A New Jersey adult day health services facility license is the license the New Jersey Department of Health issues under N.J.A.C. 8:43F to any facility that provides adult day health services, whatever the source of payment. It is for operators opening an adult day health center, adding slots to a licensed one, or relocating. Integral Healthcare Solutions (IHS) writes the adult day health policy manual and application package; your nurse and administrator approve it and you file.

What is New Jersey adult day health licensing?

The governing text is N.J.A.C. 8:43F, titled “Standards for Licensure of Adult Day Health Services Facilities,” administered by the New Jersey Department of Health. Its scope section, N.J.A.C. 8:43F-1.1, states: “The rules in this chapter apply to all facilities that provide adult day health services, regardless of the source of payment. These rules constitute the basis for the licensure of adult day health services facilities by the New Jersey Department of Health.”

The chapter has 18 subchapters, running from General Provisions through Quality Improvement (LII lists a nineteenth, Subchapter 19, as Reserved). They include “Licensure Procedures,” “Participant Rights,” “Participant Assessment and Plan of Care,” “Nursing Services,” “Physical Plant Requirements” and “Quality Improvement.” The same 8:43F-1.1 page also points facilities that participate in New Jersey Medicaid to N.J.A.C. 10:164.

A note on version: IHS read the chapter through the Cornell Legal Information Institute's copy of the New Jersey Administrative Code, not the official New Jersey Register, and did not confirm the date of the most recent amendment. Check the current Register before relying on any figure on this page.

Who needs it and what triggers it

Under N.J.A.C. 8:43F-2.1, “A person, organization, or corporation desiring to operate an adult day health services facility, or to expand or relocate an existing facility, shall submit an application for a license on forms prescribed by the Department.” That sentence names the three triggers:

• Opening a new adult day health services facility. The Department's health facilities forms page lists Form CN-6, “Project Application for an Adult Day Health Services Facility (Formerly HFEL-3).”
• Expanding a licensed facility. The same page lists Form CN-8, “Project Application for Expansion Slots at a Licensed Adult Day Health Services Facility (Formerly HFEL-4).” Both forms show a last update of January 31, 2024.
• Relocating an existing facility, which the rule lists alongside opening and expanding.

Private-pay programs are not exempt: the rules apply “regardless of the source of payment.” The forms page also lists Form AAS-40, “Affidavit of Compliance with N. J. Licensure Standards for Adult Day Health Care Facilities.”

Owners and administrators matter too. Under 8:43F-2.1(a)8 the Department will not issue or continue licensure unless the current or prospective owners and administrators have obtained clearance from its Criminal Background Investigation Unit. It will not issue clearance to a person convicted of a crime or offense “relating adversely to the person's ability to provide care, including, but not limited to, homicide, assault kidnapping, sexual offenses, robbery, crimes against the family, children, or persons adjudicated to be incapacitated, and financial crimes,” except where the person has demonstrated rehabilitation under the Rehabilitated Convicted Offender Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:168A-1 et seq.

How IHS helps

IHS works through the rule section by section, in this order:

1. A gap assessment of your program against N.J.A.C. 8:43F.
2. Questionnaires on participants, services, staffing and site, used to build a crosswalk from each rule to the policy, record or document that shows you meet it.
3. Drafting the policy manual: participant rights, participant assessment and plan of care, nursing services, medical records, infection control and quality improvement. IHS drafts the nursing and care-planning content for your licensed nurse and administrator to review and approve.
4. Drafting the application text for the CN-6 or CN-8 package, which your organization reviews and files.
5. A mock licensing review of the program against the rule before you file.

Your organization supplies site plans, staffing, the service mix, current policies, and the licensed nurse and administrator who approve the content.

The limit: the physical plant and life-safety side of an inspection is outside IHS's depth. Your architect and facilities staff carry the Physical Plant Requirements subchapter; IHS covers the policy, care and records side. IHS drafts; your organization files with the Department and handles all communication with it.

What to have ready

Each item ties to N.J.A.C. 8:43F as shown on the Cornell LII copy, or to the Department's forms page.

• A decision on which application you are filing: Form CN-6 for a new facility or Form CN-8 for expansion slots (DOH forms page, forms updated January 31, 2024).
• The address and site plans for any new or relocated facility, since 8:43F-2.1 requires a license application to “expand or relocate an existing facility” (8:43F-2.1).
• A list of owners and administrators, with their history, given the criminal background clearance requirement in 8:43F-2.1(a)8.
• Your current participant rights policy and notices, for the “Participant Rights” subchapter (chapter 8:43F).
• Your intake assessment forms and a sample plan of care, for the “Participant Assessment and Plan of Care” subchapter.
• Nursing staffing, licenses and schedules, for the “Nursing Services” subchapter.
• Your current quality improvement plan or the measures you track, for the “Quality Improvement” subchapter.
• A budget line for the Department's fees in 8:43F-2.1 (see the cost section below).
• A list of any rule you expect to ask the Commissioner to waive, with the reason, under N.J.A.C. 8:43F-2.2.
• Form AAS-40, the affidavit of compliance with the licensure standards. The sources IHS reviewed do not say whether or when the Department requires it with a CN-6 or CN-8 filing; your organization confirms that with the Department. In IHS's reading, which the Department has not confirmed, nobody signs an affidavit of compliance until the policy manual is complete; the cost of that reading is a later filing date if the Department would have accepted the affidavit earlier.

