How to Certify a Sober Living Home With OASAS in New York

New York now has a state-recognized credential for recovery housing, and it is not the one most operators expect. Since 14 NYCRR Part 860 took effect on September 25, 2024, the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) has run the state’s first formal certification for recovery residences. Only a residence certified under Part 860 may call itself a “Certified Recovery Residence,” be listed by OASAS as one, or receive OASAS funding, per §860.3(b).

That makes Part 860 the credential with state standing, and it sits alongside a separate private track run by the state’s NARR affiliate. The two are not interchangeable, they cost very different amounts, and they impose very different obligations once you hold them. What follows is the OASAS process end to end: the prior consultation nobody warns you about, the forms OASAS will not post on its website, what the state actually charges, and what §860.10 does to your ability to remove a resident.

Who Certifies Sober Living Homes in New York?

The certifying body for the state credential is the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS), acting through its Bureau of Certification and its regional offices. OASAS is also the lead agency for the state’s treatment system, which is why a Part 860 certificate carries weight with discharge planners in a way a private credential does not.

New York is one of the few states with two parallel credentials. The private one belongs to the New York State Alliance of Recovery Residences (NYSARR), the state affiliate of the National Alliance for Recovery Residences listed in NARR’s affiliate directory, which certifies to the NARR Standard 3.0 across Levels I through IV. Its fees, forms, and level designations run on a completely separate track, and the mechanics of NYSARR certification in New York are worth understanding before you choose. Many operators pursue both, because the NARR standard and Part 860 overlap heavily: §860.5(a)(1) requires written policies that reflect nationally and locally recognized best practices, which is what the NARR standard already codifies. If you are new to the national framework, the fundamentals of NARR certification apply in New York the same way they apply everywhere else.

The distinction that matters: OASAS certification is the state credential, and Part 860 defines a recovery residence as “a unique and essential non-clinical service in the OASAS continuum of care” (§860.4(h)). It is housing, not treatment. The moment a home delivers clinical services, it leaves Part 860 and lands under Mental Hygiene Law §32.05, which requires an operating certificate for a substance use disorder treatment program. That is a different regulatory world with a much heavier load.

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Is Certification Required to Open a Sober Living Home in New York?

The statutory basis is Mental Hygiene Law §32.05-a, which directs the OASAS commissioner to promulgate regulations for the voluntary certification of certified recovery residences and to set standards for staffing, referrals, resident safety, resident rights, confidentiality, reoccurrence support, application of tenants’ rights, administrative policies, and housing standards that meet or exceed local codes. The statute also grants OASAS inspection authority and the power to limit, suspend, or revoke a certificate. Note what the enabling law does not do: it creates no penalty for operating without certification. Assembly Bill A3797 would change that, mandating certification, protecting the term “sober living home,” and attaching a $10,000 fine for advertising an uncertified home, but it remains in the Assembly Committee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse as of its January 7, 2026 referral. Until something like it passes, certification stays optional in law and close to mandatory in practice for anyone who wants state-system referrals or state money.

Certification is also distinct from a charter. A charter is a membership agreement between a home and a private network whose standards the home agrees to run by. It is not government permission and not a third-party audit, it comes from the network rather than the state, and no agency issues or revokes it. Oxford House charters homes that are democratically self-run and financially self-supporting, with no paid staff in the house and immediate departure on a return to use. Vanderburgh Sober Living charters independently operated homes into a cooperative network, where the operator keeps ownership of the business and gains the brand, the operating standards, and the startup and certification support of the Chartered Operator community. Neither substitutes for Part 860 in New York.

Why Certification Unlocks the New York Referral Pipeline

New York rates 8 for resident funding access and 8 for market strength, against a composite Operating Climate Score of 6 and a rank of 36 among the 50 states (Foote, 2026). That gap is the whole argument for certifying: the demand and the dollars are unusually deep here, and Part 860 is the gate on the state-controlled share of both.

