Assisted living admission documents fall into four groups. Medical: the physician's report or medical assessment, TB screening, medication orders and any recent discharge summary. Legal: powers of attorney for money and health care, a living will, and any DNR or POLST form. ID and insurance: photo ID plus Medicare, supplement or Advantage, and drug plan cards. Last, the community's own forms, such as the residency agreement. State rules set the details.
Key facts
- California requires a medical assessment made within the last year, signed by a licensed medical professional, before a person can be accepted as a resident. (Cornell LII, n.d.)
- Florida requires an in-person medical exam within 60 days before or 30 days after admission, recorded on the clinician's own form or on AHCA Form 1823. (Florida Administrative Code, 2025)
- California's medical form, the LIC 602A, runs nine pages and asks about diagnoses, memory and thinking problems, allergies, and how much self-care a person can do. (California DSS, 2026)
- The National Institute on Aging lists a will, a durable power of attorney for finances, and advance directives (a living will and a durable power of attorney for health care) as the core legal papers. (NIA, 2023)
- A 2015 federal summary of state rules found that most states require a signed residency agreement, which the resident or someone acting for them signs. (ASPE, 2015)
The community said yes, the move-in date is set, and now an email arrives with "admission packet" in the subject line. Some papers you have, some you've never heard of, and one needs a doctor. This post gives you the full list in one table. It also shows who provides each one, which ones slow things down, and how to hand them over while you keep the originals.
Why start with the community's own list?
The rules come from your state and from the community itself. There is no national standard. Each state licenses assisted living, and the medical paperwork alone differs a lot. California requires a medical assessment made within the last year. A licensed medical professional must sign it before the person can be accepted as a resident. Florida requires an in-person medical exam within 60 days before or 30 days after admission. The results go on the clinician's own form or on AHCA Form 1823.
A request you can send the admissions office: "Could you email me your full list of admission documents? Please mark which items you need before move-in and which can come after. And please include any forms a doctor needs to fill out."
Keep the reply. It becomes your checklist, and it settles any later question about what was asked for and when.
Ask the same question about timing for every item. "Before move-in" and "within the first week" make a big difference when you have ten days.
What documents does assisted living admission usually need?
This is the typical set. Your community's list may be shorter or longer. Tick off what you have tonight and flag the rest with an owner.
| Document | Who provides it | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Medical form (physician's report or medical assessment) | Your parent's doctor or another licensed clinician | State-specific form or the practitioner's own, and usually the slowest item |
| TB screening result | Doctor's office or health department | Test type and timing vary by state and community |
| Current medication orders and list | Doctor, or the hospital discharge team if recently discharged | Include doses, times, over-the-counter drugs and supplements |
| Recent hospital or rehab discharge summary | Hospital or rehab | If your parent was recently admitted |
| Allergy list and diet orders | Doctor | Often part of the medical form |
| Durable power of attorney for finances | Your parent (copy) | If one exists |
| Durable power of attorney for health care (health care proxy) | Your parent (copy) | If one exists |
| Living will; DNR, POLST or MOLST form | Your parent, or the doctor for medical orders | Copies for the community's file |
| Photo ID | Your parent (copy) | Driver's license or state ID |
| Medicare card; supplement or Medicare Advantage card; Part D card | Your parent (copies) | Front and back |
| Long-term care insurance policy details | Your parent or the insurer | If your parent has a policy |
| Emergency contacts and doctor list | You | Names, phone numbers, pharmacy |
| Residency agreement and community forms | The community | Read at home before signing |
Which medical documents take longest, and why?
The medical form takes longest. It needs a doctor's visit and a clinician's signature, and the TB screening can add days. California's form, the LIC 602A (now titled "Medical Assessment for Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly"), runs nine pages. It asks about diagnoses, memory and thinking problems, allergies, and how much self-care your parent can do. It also asks who manages the medicines and how well your parent walks. The TB section needs the dates the test was given and read. A blank line can send it back.
Book the doctor's visit the day you choose the community. Bring a typed list of medicines so the office doesn't have to piece it together. Our posts on the physician's report for assisted living and the TB test for assisted living explain how to speed each one up.
If your parent is coming from a hospital, ask the discharge planner for two papers on the day of discharge. You want the final, checked medication list and the discharge summary, both on paper. The community nurse will work from them.
Which legal documents do you need, and should you hand over originals?
