Senior Placement Agency: Who Pays It and What It Must Tell You

A senior placement agency can cost your family nothing out of pocket, because the referral fee can be paid by the home your parent moves into instead of by you. That's worth knowing before a friendly adviser books three tours for Friday. In Washington, Oregon and Texas, state law makes the agent tell you in writing who pays, and California bars placement agencies from steering anyone to a care home that is neither licensed nor exempt from licensing.1,2,3,4

In This Guide

• What Is a Senior Placement Agency?
• How Do Senior Placement Agencies Get Paid?
• What the Law Makes a Placement Agent Tell You
• Questions to Ask Any Senior Placement Agency
• Check Every Home Yourself
• Other Places to Get Help Finding a Home
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Learn More

What Is a Senior Placement Agency?

You fill in a "find assisted living near me" form, and someone calls you back. That caller may work for a senior placement agency, a business that refers older adults to places to live and get care. You'll also see them called senior living advisers, referral services or placement services.

The law has its own names. Texas's Business and Commerce Code Chapter 121 calls it a "referral agency," an entity that refers consumers to senior living communities "for a fee collected from a consumer or community," and its list of senior living communities includes assisted living, memory care, retirement homes and adult foster care.3 Oregon's statute, ORS 443.370 to 443.376, uses "referral agent," for someone paid by long term care facilities, including adult foster homes, assisted living and memory care.2 Washington's term, in chapter 18.330 RCW, is "elder and vulnerable adult referral agency," and Washington's law reaches nursing homes, assisted living, adult family homes and continuing care retirement communities.1 California's "placement agency," defined in Health and Safety Code section 1569.47, is broader still, and California's definition even includes hospital discharge planners.4

So "senior placement agency" isn't one licensed job title. It's a business model, and the rules around it depend on your state.

How Do Senior Placement Agencies Get Paid?

The short answer: either you pay, or the home pays. And the laws we checked are written with the second case squarely in mind.

• Washington. Washington's disclosure must state the fee the agency gets from you, "if any." If the fee comes from the provider instead, a Washington agency must give "the method of computation of the fee and the time and method of payment," and must tell you the provider's fee amount if you request it.1
• Oregon. Oregon's law covers referrals where the agent "receives compensation from the facility." An Oregon agent's written disclosure must state "whether the referral fees for the long term care referral will be paid to the referral agent by the facility."2
• Texas. A Texas agency's disclosure must say "whether the consumer or the senior living community to which the consumer is referred is responsible for paying the referral fee." In Texas, a written contract with a community may base the agency's pay on the volume or value of the referrals or business it generates.3

None of that makes an adviser dishonest, and a good one can save you real legwork. But it does change what you're looking at. When the home pays, the list you're handed is the agency's list, not the market. Oregon makes the agent say whether it refers "only to facilities with which the agent has an existing contract," and Texas makes the agency state that its list "may not include all communities in the area that meet the consumer's stated preferences and needs."2,3 Both states make the agency put that limit in writing.

What the Law Makes a Placement Agent Tell You

The protections we found are state laws, and they don't match each other. Here are the four states whose statutes we read from the source. Other states may have their own rules, so if you're elsewhere, use the questions in the next section and ask the agency what your state requires.1,2,3,4

A few details are worth pulling out of that table.

Washington's 30-day refund. In Washington, if your parent dies, is hospitalized or moves to another setting for more appropriate care within the first 30 days after admission, the referral agency must refund a prorated share of its fee, figured per day, to whoever paid it, you or the home.1

Oregon's registration threshold. Under Oregon's rules, a referral agent has to register once it takes in $1,000 or more in a calendar year from facilities for referrals.2 Registration means Oregon knows who the agent is. It doesn't mean the state vouches for the agent's advice.

Texas's law is recent. Texas Business and Commerce Code Chapter 121 took effect June 20, 2025. Texas's law makes the agency disclose who pays, and Washington's law goes further by requiring the fee method and, on request, the amount. Texas also caps the payment window in an agency's contract with a community at 3 years after the referral.3,1

California covers more than private agencies. California's definition of a placement agency includes county social service departments, public guardians and general acute care hospital discharge planners, along with private referral businesses.4 If you're in California, read our guide to California RCFE fees and refunds before you sign anything.

Questions to Ask Any Senior Placement Agency

These questions draw on what Washington, Oregon and Texas make agents disclose. In those states, some of the answers will already be in the agent's written disclosure, though which ones depends on the state. Ask for the rest in writing, and everywhere else, ask for all of them in writing. How an agent responds tells you a lot about who you're dealing with.1,2,3

1. Who pays you, and how much? Ask whether the fee comes from us or from the home, and how it's calculated. In Washington you're entitled to the amount if you ask.
2. Do you only refer to homes you have contracts with? Then ask how many homes in our area aren't on your list.
3. Do you or anyone at your company own, manage or have a financial stake in any home you're suggesting?
4. Can we stop using you, or use another agency too, without a penalty or cancellation fee?
5. What's your refund policy if the move doesn't work out?
6. Is every home on this list licensed, and have you checked its inspection or enforcement record?
7. What happens to our information? Ask who you'll share it with and whether you sell it.
8. Can I have all of this in writing before you send our name to any home?

A good adviser won't mind any of these. If one does, that's your answer.

Check Every Home Yourself

An agent's shortlist is a starting point, not a verdict. Before you tour, do your own homework.

For assisted living and other residential care, find out whether the home is licensed, then review its survey (inspection) reports and compare them with other homes'. Consumer Voice, a national long-term care consumer group, notes that a licensed facility gives the resident more protections and a place to turn to file a complaint.5 Our step-by-step guide to choosing an assisted living facility walks through where to find those reports and what to read for, and the memory care version does the same for dementia care.

For a nursing home, use Medicare Care Compare. Care Compare's health-inspection star rating is built from onsite state surveys, including the two most recent standard inspections and three years of complaint findings.7 Our guides on what the star ratings mean and how to choose a nursing home go deeper.

Other Places to Get Help Finding a Home

You don't have to go through a placement agency at all, and you can use these alongside one.

The Eldercare Locator. Call the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116 or search eldercare.acl.gov. The Eldercare Locator is a national service of the federal Administration for Community Living, and its operators connect you with your local Area Agency on Aging and other community organizations that serve older adults and caregivers.8 Our guide to Area Agencies on Aging explains what yours can do.

Your long-term care ombudsman. Every state has a Long-Term Care Ombudsman program that advocates for people living in nursing homes, assisted living and board and care homes. Anyone can contact the ombudsman program, and its services are free and confidential.6 Ombudsman programs also give information about how to find a facility, and ACL points people to a state-by-state directory to reach yours.6 Our ombudsman guide covers what they can help with.

If your parent is in the hospital right now, our hospital discharge planning guide explains what the hospital's discharge planner does. And if you'd rather hire a professional to help sort options, a geriatric care manager works with older adults and their families to assess needs, make a care plan and find services in the community; Medicare and Medicaid don't pay for it, so most people pay for some or all of it themselves.9

Learn More

Find personalized help comparing senior living options and preparing questions for a placement adviser at brevy.com.

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.