Three things open up when the certificate issues.

• The protected designation and the state listing: Only certified residences may hold themselves out as a “Certified Recovery Residence” or appear on the OASAS certified recovery residences page, which OASAS is populating as the first certificates issue.
• Referral standing inside the OASAS system: New York’s treatment network runs roughly 1,700 OASAS-certified programs, and residential discharge planners are the highest-value warm-referral channel in the state. Certification puts your home inside the system those planners already work in, which is a different proposition from the general mix of referral sources most operators assemble on their own.
• Direct access to Opioid Settlement money: OASAS backed the Part 860 rollout with roughly $5 million in one-time Opioid Settlement funding through Request for Applications SETT-24029, at up to $75,000 per residence and up to three sites per provider for a $225,000 maximum. The most recent round accepted applications on a first-come, first-served basis until 4:00 p.m. on July 31, 2026, and we found no successor round announced as of September 2, 2026.

Read the RFA eligibility carefully before you build a plan around it. Applicants had to be nonprofits, registered and prequalified in the Statewide Financial System, registered with the Attorney General’s Charities Bureau, and holding a contingent approval of Part 860 certification for each funded site. Certification itself is open to for-profit and not-for-profit applicants alike, per the OASAS July 2025 certification webinar Q&A, but the settlement grants were not. That entity question is the first fork in the road, and it shapes New York recovery housing funding far more than most operators expect.

How to Certify a Sober Living Home With New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports

The process is not a portal you log into and finish in an afternoon. It runs through your regional office first, and the application materials are not published online.

Step 1. Confirm You Are a Non-Clinical Recovery Residence

Part 860 covers housing on the social model of recovery, not treatment (§860.4(h)). If you plan to deliver counseling or clinical services on site, you are looking at a Mental Hygiene Law §32.05 operating certificate instead. Settle this before you spend a dollar, because the two paths do not converge.

Step 2. Request a Prior Consultation With Your OASAS Regional Office

Contact the OASAS regional office covering your county. The regional office connects you with the county Local Governmental Unit and schedules a prior consultation meeting. The earlier February 2025 RFA 24029 questions and answers confirms the starting point, that the certification process begins with a prior consultation with the regional office and your Local Governmental Unit. The later September 2025 RFA 24029 questions and answers names the outcome you want from that meeting, a recommendation to proceed, which is what authorizes you to submit the full certification application.

Step 3. Email OASAS for the Application Materials

OASAS does not post the recovery residence application on its website. You request it by email to the certification mailbox listed on the become a certified recovery residence page, using the subject line “Certified Recovery Residences.” OASAS states a response time of 24 to 48 business hours.

Step 4. File the Prior Consult Form (Attachment 1A)

The process formally begins with the 1A form, the Certification Proposal Prior Consult form that documents your consultation with the Local Governmental Unit and the regional office. It is Attachment #1A to the OASAS PPD-5 certification application. The 1A requires a physical address, so you need a site under contract or lease before you can file it.

Step 5. Set Up Your NYSECON Account

NYSECON is the OASAS electronic certification system. OASAS advises applicants to wait until after the prior consultation meeting to open the account, so the record matches the proposal the regional office recommended.

Step 6. Build the Policy Manual Required by §860.5

This is the largest single body of work. Section 860.5 requires board-approved written policies covering admission criteria, successful completion, termination of residency and referral procedures, staffing and criminal-history review under Part 805, resident financial obligations, fund management, maintenance, recovery-plan development, incident reporting under Part 836, confidentiality, emergency procedures, resident rights and grievances, good-neighbor guidelines, and a medication for addiction treatment policy.

Step 7. Line Up a Qualified Residence Manager

Under §860.6, each residence must have a residence manager with either one year of professional experience in recovery housing or a related field, or one year in recovery plus one year of prior residency in recovery housing. The manager must hold a Certified Recovery Peer Advocate (CRPA) credential or obtain one within one year of appointment. Staff are subject to criminal-history review under Part 805 and must be trained at least annually.

