TROHN certification in Texas, step by step

The Texas law behind it

• HB 299 (2023) added chapter 469 to the Texas Health and Safety Code: voluntary accreditation for recovery houses, with minimum standards HHSC sets based on the standards of the National Alliance for Recovery Residences (NARR) and Oxford House, Inc. (HB 299, enrolled; bill analysis).
• HHSC's rules are in 26 Texas Administrative Code chapter 571, Voluntary Recovery Housing Accreditation, adopted in 2024 (HHSC).
• Voluntary to operate: a recovery house "is encouraged to seek and maintain accreditation but is not required to be accredited to operate in the state of Texas" (26 TAC 571.4).
• Required for state money: under Health and Safety Code 469.009, which took effect September 1, 2025, a recovery house that isn't accredited under the chapter is ineligible for and may not receive state money.
• Who accredits: HHSC may approve only NARR and Oxford House, Inc. as accrediting organizations. NARR's standards are applied in Texas by TROHN, its state affiliate, which certifies all four NARR levels. Oxford House charters democratically run, peer-run homes.
• Not for treatment facilities: chapter 469 keeps licensed chemical dependency treatment facilities from being accredited as recovery houses, and accredited houses don't provide personal care services. If you provide treatment, that's an HHSC-licensed program (see how to start an IOP in Texas).

What certification unlocks, and what it doesn't

It does	It doesn't
Make the house eligible for state money, such as state-funded contracts and grants for recovery housing, under 469.009. Ask HHSC's substance use team which programs are open.	Guarantee any funding. Eligibility isn't an award.
Show families, courts and programs that an independent reviewer checked the house against national standards. Some funders and referral sources work only with certified homes.	Create a legal requirement for anyone to refer to you. Texas law doesn't require treatment providers to refer only to certified homes, and you may never pay for a referral.
Give residents a place to take a complaint beyond the owner, and give you an outside check on how the house runs.	Let you provide or bill for treatment, or replace any city requirement (zoning, occupancy, fire code).

Certification also doesn't change EKRA. Whatever your status, it's a federal crime to pay or receive anything of value for referrals to or from a recovery home, for any payer (18 U.S.C. 220), and Texas's Patient Solicitation Act (Occupations Code chapter 102) adds its own ban for licensed providers.

1. Choose your level

TROHN reviews a house against the NARR standard for its level of support, and its interview helps confirm which level the house is. Decide yours before you write the rules, because the standards differ:

NARR level	In short
Level I: peer-run	Run democratically by the residents; no paid staff in the home.
Level II: monitored	A house manager or senior resident oversees the house and its rules.
Level III: supervised	Paid staff, more structure, life-skills work.
Level IV: service provider	Clinical services in an organizational setting; in Texas, check how this fits chapter 469 and HHSC licensing with your attorney.

More on each level in how to start a sober living home.

2. The standards: what reviewers look for

The NARR Standard (version 3.0) has four domains, 10 principles and 31 standards (NARR Standard 3.0). In plain terms, and with the proof to have ready:

Domain	What it covers	Proof to have on file
Administrative and operational	Operating with integrity, residents' rights, residents' voice in how the house runs, and staff trained in the social model	Mission and level; business formation and insurance; house rules, resident agreement and relapse policy; written, receipted fees; grievance process; private resident files; job descriptions, background checks and training records; fair housing and accommodation log; a statement that no one is paid for referrals
Physical environment	A home-like setting that's safe and healthy	Working smoke and CO alarms, charged extinguishers, clear exits and posted routes, bedrooms within occupancy rules, personal and medication storage that locks, naloxone in date, monthly inspection records
Recovery support	Active recovery and community engagement, prosocial behavior, belonging and responsibility	House meeting minutes, recovery activity expectations, a resource list (meetings, treatment, crisis lines), drug testing and relapse procedures, MAT-inclusive medication policy
Good neighbor	Relations with neighbors and the community	Good-neighbor policy (parking, noise, smoking, trash, visitors), a contact name and number for neighbors, a log of complaints and how each was handled

This table is our plain-language summary. Read the current NARR standard and TROHN's materials for your level before you apply.

