DDAP licenses every Pennsylvania drug and alcohol treatment facility, including telehealth-only programs, for a specific owner, location and activities. The license lasts one year and renews after an on-site inspection. Changes of ownership, name, location, activity or capacity must be reported within 90 days or the license expires automatically.
Pennsylvania's Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) puts it plainly: "Any facility that provides drug and alcohol treatment services is required to obtain a license" to open and operate. The licensing rules are in 28 Pa. Code chapter 709 for freestanding facilities, chapter 715 for narcotic treatment programs and chapter 717 for recovery houses. The chapter 709 license is compact and strict, and its 90-day change rule catches more owners than any inspection finding.
Which settings need a DDAP license?
DDAP's licensing page lists treatment settings that require a license, "including, but not limited to": inpatient, outpatient, partial hospitalization, residential (halfway house), narcotic treatment programs and telehealth-only programs. The last one surprises people. A program that delivers drug and alcohol treatment entirely by telehealth is still a facility that needs a license, according to DDAP.
The license is issued per location and per activity. Chapter 709 has a separate subchapter of standards for each activity, including:
- intake, evaluation and referral (subchapter D);
- inpatient nonhospital residential treatment and rehabilitation (subchapter E);
- inpatient nonhospital short-term detoxification (subchapter F);
- transitional living facilities (subchapter G);
- partial hospitalization (subchapter H); and
- outpatient (subchapter I).
"A facility may be licensed for more than one activity," DDAP notes, but each one has to be on the license before it is offered.
Where does the application start?
DDAP's process starts with a Request for Licensing Application Packet form, on which the applicant selects every proposed activity. The completed form goes to DDAP by email, and DDAP replies with the administrative forms, the application and a checklist. The same request form is used to add a new site or a new activity to an existing license. Under 709.11(c), DDAP also notifies the Single County Authority for the area when a facility applies and when it is licensed.
What does a full license require?
A license is issued "when, after an on-site inspection by an authorized representative of the Department, it has been determined that requirements for licensure under this chapter, have been met" (709.12(a)). It is issued to the owner and names the facility, the address, the date and the activities the facility may provide, and it must be displayed in a public, conspicuous place (709.12(b)-(c)).
When the inspection finds problems, the representative leaves forms with the facility director. Those must be completed and returned to DDAP's Division of Licensing within 15 working days, and a license may not be issued until DDAP approves a plan of action (709.16).
When does DDAP issue a provisional license?
DDAP issues a provisional license, valid for no more than six months, when a facility has substantially but not completely complied, is following an approved course of correction, and has deficiencies that will not adversely affect client health, welfare or safety (709.13(a)). The facility submits a correction plan within 15 working days of the deficiency report. A provisional license "may be renewed no more than three times," and a regular license follows once the facility complies (709.13(c)-(d)).
How does renewal work?
The license "shall expire 1 year from the date of issuance," and before it expires DDAP notifies the facility of the date for an annual on-site inspection for renewal (709.11(b)). DDAP says those notices now arrive electronically and asks facilities to add its alerts address to their safe senders list. An annual inspection cycle means a Pennsylvania facility is never more than a year from its next survey, so policies, personnel files and records need to stay current year round. DDAP's representatives have the right to enter and inspect, to full and free access to facility and client records, and to interview clients (709.15).
What changes end the license if you do not report them?
This is the rule that matters most in a sale or a move. A license "applies to the person, the named facility, the premises designated therein and the activities" and "is not transferable" (709.14(a)). Using DDAP forms, the licensee must notify DDAP within 90 days of any of these:
- a change in ownership;
- a change in the facility's name;
- a change in location;
- a change in activity, or discontinuing one;
- a change in authorized maximum capacity; or
- closing the facility.
"Failure to notify the Department under subsection (b) will result in automatic expiration of the license" (709.14(c)). There is no grace period after the 90 days. If you are buying a Pennsylvania program, the reporting has to be built into the closing timeline; see licensing diligence before you buy a treatment program.
How are narcotic treatment programs approved in Pennsylvania?
A narcotic treatment program needs DDAP approval on top of the facility license, and the application goes to DDAP, DEA and SAMHSA's designee at the same time. DDAP recommends approval to the federal officials after reviewing policies and procedures and inspecting on site (28 Pa. Code 715.3). One Pennsylvania rule is unusual: as published, 715.25 states that "narcotic treatment medication units are prohibited." Although the 2024 federal rule clarified what medication units may offer, we do not offer a medication unit package in Pennsylvania. See adding a medication unit for the federal rules elsewhere.
Does Pennsylvania license recovery houses?
Yes. DDAP licenses drug and alcohol recovery houses under chapter 717, which took effect December 11, 2021. The application fee and the renewal fee are each $250 per house, a full license lasts one year after an on-site inspection, and DDAP keeps a public registry of licensed houses (28 Pa. Code 717.6, 717.7, 717.33). More in recovery residence certification: NARR affiliates and state rules.
Can we prepare a DDAP license file?
We complete the application packet for each activity, write the policies and procedures each chapter 709 subchapter asks for, prepare the facility for DDAP's on-site inspection, and draft the plan of action if deficiencies are cited. We also track the 90-day change window and the annual renewal. Your owner signs and pays DDAP. The State License package is $1,995 for an outpatient site or $2,995 for a residential or detox site, $595 for each added activity or site, and Ownership Change or Relocation is $795. Licensed social workers moving to your program from another state can start with Pennsylvania LCSW for out-of-state social workers. Sources are on the Pennsylvania page.
Common questions
- How long is a Pennsylvania DDAP license valid?
- One year from the date of issuance. DDAP schedules an annual on-site inspection for renewal before the license expires (28 Pa. Code 709.11(b)).
- Does a telehealth-only treatment program need a DDAP license?
- Yes. DDAP's licensing page lists telehealth-only among the treatment settings that require a drug and alcohol facility license.
- What happens if I do not report a change of ownership?
- The license expires automatically. Changes of ownership, name, location, activity, capacity or closure must be reported on DDAP forms within 90 days (709.14).
- Can a Pennsylvania OTP open a medication unit?
- Not under the rule as published: 28 Pa. Code 715.25 states that narcotic treatment medication units are prohibited.
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