Residential Care Licensing

In the province of British Columbia there is legislation to protect adults and children receiving care in licensed residential community care facilities.

This legislation is the Community Care and Assisted Living Act and the Residential Care Regulation and the Director of Licensing Standards of Practice.  

For more information about an inspection visit the Inspection and Investigation Reports website .

Individuals providing care to more than two individuals, not related to them, are required to be licensed, and to provide care in a licensed setting.

Licensed residential care types include:

• Acquired Injury
• Child and Youth Residential
• Community Living
• Hospice Care 
• Long Term Care
• Mental Health
• Substance Use

Licensed Care is:

• a community care facility that provides assistance or direction in the form of three (3) or more prescribed services to a person.
• individuals providing care to more than two persons, not related to them who require three (3) or more prescribed services, are required to be licensed, and must provide care in a licensed community care facility

Prescribed services are defined in the Community Care and Assisted Living Regulation as:

• regular assistance with activities of daily living, including eating, mobility, dressing, grooming, bathing or personal hygiene 
• central storage of medication, distribution of medication, administering medication or monitoring the taking of medication
• maintenance or management of the cash resources or other property of a resident or person in care
• monitoring of food intake or of adherence to therapeutic diets
• structured behaviour management and intervention
• psychosocial rehabilitative therapy or intensive physical rehabilitative therapy

Licensing Officers inspect, license and monitor over 200 licensed residential care facilities in Island Health.

Director of Licensing Standards of Practice

Standards of Practice PDFs: 
Advance Directives and Care Plans
Agreement in Writing to the Use of Restraints
Immunization of Adult Persons in Residential Care
Incident Reporting of Aggressive of Unusual Behaviour in Adult Residential Care Facilities  Preventing Overdose Deaths 
Contact your local Licensing Office

Inspection Checklists

Residential Care Inspection Checklist - Initial Inspection for Applicants 

Residential Care Inspection Checklist - Routine Inspection

Residential Care Newsletters

Summer 2024
Fall 2023
Summer 2023
Spring 2023
Winter 2021
Spring 2020 

Residential Care Bulletin 

Heat Preparedness Bulletin
Winter 2022
Spring 2022

Submitting Reportable Incidents Online

For current information about submitting incident reports, please see Incident Reporting.