The license behind every assisted living home in Greensboro and High Point

Which agency licenses assisted living in Greensboro, NC?

The Adult Care Licensure Section of the N.C. Division of Health Service Regulation (DHSR), part of the state Department of Health and Human Services, licenses every assisted living residence in Guilford, Randolph and Rockingham counties under G.S. Chapter 131D.

Neither the City of Greensboro, the City of High Point nor any of the three counties issues care licenses. The building still needs zoning approval, a business license and fire inspections, but only the DHSR license allows it to house and care for residents. County departments of social services play a second role: each employs adult home specialists who monitor the homes in its county and investigate many complaints, which is why some inspection documents on DHSR's site are labelled as DSS investigations.

What is the difference between an adult care home and a family care home?

Size and rulebook: an adult care home serves seven or more residents under 10A NCAC 13F, while a family care home serves two to six residents under 10A NCAC 13G; both are assisted living in the everyday sense and both sit under Chapter 131D.

DHSR's October 2026 listings show 35 adult care homes (2,625 beds) and 29 family care homes (171 beds) in Guilford, Randolph and Rockingham counties; 22 of the adult care homes are in Guilford County, while Rockingham County holds 18 of the family care homes.

The two rulebooks track each other closely on residents' rights, medications and care planning, but differ on building standards and staffing structure, because a six-bed house runs very differently from a hundred-bed building. Neither license has tiers, so a large campus with a dementia unit and a small house in Reidsville hold the same type of license as their peers.

How long does a North Carolina adult care home license last?

One calendar year: every adult care home and family care home license on DHSR's current listing for the three counties expires on December 31, and DHSR renews it after reviewing the home's compliance.

Each license names one legal operator (the licensee) at one address. When a home is sold, the new owner needs its own license, so the license number on our facility pages changes with ownership. That is also why our pages show the licensee's legal name next to the name on the sign: penalties and inspection findings attach to the licensee.

Who runs a licensed adult care home day to day?

An administrator named on DHSR's listing, supported by supervisors and personal care aides whose numbers rise with the resident census under 10A NCAC 13F .0605 and .0606; the rule states that residents may never be left without a staff member in the building.

Every employee who gives direct care must pass a criminal history check under G.S. 131D-40 and be checked against the Health Care Personnel Registry. Staff who give medications must be trained and shown competent before they do so. On a tour, ask for the administrator by name, then ask who is in charge on nights and weekends when the administrator is off site; DHSR's listing tells you who should answer.

How often does DHSR inspect assisted living around Greensboro?

DHSR's adult care surveyors carry out a full annual survey of each home, with follow-up visits after deficiencies and complaint investigations in between, and DHSR's construction section inspects the building itself on its own cycle.

Everything is public. DHSR posts each home's statements of deficiencies, plans of correction and follow-up results on its Facility Inspections, Ratings and Penalties search, along with the home's star rating and any penalty imposed in the last 36 months. Every facility page in our directory lists those documents with their dates, so you can see whether a home's last annual survey was clean before you call. See how to read them.