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Choosing a provider

Assisted living tour checklist

Questions about everyday help, staffing, costs and life in an assisted living community or smaller residential care home.

By Find A Care Partner

Updated
Sources checked
Reading time
3 min
About this guide

New guide written for this library.

Sources were checked on September 9, 2026 to confirm they say what this guide attributes to them. The guide has not been reviewed by a clinician, benefits counselor or attorney; it offers introductory information and questions to ask, not advice for a specific situation.

Take this on your visit

Mark questions as you go. Your marks stay on this open page only; they are not saved to your account or shared with providers. Print or save a PDF to keep a copy, including every question and space for handwritten notes.

Ask the home to describe the help it can actually provide. A small home and a larger community may organize care differently.

Before your visit or interview

  • Ask the person what matters most to them and choose a few priorities to discuss.
  • Bring your own questions and ask which staff member can discuss services and costs.
  • Use a separate printed copy for each provider. Leave room for answers and anything to clarify later.

Use these prompts to start a conversation. “Asked” records that you discussed a question; it is not a quality score or confirmation that a provider meets the person's needs. A tour, appearance or length of licensure alone does not establish quality.

Start with these questions

  • Which of the person's needs can you support now, and which would need another service or a move?
    Notes:
  • Who is available during the day, overnight and on weekends? What happens when someone is absent?
    Notes:
  • How do we reach someone about an urgent concern outside normal hours, and what response can we expect?
    Notes:
  • What is included in your written price, what costs extra, and when can charges change?
    Notes:
  • How will we agree on services, involve the person receiving them, and review changes together?
    Notes:
  • Which licenses, certifications or inspections apply here? Where can we verify the current record and any follow-up?
    Notes:
  • May we review the agreement, notice periods, cancellation or refund terms, and reasons services could end?
    Notes:
  • How can the person or family raise a concern, and who follows up if it remains unresolved?
    Notes:

Questions for this care type

  • How is help with bathing, dressing, toileting and getting around arranged, including requests outside a planned routine?
    Notes:
  • What medication help is offered, who provides it, and how are changes coordinated with the person's clinician?
    Notes:
  • For each shift, how many people provide direct care and how many residents are they supporting?
    Notes:
  • How can meals, activities, language, privacy and personal routines reflect this person's preferences?
    Notes:
  • What changes in needs could mean additional fees, outside support or a move? How would we plan for that?
    Notes:

Source: Where Can You Receive Care?, U.S. Administration for Community Living (publisher’s page last modified February 18, 2020; checked September 9, 2026)

If you are touring a smaller care home

  • Is overnight staff awake on site, sleeping on site or on call elsewhere? How is help requested?
    Notes:
  • Who covers the home when the primary caregiver is away or accompanying someone to an appointment?
    Notes:
  • Which bedrooms, bathrooms and living spaces are shared, and what can we see of the room actually being offered?
    Notes:

What to observe and discuss

  • Notice how staff introduce themselves, listen and respond when someone asks for help.
  • Walk the routes between the actual room, bathroom, dining area and shared spaces; ask about any obstacles.
  • Ask to see an ordinary meal or activity and discuss how the person could choose to join or spend time privately.

Source: Where Can You Receive Care?, U.S. Administration for Community Living (publisher’s page last modified February 18, 2020; checked September 9, 2026)

Ask for it in writing

  • A sample agreement and an itemized quote, including possible extra charges.
  • The proposed services, schedule, limits and process for reviewing changes.
  • Contact and complaint procedures, including how to get help outside normal hours.
  • Applicable license or certification details and where to find inspection records, when available.
  • Notice, cancellation, refund and service-ending terms to review before committing.

After your visit

  • Ask the person how the visit felt and compare what you heard with their priorities.
  • Write down unanswered questions, promises to confirm and who will follow up by when.
  • Discuss questions about clinical needs with the person's qualified care team. Review the written terms and confirm anything unclear before deciding.

Find care in this category

Your visit notes

Provider / visit date:

What matters most to the person:

Answers to confirm and questions still to ask:

Next step / who will follow up / by when:

Sources

These pages informed the sections that cite them; the questions and checklists are our own. Links were checked on .

  1. Where Can You Receive Care?, U.S. Administration for Community Living.Publisher’s page last modified February 18, 2020. Checked September 9, 2026.

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