The State Forms Families See When a Parent Moves Into a California RCFE

Assisted living communities and board and care homes are licensed in California as residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFEs). The Community Care Licensing Division of the California Department of Social Services issues the forms that go with that license. Each has a number that starts with LIC and a revision date in parentheses, and the department posts them on its Forms and Publications pages.

Do not be surprised by old dates. A department notice from May 2025 told homes that some posted forms may need updating after the regulation changes that took effect on January 1, 2025, and encouraged them to use an addendum in the meantime. Two of the forms a family sees are still dated 1999.

These are the forms families meet most often, with the number, title and revision date each carried when we read it on October 13, 2026:

The order below follows the regulations, though homes differ in how they bundle the paperwork. This page is about the paper. The steps themselves have their own guide, on move-in requirements.

1. 1

   While you are still comparing homes

   Ask for a blank admission agreement and blank copies of the other forms. The regulations require a home to give blank copies of its current admission agreement to the public on request.

2. 2

   The medical appointment

   A licensed medical professional completes the medical assessment, which many people still call the physician's report. See the medical assessment form explained.

3. 3

   The home's appraisal

   Before admission the home interviews your parent and you, and writes up an appraisal of the help needed. See the pre-admission appraisal form explained.

4. 4

   Signing

   The admission agreement must be signed no later than seven days after admission. When it is signed, the home must personally advise the resident and the representative of the resident's personal rights, give them a copy, and have them sign one for the file.

5. 5

   Move-in day

   The home records emergency contacts and writes the property inventory. See the personal rights and property forms explained.

6. 6

   The first two weeks, then every year

   The regulations require a meeting before admission or within two weeks after it to write down the care your parent will receive and their preferences. The appraisal is updated at least every 12 months, or sooner after a significant change.

Often not. The medical assessment form and the personal rights form each state on their face that they are provided as a courtesy. What the regulations require is the information and the signatures, so a large community may hand you its own branded packet that covers the same ground. Other homes use the state forms as they are.

The admission agreement is always the home's own contract. Read it separately from the state forms, because it is the document that sets the price and the house rules. Our guide to the admission agreement explains what it must contain.

On the state forms, most signature lines confirm that you gave information or received a copy. What a signature on the contract commits you to is a legal question about that contract, and an elder law attorney can read it with you before you sign.

The regulations require a home to keep a separate, complete and current record for each resident. It holds the medical assessment, the appraisal and its updates, the admission agreement, emergency contacts, ambulatory status, current medications stored by the home, and records of any cash the home is safeguarding.

The record is confidential. The home and its employees may release what is in it only with the written consent of the resident or the resident's designated representative, and licensing staff may inspect it. The personal rights form lists a resident's right to prompt access to review all of their own records and to buy photocopies, which must be provided within two business days.

Keep your own set as well: a copy of the completed medical assessment, the signed admission agreement, the signed rights form and the property inventory. They are the papers you will reach for if a question comes up later.

Depending on the home and on your parent's needs, you may also see some of these:

• An appraisal and needs and services plan. The state's version is LIC 625 (10/24). For an RCFE it is used to write a plan when the appraisal finds a need the home's general program does not already meet.
• A telecommunications device notification, LIC 9158 (7/22). The regulations call for it when the appraisal or medical assessment shows a resident is deaf, hearing-impaired or otherwise disabled.
• A consent for emergency medical treatment. The state posts a one-page version, LIC 627C (4/00), for adult and senior residential homes.
• A written notice that the home's licensing reports are available to read. State law requires the home to tell the resident and the responsible person this during admission. See how to read an inspection report.
• A copy of the home's theft and loss policy and of the state property-protection statutes.

Hamssa Benrekia is a senior living placement specialist in Torrance who holds an RCFE Administrator Certificate. She helps families in the South Bay and Harbor area of Los Angeles County find licensed homes, including small board and care homes, and goes on tours with them. She can tell you which forms the homes on your list tend to ask for first, so the medical appointment is booked before it becomes urgent. She does not fill in medical or legal answers for you.

To talk through a move, contact Hamssa. For the rest of the decision, see the California Assisted Living Placement Guide.