Class A or Class B? Understanding Colorado Home Care Agency Licenses

One of the first questions every new Colorado home care agency owner has to answer, before a single client is served: Class A or Class B? It sounds like a technicality. It's actually the decision that determines what your agency is legally allowed to do.

A Class A license allows an agency to provide skilled nursing, CNA services, therapy, respiratory care, and personal care services. It's the broader license, and it comes with the staffing, supervision, and documentation requirements to match.

A Class B license is narrower — non-medical personal care only. Homemaker services, companion services, and help with daily activities like bathing and dressing. A Class B agency cannot provide skilled healthcare services, full stop, regardless of what staff you have on hand.

The mistake I see most often isn't picking the wrong class outright — it's agencies that grow into services their license doesn't cover. A Class B agency that starts quietly offering medication assistance beyond what's allowed isn't just risking a deficiency. It's operating outside its license.

The right starting point is being honest about what your business actually intends to offer in year one and year three, not just what sounds impressive on a brochure. Licensing the right class from the start saves you a harder conversation with CDPHE later.

This isn't legal advice, and every agency's situation is specific enough to warrant its own review. But if you're not sure which class fits what you're building, that's exactly the conversation worth having before you file anything.