Bring copies of any legal papers your parent has, and keep the originals at home. The National Institute on Aging lists the core papers. They are a will, a durable power of attorney for finances, and advance directives. Advance directives include a living will and a durable power of attorney for health care. Alzheimers.gov adds medical orders, like a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order and POLST or MOLST forms. These record your parent's wishes about treatment to keep them alive.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has a guide for agents under a power of attorney. It is direct about originals. Never give away the original, and get certified copies if someone needs more than a plain copy.
If there is no power of attorney, the move can often still go ahead if your parent can sign for themselves. If that's in doubt, talk to an elder law attorney soon. Alzheimers.gov notes that financial planning papers must be made while the person is still legally able to make decisions. Our post on power of attorney before an assisted living move goes further.
What forms will the community itself ask you to sign?
Expect the residency agreement plus a few consent and disclosure forms. The exact set depends on your state. A 2015 federal summary of state rules found that most states require a signed residency agreement. The resident or someone acting for them signs it, and the timing varies. Typical community forms include:
- The residency agreement, with fees, services, rate increases and move-out terms. Read it at home before signing, with our assisted living contract checklist.
- A release that lets the doctor share medical records with the community. California's LIC 602A includes one. The resident or their legal representative signs it.
- Consent forms for medicines. In Florida, for example, staff without a license may help residents take their own medication. If they will help your parent, the community must first get written, informed consent. It comes from the resident or their surrogate, guardian or attorney-in-fact.
- The community's disclosure or admission package. Florida requires communities to offer a written statement of the rules for who can move in and who can stay. It must also list charges and the services included.
- Photo, emergency contact and personal property forms. These vary by community.
Ask who signs each one. If you sign anything, ask in writing: am I signing on my parent's behalf, or am I on the hook for anything myself? An elder law attorney is the right person to review the agreement on that point before anyone signs.
Every document on a date, with an owner
Parent Move Plan puts the move's tasks, paperwork included, on real dates counted back from move-in day, so nothing waits for the last week. In the plan, tasks that need someone on site go to whoever lives close.
Get your first 3 days freeHow do you organize it all in one evening?
Make one copy set and one digital set, and keep the originals where they are. It takes about an evening.
- Gather originals from wherever your parent keeps them. The NIA checklist is a good map of where to look.
- Copy or scan each one, front and back for cards.
- Put the copies in one labeled folder for the community, in the order of their list.
- Save the scans in one shared folder that two family members can open.
- Return the originals to a safe place at home, and tell one sibling where.
- Keep a second small set of copies in your bag for move-in day.
Papers aren't the only thing to pack. For clothes, furniture and the first-night box, see what to bring to assisted living, which also lists papers to have ready.
Rules and prices differ by state. Assisted living rules and costs by state lists the medical exam, TB test, move-out notice, Medicaid and the median monthly cost for all 50 states, with sources.
Frequently asked questions
What paperwork is needed for assisted living?
Usually a medical form completed by a clinician, TB screening, current medication orders, insurance cards, photo ID, copies of any powers of attorney and advance directives, and the community's own forms such as the residency agreement. State rules decide the details, so ask the community for its list in writing.
Do you give the assisted living community original documents?
Generally give copies and keep originals safe. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's guide for agents under a power of attorney advises never giving away the original document and notes that you can get certified copies. Ask the community whether a plain copy is enough or if it needs a certified one.
How recent does the medical form have to be?
It depends on the state. California requires a medical assessment made within the last year before admission. Florida requires a medical exam within 60 days before or 30 days after admission. Ask the community what it requires.
What if my parent doesn't have a power of attorney?
The move can often still happen if your parent can sign their own residency agreement. If your parent may not be able to make or sign decisions, talk to an elder law attorney soon about the options, since documents like a power of attorney must be signed while the person still has legal capacity.
Sources
- Cornell LII: Cal. Code Regs. tit. 22, 87458, Medical Assessment (accessed Sept 2026)
- California Department of Social Services: LIC 602A, Medical Assessment for Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly (accessed Sept 2026)
- Florida Administrative Code: Rule 59A-36.006, Admission Procedures, Appropriateness of Placement and Continued Residency Criteria (accessed Sept 2026)
- NIA: Getting Your Affairs in Order Checklist (accessed Sept 2026)
- Alzheimers.gov (NIA): Planning After a Dementia Diagnosis (accessed Sept 2026)
- CFPB: Help for agents under a power of attorney (accessed Sept 2026)
- ASPE: Compendium of Residential Care and Assisted Living Regulations and Policy, 2015 Edition (accessed Sept 2026)