Charleston Senior AdvisorWhat does CRCF mean on a Charleston assisted living license?
CRCF stands for community residential care facility, the legal name South Carolina uses for assisted living; DPH licenses CRCFs under Regulation 60-84 to provide room, board and personal care to adults who need help but not daily skilled nursing.
Buildings that meet the CRCF definition may advertise as assisted living, so the two terms point to the same license.
Is DHEC still the agency that licenses assisted living?
No. Since July 1, 2024, the S.C. Department of Public Health's Healthcare Quality office licenses and inspects care facilities, after Act 60 of 2023 split DHEC into DPH and the Department of Environmental Services.
The CRCF rules were reissued as Regulation 60-84 on May 23, 2025; older brochures that cite DHEC's Regulation 61-84 are out of date.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 on DPH's data for an Alzheimer's special care unit but is licensed the same way as any other CRCF.
Size, services and whether a secured unit exists are what separate one Lowcountry building from another.
How often does the state inspect assisted living in Charleston?
DPH inspects every CRCF before its first license and then as it deems appropriate, and it may inspect or investigate at any time without notice (Regulation 60-84, Section 202).
With no fixed cycle, the useful question on a tour is when DPH last visited and whether you may read that report.
Can a care home operate in Charleston without a license?
No. Any home providing room, board and personal care to two or more unrelated adults for more than 24 hours needs a DPH CRCF license, and a suspected unlicensed home should be reported to DPH Healthcare Quality at 1-800-922-6735.
Unlicensed homes are not inspected, and residents there have none of Regulation 60-84's protections.
Do Lowcountry assisted living facilities need a hurricane plan?
Yes. Regulation 60-84, Section 1401 requires every CRCF to keep a written emergency and disaster evacuation plan made with its county emergency agency, and Charleston County facilities must name at least one sheltering facility outside the coastal counties.
Residents and responsible parties may inspect the plan on request, and staff must rehearse it at least once a year.
Does independent living need a license?
Not by itself: housing with amenities but no personal care is not a CRCF, but once a building provides personal care to residents it needs a CRCF license.
Retirement campuses around Charleston often pair unlicensed independent living with a licensed CRCF and sometimes a nursing home.