3. Get ready before you apply

Apply when the house runs the way the standards describe, not when it's still an idea. Before step one:

• The business: formed with the Texas Secretary of State, an EIN, a bank account, and insurance written for recovery residences.
• The house: furnished, fire-safe, with the city's answer on zoning and occupancy in writing, and the owner's written OK if you lease.
• The documents: house rules, resident agreement (attorney-reviewed), drug screening policy, relapse and safe-discharge policy, intake screening, overdose plan, grievance process, good-neighbor policy, house manager job description and training records. Our house rules guide covers what goes in each, and our Recovery Residence Launch drafts them for your house.
• The records: at least a few months of house meeting minutes, inspections and drills if you're already open.
• Ask TROHN whether the house must be open and housing residents for a period before the onsite review, and what it requires for a house that hasn't opened yet.

4. The five steps

TROHN describes its process in five steps (TROHN: Become Certified):

1. Create your trohn.org account and take the Recovery Housing Administrator Curriculum. The operator completes TROHN's training for recovery housing administrators. Plan time for it; it's the foundation for the rest.
2. Complete the self-assessment and upload your documents in TROHN's certification management platform. This is where your policies, agreements, insurance and records go. Upload clean, current, signed versions, named so a reviewer can find them.
3. TROHN staff review the documents against the NARR standard and send feedback or corrections. Fix each item and resubmit; quick, complete answers keep the file moving.
4. An interview. TROHN contacts you to schedule it. It helps determine the house's level of support and how the house really runs. The person who runs the house day to day should be ready to answer.
5. An onsite review of every property. Several NARR standards can only be checked in person, so TROHN reviews each property against the standard (see the onsite review).

After the review, TROHN decides and tells you what, if anything, must be corrected. Keep every message and correction in your certification file.

5. The onsite review

The visit checks what documents can't show. Walk the house yourself a week before, with this list:

• Safety: a smoke alarm in every bedroom and hallway and on each level, CO alarms if there's gas, extinguishers mounted and charged with the monthly tag initialed, exits clear, evacuation routes posted.
• Naloxone where everyone can reach it, in date, with the overdose steps posted. Be ready to show who was trained.
• Bedrooms: beds within occupancy rules, storage for each resident, a locked box for each resident's medications and valuables.
• A home, not a facility: clean, in good repair, free of pests, with common space for meetings and meals.
• Postings and records: house rules, the grievance process, emergency numbers, the chore chart, house meeting minutes and inspection logs, and resident files kept private and locked.
• People: the house manager available, and residents who know the rules and how to raise a concern.

Our sister product Comply keeps recurring safety work like drills and inspections on a schedule; its fire drill guide explains what to record so a drill counts.

6. Fees

TROHN publishes its packages and prices on its pricing page. What's been published and reported:

Source	Fee
TROHN pricing page (listed as of October 2026)	$1,000 plus $15 per bed for the self-guided online application (TROHN pricing). Ask whether it's charged per application or yearly, and what renewal costs.
TROHN Basic Package page (2022 price)	$500 plus $10 per bed (TROHN)
The Texas Tribune, March 2025	$500 per application plus $10 per bed (Texas Tribune)

Certification is one line in the opening budget; see the rest in our sober living startup cost guide. For an 8-bed house, the math works out to $1,120 at $1,000 plus $15 a bed, or $580 at $500 plus $10 a bed. Check with TROHN for the current fee, what it covers (document review, interview, onsite review), when it's charged, and what renewal costs, before you budget. The Texas Tribune also reported concerns that cost can be prohibitive for some homes and that inspection capacity is limited.

7. How long it takes

TROHN sets its own pace, and its workload varies. The biggest factors you control are how complete your documents are, how fast you answer corrections, and whether the house is ready for the onsite review when TROHN calls. On our Texas roadmap, we plan about two months for the certification application, starting once the house is ready and the rules and agreements are final; the house can open in about 11 weeks and certification follows:

Step	Typical timing
Kickoff and your dated roadmap	Week 1
House rules and drug-testing policy written	Weeks 2–3
Business formed with the Texas Secretary of State (you or your attorney file)	Week 4
House leased or bought, with the owner's written OK	Weeks 4–9
House furnished and fire-safe	Weeks 9–11
TROHN certification application	Months 3–5
The house opens: first resident moves in	Week 11

From the kickoff, on the earliest path through our 46-step Texas roadmap. Agencies and insurance plans set their own pace, so treat these as typical, not promised.

