How to Start a Non-Medical Home Care Agency in Indiana: Personal Services Agency License

If you want to start a home care agency in Indiana that helps older adults and people with disabilities with daily living, the state license you need is usually the Personal Services Agency (PSA) license. The Indiana Department of Health (IDOH) licenses these agencies under IC 16-27-4. This guide covers the steps, the fees we verified, and the points you must confirm directly with the agency before you file. It is informational content, not legal or tax advice. A business in this field is heavily regulated, so talk with an attorney and a CPA before you sign a lease, hire caregivers, or set up payroll.

What a Non-Medical Home Care Agency Does

A non-medical home care agency provides personal care and daily living support in a client's home. Typical services include help with bathing, dressing, grooming, meal preparation, light housekeeping, errands, and transportation. Skilled services such as wound care, injections, or therapy fall in a different category. Confirm with IDOH which services your PSA license covers before you write your service menu, because your marketing and your caregiver training both depend on that answer.

Indiana separates these agencies from home health agencies. A home health agency licensed under IC 16-27-1 does not need a Personal Services Agency license. If your plan includes skilled nursing or therapy, you may need the home health route instead of, or in addition to, the PSA route. Ask IDOH which license applies to your exact service mix before you spend money on the application.

Materials and Information You Need Before You Apply

Gather these items before you start the application. Missing one usually delays the file, and the $250 fee is non-refundable.

• A legal business entity registered with the Indiana Secretary of State. If you form an LLC, the Articles of Organization (State Form 49459) carry a $95 filing fee through INBiz.
• A registered agent with a street address in Indiana. The registered office cannot be a P.O. Box unless it also carries a rural route reference, and your business cannot serve as its own registered agent.
• The current IDOH application, State Form 53391, for an initial license. Download it from IDOH, not from a third-party site, and check the revision date.
• A $250 check, cashier's check, or money order payable to the Indiana Department of Health.
• A written operating plan covering services, service area, caregiver hiring and training, supervision, client intake, emergency procedures, and complaint handling. Confirm on the current forms exactly which of these documents go in the packet.
• Local permits or zoning approval for your office, if you plan to work from a home or commercial space. Indiana has no single comprehensive business license, but cities and counties may require their own permits.
• A federal Employer Identification Number and a business bank account in the company's name.

Step-by-Step: Starting Your Personal Services Agency

Step 1: Confirm the license type

Start by mapping your services to the correct license. Ask two questions. Will any staff perform skilled tasks? Will you serve clients whose care is ordered by a physician under a skilled plan? If either answer is yes, call IDOH before you file a PSA application. Getting this wrong costs time and fees, and it can force you to restart the process under a different license.

Step 2: Choose your entity and check the name

Most owners form an LLC or a corporation, though other structures exist. For tax planning, note that Indiana has no franchise tax. An LLC's income generally passes through to its owners, who pay the individual adjusted gross income tax (2.95% for 2026) plus their county local income tax. An LLC that elects corporate treatment pays the corporate adjusted gross income tax of 4.9%. A CPA can tell you which structure fits your situation.

Search the Secretary of State's records at bsd.sos.in.gov/publicbusinesssearch for name conflicts. The name must be distinguishable from existing records. Adding Inc., LLC, or the word the does not make a name distinguishable. An LLC name must include Limited Liability Company or an abbreviation of it. If you need time to decide, you can reserve a name for 120 days for $10 at inbiz.in.gov.

Step 3: Register your business and appoint a registered agent

Form the entity through INBiz at inbiz.in.gov, or through the Secretary of State's Business Services Division at in.gov/sos/business. Every entity must continuously maintain a registered agent and registered office in Indiana. The agent receives legal and tax documents, so choose someone who will reliably answer the door or the mail. An individual agent must live in Indiana, and an entity agent must be authorized to do business in the state.

If you will operate under a trade name instead of your legal name, file a Certificate of Assumed Business Name (State Form 30353). Filing online through INBiz costs $20 per name.

Step 4: Write the operating plan and policies

IDOH reviews your operating plan, so write it as a working document, not a marketing brochure. Cover your service list, caregiver hiring and screening steps, training and supervision, how you assess a new client's needs, after-hours and emergency procedures, how you handle client complaints, how you keep records, and how you protect client rights. Keep the plan consistent with the services you listed in Step 1. Inconsistencies between your plan and your forms are a common source of questions.

Talk with an insurance advisor about liability and workers' compensation coverage before you hire anyone. Also ask an attorney to review your caregiver agreements, client service agreements, and whether your caregivers are employees or contractors. Misclassifying caregivers is one of the most expensive mistakes in this industry.

Step 5: Confirm the current forms, fees, and process with IDOH

The IDOH instruction letter we reviewed was last updated in August 2022. An IDOH page carries a date of 5/1/2026, which suggests the process may have changed since then. We could not verify what changed, so treat the 2022 letter as a starting point, not the final word. Call or write IDOH licensing and confirm four things: the current application form, the current fee, the current mailing address, and the expected processing time. Write down the name of the person who answers and the date of the call.

