HHSC is required to regulate certain types of health care facilities to protect consumer and patient health and safety by ensuring compliance with state laws and rules. Regulatory activities include surveying facilities, reviewing complaints, investigating possible violations, evaluating evidence, reviewing plans of correction, and determining administrative penalties.
Working collaboratively with stakeholders, HHSC establishes rules and standards for facilities’ general operations, patient services, and physical plants, as well as procedural rules regarding license applications and issuance, complaints, violations, and enforcement.
Texas law requires certain types of health care facilities to be licensed in order to provide services. The licensing procedure varies according to facility type and may include application review, fees, architectural and life safety code approval, and initial on-site surveys.
You can verify a facility license by searching the online licensing system.
- Abortion Facilities (ABO)
- Ambulatory Surgical Centers (ASC)
- Birthing Centers
- Burial or Cremation Assistance Registry
- Certificate of Public Advantage (COPA)
- Chemical Dependency Treatment Facilities (CDTF)
- Community Mental Health Centers (CMHC)
- Comprehensive Outpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (CORF)
- End Stage Renal Disease Facilities (ESRD)
- Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs)
- Freestanding Emergency Medical Care Facilities (FEMC)
- Hospitals – General Hospitals
- Hospitals – Private Psychiatric Hospitals and Crisis Stabilization Units (Psych Hospital & CSU)
- Hospitals – Special Hospitals
- Laboratories – Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA)
- Limited Services Rural Hospitals (LSRH)
- Narcotic Treatment Programs (NTP)
- Outpatient Physical Therapy/Outpatient Speech Pathology (OPT/SP)
- Portable X-Ray Services (Port-X)
- Psychiatric Drug Formulary
- Rural Health Clinics (RHC)
- Special Care Facilities (SCF)