Step 8. Secure Written Landlord and Board Approval

If you lease, §860.11 review includes lease approval, and OASAS looks for the landlord’s prior written approval to operate a recovery residence at the property. Corporate or board approval of the application is a separate review item. Neither can be produced on short notice, so start both early.

Step 9. Submit the Full Application to Both Offices

Applications go in writing to the OASAS Bureau of Certification and to the applicable regional office, not one or the other (§860.11). Review covers public need, the character and competence of the applicant, financial stability, criminal-history information review, the required policies and procedures, lease approval, and corporate approval.

Step 10. Reach Contingent Approval

OASAS issues a contingent approval once the application is roughly 80% to 90% complete. Contingent approval is a meaningful milestone rather than a formality: it was the eligibility threshold for the SETT-24029 settlement grants, and it lets you finish the remaining conditions with the certificate in sight.

Step 11. Host the Onsite Visit

OASAS staff may make an onsite visit before certifying, and §860.11 also provides for mandatory inspections and reviews. New operators are typically presented to the Behavioral Health Services Advisory Council as part of the review.

Step 12. Receive the Operating Certificate

The initial certificate runs for no longer than one year and is renewable on OASAS approval. Do not begin operating as a certified residence before the effective date printed on the certificate. A denial or limitation may be appealed administratively under Part 831.9.

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What You Need Before You Apply

Everything below should exist on paper before you request application materials, because OASAS reviews the substance rather than the intention.

• A formed legal entity with a board: New York charges $200 to file Articles of Organization for an LLC, $125 to incorporate a business corporation, and $75 to incorporate a not-for-profit, per the New York Department of State fee schedule, and an LLC also carries the state’s newspaper publication requirement. The entity choice drives your funding options, which is why the legal entity for a sober living business in New York deserves a decision rather than a default.
• A site with a physical address: Required by the 1A form. You may lease rather than own, with the landlord’s written approval to operate a recovery residence.
• The full §860.5 policy manual: Board-approved, in writing, covering every area listed in Step 6.
• A residence manager who holds or can earn a CRPA: The credential clock starts at appointment and runs one year.
• Naloxone and an emergency medical kit at every location: Section 860.5(g) requires basic first aid supplies and naloxone kits in a quantity sufficient for the residence, plus a plan to train all staff and residents in their use and notice of where the kits are kept.
• Lockable medication storage: Individual lock boxes for residents’ medication (§860.8(e)(4)) and secure storage for medication and medical supplies (§860.8(f)(2)), backed by written self-administration and safe-disposal policies (§860.5(b)).
• Sanitary capacity for your bed count: A minimum of one toilet, one sink, and one tub or shower per six residents (§860.8(d)).
• Insurance and a financial plan: OASAS reviews financial stability directly. Getting sober house insurance quoted and bound before review is the cleaner sequence.

New York Sober Living Document Checklist

These are the documents OASAS expects to see in the file, drawn from §§860.5, 860.6, and 860.11.

OASAS Certification Cost and What It Includes

Here is the answer competing pages skip: OASAS charges nothing to apply. The OASAS September 2025 RFA 24029 questions and answers states that “there is no cost attached to the application,” and we found no published renewal fee as of September 2, 2026. Your Part 860 budget is a compliance budget, not a fee schedule.

On timing, there is no guaranteed timeline. OASAS stated at its February 19, 2026 recovery residences applicant conference that a completed certification application can take up to six months to receive full and final approval. The September 2025 RFA 24029 questions and answers places contingent approval earlier, once the application is 80% to 90% complete. Plan on two quarters from prior consultation to certificate and treat anything faster as a bonus.

What to Expect During the OASAS Inspection and Interview

The OASAS review is a paper review with a site visit attached, and the paper carries most of the weight. Section 860.11 sets the approval standards, and each one is something a reviewer can hold in their hand.

