Columbia Senior AdvisorWhat does CRCF mean on a South Carolina license?
CRCF means community residential care facility, the legal name South Carolina uses for assisted living; the Department of Public Health licenses CRCFs under Regulation 60-84 to provide room, board and personal care to adults who do not need daily skilled nursing.
A building that fits the CRCF definition may call itself assisted living, so the two phrases describe one license.
Is DHEC still the agency that licenses Columbia assisted living?
No. Since July 1, 2024, the S.C. Department of Public Health (DPH) has licensed facilities through its Healthcare Quality office, after Act 60 of 2023 split DHEC into DPH and the Department of Environmental Services.
The assisted living regulation was republished as Regulation 60-84 on May 23, 2025, so older references to DHEC Regulation 61-84 are out of date.
Are there different levels of assisted living license in South Carolina?
No. Every assisted living building holds the same CRCF license; a building with a secured dementia program is flagged in DPH's data for an Alzheimer's special care unit but is not licensed differently.
Size, services and whether there is a secured unit are what separate one Midlands community from another.
How often does DPH inspect assisted living in Columbia?
Whenever DPH considers it appropriate after the first licensing inspection, and at any time without notice; South Carolina publishes no fixed inspection cycle for CRCFs (Regulation 60-84, Section 202).
Ask each community when DPH last visited and request the report, which is public on written request.
Is it legal to run an unlicensed care home in the Midlands?
No. Providing room, board and personal care to two or more unrelated adults for more than 24 hours requires a DPH CRCF license; report a suspected unlicensed home to DPH Healthcare Quality at 1-800-922-6735.
Residents of unlicensed homes have none of the regulation's protections and no inspections.
Does independent living need a license in South Carolina?
Not if it offers only housing and amenities; once personal care is provided to residents, the building needs a CRCF license from DPH.
Many Columbia-area retirement campuses pair unlicensed independent living with a licensed CRCF and sometimes a nursing home.
Who licenses the administrator of an assisted living facility?
The S.C. Board of Long Term Health Care Administrators, part of the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, licenses CRCF administrators, and every CRCF must have one (Regulation 60-84, Section 502).
LLR's online lookup shows whether a named administrator's license is current.
