Certificate of need · Washington
Washington certificate of need
Washington has a certificate of need program, run by Washington State Department of Health, Certificate of Need Program. It covers 6 kinds of services, listed below.
- CON program
- Yes
- Services covered
- 6
On this page
Certificate of need
Washington CON program
Washington has a certificate of need program, run by Washington State Department of Health, Certificate of Need Program. It covers 6 kinds of services, listed below.
- CON program
- Yes
- Program
- Certificate of Need
- Application fee
- The Department of Health is authorized to charge review fees (RCW 70.38.105(5)); amounts are set by rule and were not captured.
- Recent changes
- SSB 5920 (Chapter 165, Laws of 2024) restored DOH's authority, which had lapsed June 30, 2023, to exempt from CON the addition of psychiatric beds, conversion of hospital beds to psychiatric use, and new psychiatric hospitals. The authority now runs until June 30, 2028. Critical access hospitals may add beds up to the federal CAH limit and redistribute between acute and nursing care without CON.
- Statute
- RCW 70.38 (esp. RCW 70.38.025, 70.38.105, 70.38.115); WAC 246-310
Scope
Services that need a certificate of need
- new health care facilities: hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, nursing homes, hospices and hospice care centers, home health agencies, kidney disease treatment centers, ambulatory surgical facilities
- sale, purchase or lease of an existing hospital
- nursing home capital expenditures above the expenditure minimum or that substantially change services
- bed capacity increases and redistribution among acute, nursing home and assisted living care
- new tertiary health services
- added dialysis stations
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Does Washington have a certificate of need law?
Washington has a certificate of need program, run by Washington State Department of Health, Certificate of Need Program. It covers 6 kinds of services, listed below.
How much is a Washington CON application?
The Department of Health is authorized to charge review fees (RCW 70.38.105(5)); amounts are set by rule and were not captured.