8. Keeping certification

• Renew on TROHN's schedule. Confirm the certification period and renewal fee with TROHN when you're certified, and put the renewal date on your calendar months ahead.
• Keep the records the review checks current all year: rules and agreements, incidents, drills, monthly house inspections, house meeting minutes, grievances and how each was resolved.
• Tell TROHN before big changes: a new property, more beds, a different level of support or a new operator. Ask how each affects your certificate.
• The certifier can audit, suspend or revoke under chapter 469 and HHSC's rules. Answer any request quickly and in writing.

9. Common gaps to fix first

Measured against the standards, these are the items most likely to need work before a review:

• Rules that exclude medications for addiction treatment, or don't say how prescribed medications are stored and read on a drug test.
• A relapse policy that puts people out with nowhere to go. The standards expect a response that protects the person and the house; write a safe-transition plan.
• No grievance process, or one residents don't know about.
• Fees without receipts, cash handled off the books, or unwritten fees that differ by resident.
• No resident voice: no house meetings, or meetings with no minutes.
• Anything that looks like paying for referrals: free rent from a program, "scholarships" tied to a treatment provider, or perks from a lab. Fix it with your attorney before you apply.

The launch package is built around this application: the documents first, then support through TROHN's review. Or book a free 30-minute call and we'll look at where your house stands.

Questions

Is TROHN certification required in Texas?

Not to operate. Texas doesn't license recovery residences, and 26 TAC 571.4 says a house isn't required to be accredited to operate. But since September 1, 2025, a recovery house that isn't accredited under Health and Safety Code chapter 469 can't receive state money, and some funders and referral sources work only with certified homes.

How much does TROHN certification cost?

As of October 2026, TROHN's pricing page listed $1,000 plus $15 per bed for the self-guided online application (an 8-bed house: $1,120); its 2022 price and a 2025 Texas Tribune report were $500 plus $10 per bed. Check TROHN's current pricing, what it covers and the renewal fee before you budget.

How long does TROHN certification take?

It depends on how complete your documents are, how quickly you answer corrections, and TROHN's schedule for interviews and onsite reviews. We plan about two months for the application on our roadmap, but treat any estimate as typical, not promised.

Can an Oxford House be accredited instead?

Yes. Texas law lets HHSC approve Oxford House, Inc. as well as NARR. Oxford House charters democratically run, peer-run homes under its own model; TROHN certifies all four NARR levels.

Can an IOP or detox program get its housing TROHN certified?

Chapter 469 keeps licensed chemical dependency treatment facilities from being accredited as recovery houses. A separate housing business may be possible, but keep the two apart and talk to a health-care attorney first: no referral payments, no rent discounts for attending the program, and residents choose their own treatment.

Does certification let me get referrals from treatment programs?

Programs and courts may prefer certified homes, but certification doesn't entitle you to referrals, and nothing of value may change hands for one. Build relationships on how residents do.

Sources

• Texas Legislature, HB 299 (2023), enrolled text and bill analysis (Health and Safety Code chapter 469, including 469.009 effective September 1, 2025)
• Texas Health and Human Services, Adult substance use recovery residences; 26 TAC 571.4; Texas Register adoption notice, August 16, 2024
• Texas Recovery Oriented Housing Network, Become Certified, Certification packages and pricing, Basic package
• National Alliance for Recovery Residences, NARR Standard 3.0 and Levels of support
• The Texas Tribune, Obstacles slow Texas' effort to improve conditions at substance abuse recovery homes (March 7, 2025)
• 18 U.S.C. 220 (EKRA); Texas Occupations Code chapter 102

Cima Consulting isn't a law firm and isn't affiliated with TROHN, NARR or HHSC. This guide is general information; confirm the current process and fees with TROHN.