Assisted living in Tennessee: how it is licensed.
Who licenses assisted living in Tennessee, and what to check before you choose.
What Tennessee calls it
In Tennessee, assisted living is licensed under the term “Assisted Care Living Facility (ACLF)”. Other states use different names, so it helps to know the exact term when you search.
Who licenses and inspects
Tennessee Health Facilities Commission, Division of Licensure and Regulation is the agency that licenses these communities. It is the official place to check a community’s license and inspection history.
Paying for care
Medicare generally does not cover long term custodial care.
TennCare CHOICES helps adults 65 and older and adults 21 and older with physical disabilities with long-term care, mainly at home or in the community, and TennCare pays for personal care, homemaker services and medication oversight in an assisted care living facility for members who qualify. Eligibility rules apply, and room and board are excluded.
Help and complaints
Tennessee Long-Term Care Ombudsman supports residents of long term care and their families.
Also worth knowing in Tennessee
TennCare's 2026 memo says CHOICES members or families pay room and board in an assisted care living facility themselves, up to a monthly cap of $2,385.60.
Questions
Who regulates assisted living in Tennessee?
Tennessee Health Facilities Commission, Division of Licensure and Regulation.