Texas is an excellent place to open your addiction treatment center. 

The warm, dry weather appeals to people from out-of-state. Texas has the ninth largest economy in the world and is considered to be one of the most business-friendly states in the union. Around 7.32% of Texas residents used illicit drugs in the last month, according to one study. Texas has a reputation for going easy on regulations — unlike California — and this extends somewhat to the addiction treatment community, as well. 

There’s no corporate income tax and no personal income tax, to boot!

Read on for Behave Health’s step-by-step information about how to open an addiction treatment or drug rehab center in the Lone Star State. 

Are You Sure You Even Need a License to Operate an Addiction Treatment Center in Texas? 

Texas requires all addiction treatment centers - or what it calls “Chemical Dependency Treatment Facilities” - to apply for a license to operate in the state. 

Faith-based organizations, however, are exempt from licensure. 

Be careful, here: faith-based chemical dependency treatment facilities in Texas must not administer medical services of any kind. These facilities must only offer “non-medical treatment and recovery methods such as prayer, moral guidance, spiritual counseling, and scriptural study.” 

That means no MAT, no DBT and no evidence-based treatments can take place in exempt faith-based facilities. Take this into account when you are deciding whether or not to apply for licensing in Texas. 

Here’s the Licensing Process You’ll Need to Follow When Opening an Addiction Treatment Center in Texas - in a Nutshell 

Texas has a relatively exhaustive application process for new addiction treatment centers. 

Brace yourself for a pretty intense process. 

First, you’ll want to visit Texas Health and Human Services’ website about Chemical Dependency Treatment Facilities. 

There, you’ll find lots of documents. Click on New/Initial Applications and then click on Complete Form 3207. 

Note: If you don’t have the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader DC installed, do that first. The PDFs on the site are very finicky and will throw out error messages if you try to open them with other PDF readers. 

Once you’ve got Form 3207 open, you’ll see that you have a host of requirements ahead of you. 

They are: 

• Federal Tax ID

• IRS letter assigning your EIN

• Certificate of Filing 

• Certificate of Assumed Name 

• Physical address 

• Type of treatment 

• Details about number of beds 

You’ll want to work out those details before you even think about beginning your application. 

There’s Actually a Strict Timeline for Applying for Your License to Operate an Addiction Treatment Center in Texas

Texas doesn’t let you stay in the application phase of addiction treatment for long. 

If you’re unable to meet all the requirements of your application within six months, Texas throws away your application and keeps all of your fees. 

To make the most of the process, and hold onto your fees, prepare for the ordeal before you begin. 

But Wait - There’s Actually a Lot of Requirements That Aren’t On the Actual Application for Your License to Operate an Addiction Treatment Center in Texas

You didn’t think you were done, did you? 

There’s a lot of extra requirements under the “General Environment - Residential and Outpatient Facilities” tab on the Texas HHS website that will need your attention, as well. 

For both residential and outpatient facilities, you’ll need to provide:

• A completed ADA checklist 

• A copy of Certificate of Occupancy 

• Additional information regarding co-location (only if you intend to site your facility in the same physical location as a non-substance use disorder treatment program or services site)

For residential facilities, you’ll also need to provide ALL of the following:

• Fire inspection by the fire department or state fire marshal

• Alarm system inspection 

• Kitchen health inspection 

• Gas pipe pressure test by gas company or licensed plumber 

• Inspection and maintenance of fire extinguishers 

• Fire alarm certificate 

• Floor plan indicating total square footage of each room and the number of beds in each room 

• Name and license number of medical director 

And, of course, you need to actually pass all of these inspections and show that they are free of “outstanding corrective actions” when they are actually submitted to the state. 

We’re Here to Help You Open an Addiction Treatment Center in Texas 

We love working with new treatment centers at Behave Health because we love getting your business started right the first time. With our cloud-based, all-in-one custom software solution made especially for the addiction treatment community, your addiction treatment center will be ready to provide efficient and effective care from day one. 

We bring you EHR, billing, CRM and property management all in one easy-to-use app that you can access on your phone, anywhere. 

Get your free trial started today and see why more addiction treatment centers prefer Behave Health.