Every Texas ALF must hold an active HHSC license. Here's how San Antonio families use the public HHSC disclosure portal to verify a facility, read inspection records, and spot red flags before placement.
By Linda Chen, CDP · February 8, 2026
Texas HHSC (Health and Human Services Commission) is the sole regulator for assisted living facilities (Type A and Type B under Ch. 247) and nursing facilities (Ch. 242) in Texas. Unlike some states with parallel licensing pathways, every Texas ALF must hold an active HHSC license — there is no county-level licensing layer. An ALF operating without a current, active license is illegal and puts residents at risk.
HHSC conducts annual unannounced inspections of every licensed ALF and publishes the results publicly. A record of deficiency citations — especially repeat citations in the same area (medication management, resident rights, staffing) — is a meaningful signal about how a facility operates when no one is watching.
Go to apps.hhs.texas.gov/HSPubDisclosure/ and search by facility name, city (San Antonio, New Braunfels, Boerne, etc.), or county (Bexar, Comal, Kendall, Guadalupe). The portal shows the facility's license type (Type A or B), current license status (Active, Provisional, Suspended, Revoked), licensed capacity, and owner/operator name.
Click through to the inspection history. Look for the date of the last standard survey, any complaint investigations, and the severity of any deficiencies cited. HHSC uses a deficiency scope and severity grid similar to CMS — 'immediate jeopardy' findings are the most serious and should be weighted heavily in your decision.
A provisional or conditional license means HHSC identified compliance problems serious enough to restrict the facility's operations. A suspended or revoked license means the facility should not be operating — report it if you encounter one. Multiple citations in the same category across successive inspection cycles signal a systemic problem, not a one-time error.
A facility that refuses to show you its current HHSC license or becomes defensive when you ask about citations is telling you something important. A free, local advisor verifies HHSC licensing status for every community before recommending it — and can explain what specific citations actually mean in plain language.
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