Assisted living admission documents fall into four groups. Medical: the community's physician's report or medical assessment, TB screening, current medication orders and any recent discharge summary. Legal: powers of attorney for finances and health care, a living will, and any DNR or POLST form. Identity and insurance: photo ID and Medicare, supplement or Advantage, and drug plan cards. And the community's own forms, including the residency agreement. State rules set the details.
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, who provides each document, which ones cause delays, and how to hand them over without giving away originals.
Why start with the community's own list?
Because the rules come from your state and the community's policies, not from a national standard. Assisted living is licensed by the states, and the medical paperwork alone differs a lot. California requires a medical assessment made within the last year, signed by a licensed medical professional, before someone is accepted as a resident. Florida requires a face-to-face medical exam within 60 days before or 30 days after admission, recorded on the practitioner's own form or on AHCA Form 1823.
What to say to the community: "Could you email me your full admission document list, with which items you need before move-in and which can come after, and any forms we need to have a doctor complete?"
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; 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; hospital discharge team if recently discharged | Include doses, times, over-the-counter drugs and supplements |
| Recent hospital or rehab discharge summary | Hospital or rehab facility | 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; 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, because it needs an appointment 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 covers diagnoses, cognitive conditions, a TB section with the dates the test was given and read, allergies, capacity for self-care, medication management and ambulatory status. A blank line can send it back.
Book the appointment the day you choose the community, and bring a typed medication list so the office doesn't have to reconstruct it. 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 team for the reconciled medication list and discharge summary in paper form on the day of discharge. The community nurse will work from them.
Which legal documents do you need, and should you hand over originals?
Bring copies of whatever legal documents your parent has, and keep the originals at home. The National Institute on Aging lists the core documents: a will, a durable power of attorney for finances, and advance directives such as 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, which record preferences for life-sustaining treatment.
On originals, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's guide for agents under a power of attorney is direct: never give away the original, and get certified copies if an institution needs more than a 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, because Alzheimers.gov notes that financial planning documents must be created while the person still has the legal capacity 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 handful of consents and disclosures. The exact set depends on your state. A 2015 federal compendium of state rules found that most states require the resident, or a representative, to sign the residency agreement, with timing that 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.
- An authorization to release medical information from the doctor to the community. California's LIC 602A includes one, signed by the resident or their legal representative.
- Medication consents. In Florida, for example, if unlicensed staff will assist with self-administration of medication, the community must get written informed consent from the resident or their surrogate, guardian or attorney-in-fact.
- The community's disclosure or admission package. Florida requires communities to make available a written statement of admission and continued residency criteria, charges and the services included.
- Photo, emergency contact and personal property forms, which 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 taking on any obligation myself? For that question, an elder law attorney is the right person to review the agreement 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 Complete plan, tasks that need someone on site go to whoever lives close.
Build your plan in 2 minutesHow 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.
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)