New Orleans Senior AdvisorWhat laws govern assisted living in New Orleans?
Louisiana state law does: R.S. 40:2166.1-2166.8 and the Louisiana Department of Health's licensing standards for adult residential care providers in LAC 48:I.Chapter 68, enforced by LDH's Health Standards Section, with nursing homes under their own state rules and federal CMS requirements.
Last verified: October 2026The City of New Orleans and the parish governments do not license care settings. Zoning, building and fire codes apply to the property, and the Office of State Fire Marshal must approve occupancy, but the right to operate comes from LDH's license, which is the record to check first.
How is Louisiana's approach different from other states?
Louisiana uses one license, the adult residential care provider (ARCP), divided into four levels by size and services: Level 1 personal care homes for up to eight residents, Level 2 shelter care homes for nine to 16, Level 3 assisted living for 17 or more, and Level 4, the only level allowed to provide intermittent nursing.
On LDH's October 2026 roster that works out to 63 ARCPs across the six parishes, 34 of them small Level 1 and Level 2 homes. Memory care has no separate license: an ARCP may run a specialized dementia care program, which it must disclose to LDH.
Where do New Orleans families report problems?
Licensing complaints go to LDH's Health Standards Section at 1-888-810-1819; suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation of someone 60 or older goes to Elderly Protective Services at 1-833-577-6532 (Adult Protective Services, 1-800-898-4910, for ages 18 to 59); and residents get free advocacy from the long-term care ombudsman at (800) 833-9883.
The guides below explain each step, with the rule behind it.
Louisiana Rules guides
How Louisiana licenses assisted living in New Orleans
Louisiana licenses assisted living as Adult Residential Care Providers (ARCPs) in four levels under LAC 48:I.Chapter 68. What Levels 1-4 mean, who licenses them and what each may do.
Read →How Louisiana regulates memory care
Louisiana memory care happens in specialized dementia care programs inside licensed ARCPs (R.S. 40:1101.2, LAC 48:I.6851): disclosure to LDH, written criteria, Fire Marshal-approved locks and 8 hours of yearly training.
Read →Who can live in assisted living in Louisiana
Louisiana ARCPs must screen applicants before signing and may not admit people who are in a coma, on a ventilator, on continuous IV, on wound vac therapy, have active TB or need restraints (LAC 48:I.6833).
Read →How to check a New Orleans provider's state record
How to verify a Louisiana ARCP or nursing home license on LDH's provider directory, read CMS inspection data, and get an ARCP's statement of deficiencies, which must be posted on site (LAC 48:I.6823).
Read →What Louisiana requires of senior care providers before a hurricane
Louisiana ARCPs must keep written evacuation and shelter-in-place plans, list what generators power, tag residents, report host sites to LDH within 48 hours and disclose disaster fees (LAC 48:I.6833, 6875-6881).
Read →Residents' rights, rate increases and discharge in Louisiana ARCPs
Louisiana ARCP residents get a written residency agreement, 30 days' notice of rate changes and a right to appeal an involuntary discharge to the Division of Administrative Law within 30 days (LAC 48:I.6837).
Read →How to report a problem with senior care in Louisiana
Where New Orleans families report licensing complaints (LDH Health Standards 1-888-810-1819), abuse of people 60+ (Elderly Protective Services 1-833-577-6532) and get resident advocacy (ombudsman).
Read →How nursing home admission works in Louisiana
Louisiana nursing home admission requires an OAAS level-of-care determination for every Medicaid-certified admission, a Louisiana physician's order and pre-admission screening. How New Orleans families apply.
Read →At a glance
| Louisiana's rules do | Louisiana's rules do not | |
|---|---|---|
| Assisted living | Require an LDH ARCP license at one of four levels | Set a numeric staff-to-resident ratio |
| Memory care | Require disclosure, written criteria and eight hours of yearly dementia training | Create a separate memory care license |
| Inspections | Make re-licensing and complaint surveys unannounced | Publish ARCP survey reports online in bulk |
| Payment | Require disaster-fee formulas in writing | Let Medicaid pay ARCP room, board or fees |
