Chicago · Illinois licensing
Three licenses. Pick the one your house can actually get.
If you are an Illinois or Chicago-area investor buying a house to run as a senior care business, this page saves you the most expensive mistake in the build: choosing a license your building can never satisfy, then paying to find out. Illinois does not use the Texas Type A or Type B scheme. There are three paths under the Assisted Living and Shared Housing Act (210 ILCS 9) and HFS, and the one you pick decides your building, your payers, and your zoning posture. Here is the honest difference, with the real fees.
Shared Housing Establishment
$1,000 flatThe Illinois small care-home license (3 to 16 residents)
Capacity: 3 to 16 residents, at least 80% age 55 or older, unrelated to the owner and one manager
Law: 210 ILCS 9; 77 Ill. Adm. Code Part 295
See the full rules →
Assisted Living Establishment
$2,000 plus $20 per licensed unitThe apartment-style assisted living license
Capacity: At least 3 unrelated adults, at least 80% age 55 or older; no fixed upper cap in the definition
Law: 210 ILCS 9; 77 Ill. Adm. Code Part 295
See the full rules →
Supportive Living Program (SLP)
No license fee; certification by HFS (apply through the program)The Illinois Medicaid assisted-living alternative (no Texas equivalent)
Capacity: Apartment-style; residents are 65 or older (or 22 to 64 with a physical disability), Medicaid-eligible, at nursing-facility level of need
Law: 305 ILCS 5/5-5.01a; 89 Ill. Adm. Code 146
See the full rules →
What investors ask before they buy
Does Illinois use Texas Type A and Type B assisted living licenses?
No. Illinois licenses an "establishment" under the Assisted Living and Shared Housing Act (210 ILCS 9). The small care-home model is a Shared Housing Establishment; apartment-style is an Assisted Living Establishment. There is no Type A or Type B.
Can I run a shared-bedroom care home as assisted living in Illinois?
No. An Assisted Living Establishment in Illinois must give each resident a private apartment with a kitchenette and private bath. A shared-bedroom house must be licensed as a Shared Housing Establishment, or run through the Supportive Living Program.
What does an Illinois care-home license cost?
A Shared Housing Establishment is a flat $1,000. An Assisted Living Establishment is $2,000 plus $20 per licensed unit. The Supportive Living Program is a Medicaid certification through HFS, not an IDPH license fee.