Sober living in California

Do sober living homes need a license in California?

No. AB 2574, signed in 2024, added section 11833.05 to the Health and Safety Code. It defines a recovery residence, a term that includes sober living homes, as a dwelling that supports recovery from a substance use disorder and does not require licensure by the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS). The same bill makes licensed treatment programs disclose when their owners have a financial interest in a recovery residence.

DHCS's job is treatment. Section 11834.01 gives the department sole authority in state government to license adult alcohol or other drug recovery or treatment facilities. A house that offers detox, counseling or other treatment on site is a treatment facility and needs that license. A house that offers only a substance-free home, rules and peer support does not.

A statewide standard came close. AB 255 would have set NARR-based standards for recovery housing paid for with state money, but the Governor vetoed it on October 1, 2025. As of September 2026, California has no mandatory certification for sober living.

Who certifies recovery residences in California?

The California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals (CCAPP) is the listed California affiliate of the National Alliance for Recovery Residences (NARR). Its CCAPP Recovery Residences arm certifies homes against the NARR framework and runs a public directory of certified homes. Certification is voluntary, so an uncertified home is not breaking state law, but a certified home has agreed to meet an outside standard.

NARR sorts homes into four levels of support. Level I homes are democratically run by the residents, with no paid positions. Level II homes add a house manager or senior resident and at least one paid role. Level III homes are supervised by a facility manager and certified staff, with life skills work in the house and clinical care used outside it. Level IV homes provide clinical services in the house, which in California calls for a DHCS license. Ask any home which level it works at and who is on site day to day.

Who pays for sober living in California?

Usually the resident or the family. DHCS guidance says Medi-Cal does not reimburse room and board, so it pays for treatment rather than rent. The same guidance lets counties in the Drug Medi-Cal Organized Delivery System use a federal block grant for recovery residence room and board for up to 24 months, which is why publicly funded recovery housing looks different in every county.

Since January 1, 2026, Medi-Cal Transitional Rent can pay up to six months of rent for managed-care members who meet substance use or mental health criteria, are homeless or at risk of it, and belong to a transitioning population. Health Net's plan policy lists recovery housing as an allowed setting, but each plan decides case by case.

No statewide price survey exists. The best-documented figures come from Los Angeles County, where homes in a 2020 peer-reviewed study (Mericle and colleagues) charged between $300 and $20,000 a month. Our Los Angeles guide covers that research in more detail.

How do you vet a sober living home anywhere in California?

Use this checklist for a home in any city. We built it from NARR Standard 3.0, SAMHSA's 2023 guide to recovery housing and the state rules above.

• Search the CCAPP Recovery Residences directory for the home's name, and ask to see the certificate if the home claims one.
• Ask which NARR level the home operates at and who is responsible for the house each day.
• Get the rate, deposit and refund policy in writing and signed before any money changes hands, which is what NARR Standard 3.0 expects of certified homes.
• Pay the house directly rather than handing cash to your loved one.
• If the home mentions detox, therapy or counseling, ask for its DHCS license number, because providing treatment requires one.
• Read the written medication policy, including medications for opioid use disorder, before move-in.
• Ask whether the home pays or receives referral fees. SAMHSA lists freedom from unethical patient brokers among resident rights.

Which county guide should you read next?

Publicly funded recovery housing is organized county by county, so the first call belongs to the substance use agency in the county where your loved one lives or is in treatment. Each area guide below looks at that county's own agency, publicly funded housing and meeting directories, and at the trip to Long Beach. Los Angeles, Pasadena and the South Bay cities are in Los Angeles County, and Huntington Beach is in Orange County.

Why do some California families choose Long Beach?

For Southern California families, Long Beach can offer distance from the neighborhood where substance use happened while keeping visits realistic. It is part of Los Angeles County, so residents there fall under LA County's substance use services, and Metro's A Line runs from Long Beach through downtown Los Angeles toward Pasadena.

Skip this option if your loved one's treatment, work, court dates or closest family are in Northern California or tie them to another county, or if they need detox, shelter or reentry housing first. Sober living is not the right door for everyone, and we would rather point a family to the service that fits than take an inquiry we cannot serve.

If a Long Beach home is worth a conversation, the number (562) 568-7256 goes straight to our partner home, or you can send a message through the form on this page.

Each guide lists that county's own substance use agency and publicly funded housing, sourced from county and state documents.

Common questions