Becoming a Licensed Assisted Living Manager in Maryland

Every Maryland assisted living program must have a manager responsible for day-to-day operation and compliance (COMAR 10.07.14.15) — and an alternate manager who can act when the manager is unavailable (COMAR 10.07.14.18). Since July 1, 2026, practicing as an assisted living manager requires a license from the State Board of Long-Term Care Administrators (COMAR 10.33.03.01A). The alternate doesn't need a license to hold the designation (the Board confirmed this to us in writing) — but if they ever step in after a sudden departure, the program must file for a provisional license within 24 hours, and the provisional runs only 90 days (COMAR 10.33.03.04). If you manage, will manage, or could ever be the one stepping in — this path is yours.

The state-required course, taken from a vendor approved by the Office of Health Care Quality — vendors are approved per course, so check the OHCQ list for the 80-hour course specifically, not just the 20-hour CE. The course covers the 13 required content areas of COMAR 10.07.14.17A and ends with a required examination (COMAR 10.07.14.16B). Keep your certificate — the Board application relies on it.

Every applicant needs a state AND national/FBI criminal history records check, run under the Board's own authorization number (Health Occupations §9-302.1). A background check you completed for any other Maryland health license does not transfer — there is no waiver. Get the Board's CJIS/ORI numbers from their CHRC page first, because the application makes you attest the check is already done.

Applications are online-only, at the Board's site. Apply as Applicant I if you practiced as an assisted living manager in a licensed Maryland program before July 1, 2026, or Applicant II if you didn't. The $100 application fee is due at submission and is non-refundable — even if you never finish. Visa or MasterCard only; the Board is electronic-payment only.

The Board's 10-day processing clock starts only after your fee is paid and every required document is received and verified. On approval, a $200 license fee (also non-refundable) issues your license — an ALM-prefixed number. Don't stall: an application is void if all requirements aren't met within one year of the Board receiving it, and then it's a new application, a new fee, and whatever the rules are by then.

The Board mails no cards and no approval letters. You'll get an email with your license number, and COMAR 10.33.03.09 requires you to display verification of licensure conspicuously at your place of employment — a printed copy of the Board's License Verification page satisfies it. Post it next to your OHCQ program license.

The license renews on a two-year cycle with 20 hours of continuing education. And the OHCQ side of the ledger never stops: your caregivers' new-hire and annual training hours, the 6-hour cognitive-impairment initial and 2-hour annual refresher (COMAR 10.07.14.19(H)), and your own currency as manager. A Board license won't save a survey if the training file is thin.