a facility to provide nursing and supportive services "to persons who would otherwise be disqualified from continued residence," so that residents can remain in a familiar setting as they become more impaired (s. 429.07(3)(b)).
Under rule 59A-36.021, an ECC facility:
- may provide total help with bathing, dressing, grooming and toileting, and supervision of residents with dementia;
- must have a nurse perform monthly nursing assessments;
- must keep adequate staff awake during all hours;
- may keep a resident who is bedridden for up to 14 consecutive days (twice the standard limit).
ECC still has limits. It "may not serve residents who require 24-hour nursing supervision," except residents on hospice. A facility must generally have been licensed as an assisted living facility for two or more years with a clean record (no class I or class II violations in that time, among other conditions); a newer facility can only get a provisional ECC license for up to six months. AHCA also sends a nurse to monitor ECC facilities at least twice a year.
What is Limited Mental Health (LMH)?
A facility needs an LMH license if it serves "one or more mental health residents" (s. 429.075). Florida law defines a mental health resident as someone who receives Social Security disability or SSI because of a mental disorder and also receives Optional State Supplementation.
LMH facilities must give staff at least six hours of specialized training, write a community living support plan for each mental health resident within 30 days, and keep a cooperative agreement with the resident's mental health provider (rule 59A-36.020). For most families of older adults, LMH is less relevant than ECC or LNS, but it tells you the facility is set up to coordinate mental health care.
What is the new memory care license?
In 2026 Florida added a memory care services license. Under s. 429.076, it will be required for any facility "that serves one or more memory care residents, or that advertises or otherwise holds itself out as providing memory care services." AHCA must adopt the rules by June 1, 2027, and existing facilities then have six months to get the license.
Until those rules take effect, "memory care" on a brochure is still a marketing term rather than a license. That matters: a February 2026 Florida House analysis found that 805 of the state's 2,985 licensed assisted living facilities claimed to be memory care providers (House bill analysis, HB 1295). Ask what dementia training staff have, whether doors are secured, and what the staffing looks like at night. Our memory care vs. assisted living guide covers the questions in more detail.
How do I check which licenses a facility holds?
Use the state's FloridaHealthFinder site. Its consumer guide says a facility profile shows "types of beds and specialty licenses, a link to inspection reports and emergency actions" (FloridaHealthFinder). To find it:
- Go to FloridaHealthFinder and choose Facilities or Providers under Locate.
- Pick Assisted Living Facility as the type, then search by name, city, ZIP or county. Advanced Search lets you filter by license type.
- Open the facility's profile to see its specialty licenses and inspection reports.
Florida inspects assisted living facilities without notice at least every two years for relicensure (s. 408.811). Read the most recent report before you sign anything. Our step-by-step guide to checking an assisted living license in Florida walks through the reports.
What should I ask on a tour?
- Which licenses do you hold: standard only, or LNS, ECC or LMH too?
- If my parent's needs increase, at what point would they have to move out?
- Who provides nursing care here, and how often does a nurse see each resident?
- Who is awake and on duty overnight?
- When was your last AHCA inspection, and were any deficiencies cited?
AssistedLivingFacility.com lists 3,006 licensed, active Florida assisted living facilities across 54 counties as of October 2026. Browse by city or county in our Florida directory, then confirm each shortlisted facility's licenses on FloridaHealthFinder.