Step 6: Submit State Form 53391 with the $250 fee

Complete the initial application and attach the packet IDOH requires. Make the $250 payment by check, cashier's check, or money order payable to the Indiana Department of Health. Mail the packet and payment to the IDOH Cashier's Office, 2 North Meridian St, Suite 2-C, Indianapolis, IN 46204. Keep a complete copy of everything you send and use a mailing method that gives you proof of delivery. Because the fee is non-refundable, a rejected packet means a lost $250 and a restart, so review the checklist twice before you seal the envelope.

Step 7: Calendar the license term and renewal

A PSA license expires one year after it is issued. You renew each year on State Form 53591 with a $250 fee. Submit the renewal at least 60 days but not more than 90 days before the expiration date. For example, a license that expires March 31 in a non-leap year has a filing window from December 31 through January 30. Set two calendar reminders the day the license is issued, and confirm the exact dates with IDOH.

Change of ownership is a separate filing. It requires the full packet and the $250 fee at least 30 days before the ownership change takes effect. Plan the timing early if you expect to sell or bring in a new owner.

Step 8: Treat Medicaid waiver enrollment as a separate project

Many agencies want to serve clients whose care is paid through a Medicaid waiver. Enrollment as a waiver provider runs through the Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA), and it is a separate step from the IDOH license. Holding a PSA license does not by itself make you eligible to bill a waiver program. We did not verify FSSA's current enrollment process or its recent changes, so contact FSSA directly before you build revenue projections around waiver billing. Ask what the enrollment steps are, how long they take, and what standards your agency must meet.

Step 9: Handle local permits and ongoing state filings

If you use a home office, check local zoning rules with your city or county before you move in clients' files or staff. If you formed an LLC, file a Business Entity Report every other year at a fee of $32 online through INBiz, or $50 by paper. The first report is due two years after formation, and it is due by the end of the month in which the business was formed or registered. Put these dates on the same calendar as your PSA renewal so nothing slips.

Cost Summary

Item	Amount	Where to pay or file	Notes
Name reservation	$10	INBiz	Holds a name for 120 days
LLC Articles of Organization	$95	INBiz (State Form 49459)	Filing fee for a domestic LLC
Assumed business name	$20 per name	INBiz (State Form 30353)	Online filing
PSA initial license	$250	IDOH (State Form 53391)	Non-refundable; confirm current fee with IDOH
PSA annual renewal	$250	IDOH (State Form 53591)	Submit 60 to 90 days before expiration
PSA change of ownership	$250	IDOH	Submit at least 30 days before the effective date
LLC Business Entity Report	$32 online	Secretary of State	Every other year; $50 by paper

This table does not include insurance, payroll, software, vehicles, caregiver training, or marketing. Those costs often exceed the license fees, so build a full startup budget before you commit.

Expected Results

A properly prepared application may move through IDOH review without repeated correction requests, and a licensed agency may be able to serve private-pay clients while it pursues any additional enrollments it needs. Results depend on your application quality, the current IDOH process, your local market, and your staffing. We cannot promise an approval date, client volume, or revenue. Plan for a timeline longer than the fee schedule suggests, and keep cash reserves for the months before the first client payments arrive.

Tips for a Smoother Application

• Call IDOH before you file and ask for the current checklist. The most useful call is the one you make before you have paid for anything.
• Reserve your name early if you need time to finish your operating plan.
• Use a single master checklist with a column for each document, its source, and the date you confirmed it.
• Keep proof of mailing and a complete copy of every packet, payment, and form.
• Keep your registered agent current. A missed document from a registered agent can become a serious problem.
• Put your PSA renewal window and your LLC report dates on one shared calendar.
• Ask an attorney to review your client agreements and caregiver contracts before you start serving clients.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Applying for a PSA license when your services require a home health agency license, or the reverse.
• Relying on the 2022 IDOH letter without confirming the current forms and process.
• Using a P.O. Box as the registered office address without a rural route reference.
• Submitting an incomplete packet and losing the non-refundable $250 fee.
• Filing a renewal too early or too late, outside the 60 to 90 day window.
• Filing a change of ownership fewer than 30 days before the effective date.
• Assuming that a PSA license lets you bill Medicaid waiver programs automatically.
• Choosing a name that is not distinguishable from existing records because it differs only by Inc. or LLC.
• Writing an operating plan that does not match the services on your application.
• Classifying caregivers as contractors without legal review.

Where to Confirm Current Information

Confirm the current PSA forms, fees, and process with the Indiana Department of Health. Confirm Medicaid waiver enrollment steps with the Family and Social Services Administration. Confirm entity filings, name searches, and Business Entity Reports with the Indiana Secretary of State at in.gov/sos/business and inbiz.in.gov. Check tax rates and registration rules with the Indiana Department of Revenue at in.gov/dor.

Disclaimer

This article is informational content, not legal, tax, or licensing advice. Fees, forms, and processes change, and some details in this guide are marked for confirmation because we could not verify them against a current official source. Before you file anything, confirm each requirement with the agency named above. For complex situations, including entity choice, caregiver classification, insurance, and Medicaid enrollment, consult a qualified attorney, CPA, or insurance professional licensed to advise you in Indiana.