• Public need: Evidence that the county actually needs the beds, which the LGU consultation informs.
• Character and competence: The applicant’s and principals’ background, experience, and any prior regulatory history.
• Financial stability: Budget, capitalization, and whether the home can operate without the anti-exploitation shortcuts §860.5(d) prohibits.
• Criminal-history review: Part 805 screening for staff.
• Policies and procedures: The §860.5 manual read against the regulation, section by section.
• Lease and corporate approval: Signed documents, not drafts.

The onsite visit checks whether the building matches the paperwork. Expect reviewers to look for naloxone kits and posted locations, individual medication lock boxes, the toilet-sink-shower ratio against your stated bed count, egress and alarms, the posted resident rights and grievance procedure, and the residency agreement actually in use. New operators should also prepare for a presentation to the Behavioral Health Services Advisory Council, which is where a thin public-need argument tends to surface.

OASAS Renewal and Ongoing Compliance

Certification is an annual relationship. The initial certificate runs no longer than one year and renews on OASAS approval, and the obligations in between are continuous rather than periodic. OASAS may require policy revisions, initiate regulatory action, and on written notice suspend, revoke, or limit the certificate if a residence fails to maintain minimum standards.

The recurring compliance calendar looks like this: annual training for all staff, volunteers, peers, and the residence manager (§860.6(g)); the CRPA credential maintained; criminal-history reviews under Part 805 kept current; incident reports filed and an incident review process running under Part 836; grievance records retained, including complaints routed to OASAS (§860.5(f)); naloxone stocked and training refreshed; and MAT non-discrimination maintained under §§860.5(a)(16) and 860.9.

Two Part 860 provisions reshape day-to-day operations more than anything else in the rule, and both are the sort of thing that ends a certification. First, §860.10 provides that residents may only be removed from possession consistent with their residency agreement and the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law, and that no maximum length of stay may be imposed. Self-help removal is not available to a certified home. That aligns with New York case law and the 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act, which extended anti-lockout protections to occupants in possession 30 or more consecutive days; RPAPL §768 makes unlawful removal a criminal offense. Out-of-state operators are blindsided by this constantly, and understanding what happens when a resident claims tenant rights is not optional in New York. Second, where a residency ends because of a return to substance use, §860.10(b) requires the home to first provide the assertive linkages described in §860.7(a): emergency medical care, peer support, referrals to treatment or safe housing, transportation, and contact with the resident’s emergency contact. A relapse cannot trigger a same-day street discharge.

Section 860.5(d) is the third one to internalize. A certified residence may not require residents to relinquish public assistance, Medicaid, SSI, or SNAP benefits, may not require surrender of cash or sign-over of payments, may not borrow from or lend to residents, may not buy from or sell property to residents, may not accept commissions or kickbacks for referrals, and may not directly manage residents’ personal finances. These mirror federal anti-kickback and patient-brokering concerns, and a violation is certification-ending.

OASAS Sober Living Certification at a Glance

Here is the OASAS certification picture in one view, from the rule that creates it to the staffing constraint that decides your hiring.

Sober Living Guides Every Operator Needs

These evergreen guides apply in every state and cover the fundamentals around certification: the standards you certify to, the coverage you carry, and the referrals and occupancy that certification is meant to unlock.

Frequently Asked Questions About OASAS Certification

How OASAS Certification Fits Your Path in New York

Part 860 is the credential that gives a New York sober living home standing inside the state system, and the state charges nothing for it. What it costs is preparation: a real entity, a real policy manual, a credentialed residence manager, and a discharge practice built around RPAPL rather than around house rules. Operators who treat the six months before the application as the actual work tend to certify on the first pass.

If you want help mapping the Part 860 process onto your specific property, timeline, and entity structure, reach out to the Vanderburgh Sober Living team and we will walk it with you.