Bring what you have to the introductory call; the gap assessment starts from it.

How it compares

The license is the baseline: 8:43F applies to every adult day health services facility “regardless of the source of payment.” The other routes a New Jersey operator hears about sit on top of it or beside it:

• Medicaid participation. Per the 8:43F-1.1 page, facilities that take part in New Jersey Medicaid also follow N.J.A.C. 10:164. IHS did not review 10:164 for this page.
• A rule waiver. Under N.J.A.C. 8:43F-2.2, the Commissioner may “waive provisions of these rules if, in his or her opinion, such waiver would not render the premises, equipment, personnel, finances, rules and bylaws, and standards of health care at a facility unfit or inadequate.” A waiver relieves a specific rule; it does not replace the license.
• National accreditation. IHS covers CARF Adult Day Services accreditation on its CARF Adult Day Services page; IHS did not review a New Jersey source on how it relates to the state license.

Social adult day programs are outside this page; IHS has not reviewed a New Jersey source on how they are licensed.

What it costs

The cost has two parts that the Department sets, its licensing fees and inspection fees, and the cost of preparing the program. N.J.A.C. 8:43F-2.1, as shown on the Cornell LII copy, lists nonrefundable fees, including:

The Department's forms page lists no fee amounts. Read on October 2, 2026; verify current fees with the New Jersey Department of Health. IHS scopes each engagement after a free introductory call.

What this is not

• It is not legal advice. Questions about whether the rule applies to your program, or about Medicaid participation, go to your counsel.
• It is not a guarantee of the Department's licensing decision.
• IHS does not file the application or deal with the Department for you. IHS drafts; your organization files.

Frequently asked questions

What is an adult day health services facility license in New Jersey?

It is the license the New Jersey Department of Health issues under N.J.A.C. 8:43F, “Standards for Licensure of Adult Day Health Services Facilities.” The chapter states that its rules “constitute the basis for the licensure of adult day health services facilities by the New Jersey Department of Health.”

Who needs a New Jersey adult day health license, and does it apply to private-pay programs?

Any facility that provides adult day health services. N.J.A.C. 8:43F-1.1 says the rules apply to all such facilities “regardless of the source of payment,” so a private-pay program is covered the same as one billing Medicaid.

What rules govern adult day health centers in New Jersey?

N.J.A.C. 8:43F, which has 18 subchapters from General Provisions through Quality Improvement, including Licensure Procedures, Participant Rights, Participant Assessment and Plan of Care, Nursing Services and Physical Plant Requirements. Facilities in New Jersey Medicaid are also pointed to N.J.A.C. 10:164.

How do I apply to open an adult day health center in New Jersey, and which form do I file?

N.J.A.C. 8:43F-2.1 requires an application for a license on forms the Department prescribes. For a new facility, the Department's forms page lists Form CN-6, “Project Application for an Adult Day Health Services Facility (Formerly HFEL-3).” It also lists Form AAS-40, an affidavit of compliance with the licensure standards; IHS did not confirm whether it is filed with the application. IHS drafts the application text; your organization files it.

How do I add slots or expand a licensed adult day health program in New Jersey?

Expansion also requires a license application under 8:43F-2.1. The forms page lists Form CN-8, “Project Application for Expansion Slots at a Licensed Adult Day Health Services Facility (Formerly HFEL-4).” The rule treats relocation the same way.

How much does a New Jersey adult day health license cost?

N.J.A.C. 8:43F-2.1, as shown on the Cornell LII copy, lists nonrefundable fees including $1,500 plus $10.00 per slot for initial licensure or annual renewal, $1,500 plus $10.00 per slot for an application to add services or program slots, $375.00 for relocation, $375.00 for an application to reduce services, $1,500 for transfer of ownership and a $450.00 biennial inspection fee. Verify current fees with the New Jersey Department of Health.

How long does New Jersey adult day health licensing take?

IHS did not find a published processing time on the Department pages it reviewed. Plan around the Department's review and inspection rather than a fixed date.

What policies and staffing does N.J.A.C. 8:43F require?

The chapter's subchapters set the areas a facility must address, including participant rights, participant assessment and plan of care, nursing services, physical plant and quality improvement. IHS drafts the policy manual to those subchapters, with nursing and care-planning content for your licensed nurse and administrator to approve.

What extra rules apply if the program bills New Jersey Medicaid?

The N.J.A.C. 8:43F-1.1 page points Medicaid-participating facilities to N.J.A.C. 10:164 as well as 8:43F. IHS did not review 10:164 for this page; take Medicaid participation questions to your counsel.