National Care Professionals Institute
Title 22 · CDSS Vendor #2000778
ARF Training and Certification in California
If you run an Adult Residential Facility, work in one, or are thinking about opening one, this page explains what an ARF is, who lives there, how it differs from an RCFE, and the training California expects.
- Live instructors
- No subscriptions
- No rescheduling fees
- Family owned
What an ARF is
ARF stands for Adult Residential Facility.
It is a licensed home where adults aged 18 through 59 live and get help with daily life, because of a mental, physical or developmental disability. Meals, personal care, medication reminders, help getting to appointments. It is not a hospital, and nobody on staff provides skilled medical care.
People often call these homes board and care, group homes, or supported living. ARF is the license, and it is the term the state uses.
ARFs are licensed by the California Department of Social Services, through its Community Care Licensing Division, under Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations.
Who lives in one
Working-age adults who need daily support, not medical treatment.
An ARF can help with
- Bathing, dressing and grooming
- Meals and special diets
- Reminding a resident to take medication, and storing it safely
- Getting to appointments, work or day programs
- Laundry, housekeeping and activities
Residents are adults 18 through 59. An ARF can serve someone over 60 in specific approved situations, usually a resident who has aged in place.
An ARF is not
- A nursing home or a psychiatric hospital
- A locked or involuntary placement
- A place that provides skilled nursing as routine practice
ARFs support people living as independently as they can. The care is personal and practical, not clinical.
ARF or RCFE, what is the difference
The buildings can look identical. What differs is who is allowed to live there.
| ARF | RCFE | |
|---|---|---|
| Stands for | Adult Residential Facility | Residential Care Facility for the Elderly |
| Resident ages | 18 through 59 | 60 and older |
| Who lives there | Adults with a mental, physical or developmental disability who need help with daily living | Older adults who need help with daily living |
| Licensed by | CDSS, Community Care Licensing | CDSS, Community Care Licensing |
| Medical care | Non-medical | Non-medical |
| Administrator | Must hold a current ARF administrator certificate | Must hold a current RCFE administrator certificate |
Who has to be certified or trained
Two separate paths. Administrators get certified by the state. Direct care staff get trained by the facility.
ARF administrator initial certification
The certification California requires to run an Adult Residential Facility or to be hired as its administrator. After the course you take the state exam.
Administrator recertification, every two years
Forty hours of continuing education in each two-year certification period. One renewal covers your ARF and your RCFE, so if you hold certificates for both you take it once.
ARF caregiver training
We offer direct care staff training for ARFs as a 30-hour course and a 15-hour course. Both are self-paced, in English, and bought by the seat, so one code covers as many caregivers as you buy.
Which one your staff need depends on your regional center. Check what they require before you buy, and if you are not sure, call us and we will work it out with you.
Your regional center may ask for more.
ARFs that serve regional center clients can be held to additional training requirements, and both the number of hours and the specific courses vary from one regional center to another. Check with yours before you plan a training year. If you are not sure what counts, call us and we will help you work it out.
If you hold both certificates
One administrator renewal covers both your ARF and your RCFE.
Your caregivers are treated differently. Someone working in both types of facility needs both trainings, because the material is not the same.
Plenty of operators in California run both. If that is you, our renewal package is built so you are not paying twice or sitting through the same hours twice. See the RCFE side for what that license requires.
Questions people ask us
Short answers here. The full chapter is in the handbook.
Can one person be the administrator of an ARF and an RCFE?
Yes, and many are. You need the certificate for each license, but one renewal keeps both current.
Can a resident stay in my ARF after they turn 60?
In specific approved situations, yes. Aging in place is the usual reason, and it is an approval you apply for rather than something the license allows automatically.
Do my ARF caregivers need CPR and First Aid?
Yes. Current CPR and First Aid is required for direct care staff, and we sell it by the seat using the same one-code system as everything else.
When can I enroll in your ARF administrator course?
Late 2026. Leave your name on the waiting list and we will write to you the moment enrollment opens. Join the list →
Open now
Available today, on the same account and the same one-code system as everything else we sell.
30 hr and 15 hr · self-paced
ARF Caregiver Training
Video training for ARF direct care staff, bought by the seat so you never have to collect names first. One code covers as many caregivers as you buy, and you watch their progress from your own account.
See details →40 or 20 hours
RCFE & ARF Administrator Renewal
Live or self-paced. One renewal covers your ARF and your RCFE, and the 40-hour package also earns 38 CA Board of Registered Nursing CEs.
See details →Required for staff
Adult CPR, AED & First Aid
ARF staff need current CPR and First Aid. Same one-code system, $13.99 per person.
See details →Free download
Title 22 Regulations
Title 22 and Health and Safety Code 1569, free digital download, no purchase needed.
See details →Coming later in 2026
Both are being built now. Leave your name on either one and we will write to you when enrollment opens.
ARF Administrator Initial
The 35-hour initial certification for ARF administrators, taught live the way our RCFE course is.
ARF Facility Application
Your complete ARF application packet prepared and mailed to you, ready to sign and send to the state.
Custom live course
Training built for your team and taught live. $200 per hour, two-hour minimum.
Not sure where to start?
Call or text and you will speak with Carlos or Kallie. We have been teaching California care professionals for three decades and we will tell you straight.
Call (619) 322-9578Industry Partners
Working Hours
Monday – Friday, 8am – 5pm PST
Location
San Diego, CA
San Francisco, CA
Dallas, TX