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 

Residential Care Inspection Checklist 
Contact your local Licensing Office

Residential Care Newsletters

Winter 2021

Spring 2020 

Submitting Reportable Incidents Online

As of June 1, 2015, our electronic incident report form is live and available for use by licensed Residential Care facilities across the island to submit their reportable incidents to Licensing. 

If you submit your reportable incidents to Licensing electronically, please print out a copy for your own records and a copy to send to your funding body (if applicable).  When you hit submit, the electronic incident report form is sent to Licensing only.  If you have submitted an electronic incident report form, you do not have to send a hard copy of the form to Licensing.

Access the electronic Incident Reporting form.
How to use the e-Incident Form
Electronic Incident Form FAQs