In Utah, secure dementia care isn't a standalone license; it's a secure unit inside a Type II assisted living facility, the setting families look for when a parent can no longer be safe at home. If you've been calling places that all advertise "memory care," that one fact changes what you're actually shopping for. This guide explains what the license really is, the protections Utah builds into a secure unit, what it costs, and how to confirm a community holds the right license before you sign anything.

In This Guide

How Utah Regulates Memory Care

If you've spent a few evenings comparing "memory care" communities online, you've probably noticed the term gets used as though it's one licensed product. In Utah it isn't, and knowing that saves you from comparing apples to oranges. The state doesn't hand out a separate memory care license. Instead, it licenses assisted living, and dementia care for residents who need a locked, secure setting is delivered as a secure unit inside a Type II assisted living facility. The license you're looking for is Type II with an approved secure unit, not a "memory care" sign in the window.

To see why the Type II distinction matters, it helps to know how Utah splits assisted living in two. A Type I facility serves residents who can exit the building without another person's help. A Type II facility serves residents who can exit only with the limited assistance of one person, and provides coordinated personal and health-care services available 24 hours a day to residents assessed as needing them. A parent who wanders, who can't reliably find an exit, or who needs round-the-clock supervision falls on the Type II side, and a secure dementia unit can only sit within a Type II license. The limit runs the other way too: a secure unit may admit a resident with Alzheimer's or dementia only if that resident can exit the facility with limited assistance from one person, so a parent who can't is outside what a Utah secure unit is licensed to accept.

Both types are licensed and inspected by the Office of Licensing within the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, under Utah Administrative Code R432-270. That same agency is the one that approves a facility's secure unit, which is why your confirmation step later isn't just trusting a brochure. It's checking with the state.

Much of a family's protection in Utah lives on paper. Each resident admitted to a secure unit must have an admission agreement stating the placement, and that agreement must document a negotiated wander-risk management agreement and identify the discharge criteria that would trigger a move to a higher level of care than the facility can provide. Those documents do real work and deserve a careful read rather than a quick signature.

The Protections Worth Knowing

A secure unit carries obligations a standard assisted-living stay doesn't, and Utah writes several of them in concrete terms. The good news for a family on a tour is that each one doubles as a question you can ask out loud.

The protection What it means for your parent, and what to ask
Trained staff present at all times At least one staff member with documented Alzheimer's and dementia training must be in the secure unit at all times. Ask who that is on the day, evening, and overnight shifts, and how their training is documented
Admission agreement Each secure-unit resident must have an admission agreement stating the placement and identifying the discharge criteria that would trigger a transfer to a higher level of care. Ask to take it home to read
Wander-risk management agreement The admission agreement must document a negotiated wander-risk management agreement. Ask how the facility plans for your parent's specific wandering or exit-seeking behavior
Fire-authority approval A secure unit must be approved by the fire authority having jurisdiction, and each secure unit must have an emergency evacuation plan addressing staff's ability to evacuate residents. Ask whether the unit has that approval and to see the evacuation plan
Administrator dementia training The facility administrator completes four hours of Alzheimer's and dementia training each year. Ask who runs the facility and whether they're on site or covering several buildings

Start with the staffing protection, because it's the one your parent feels every hour of every day. Utah requires at least one staff member with documented Alzheimer's and dementia training to be present in the secure unit at all times. That trained person is the difference between an aide who can gently redirect someone who's frightened at 2 a.m. and one who doesn't know what to do. Ask who holds that training on each shift, not just during the daytime tour, because evenings and overnights are when staffing thins and confusion often peaks.

The two agreements are where Utah's protections get specific to your family. Before your parent can move into a secure unit, the facility needs an admission agreement that documents a negotiated wander-risk management agreement and names the discharge criteria that would trigger a transfer. The wander-risk agreement is the one to slow down on. It's meant to set out how the facility will plan for and respond to your parent's exit-seeking or wandering, which is often the exact reason a family looked at a secure unit in the first place. Read it for specifics, not generalities, and read the discharge criteria closely, because they tell you what would force a move if your parent's needs change.

The remaining two protections are quieter but real. A secure unit must be approved by the fire authority having jurisdiction, and each one must have an emergency evacuation plan addressing staff's ability to evacuate residents. And the administrator who runs the facility completes four hours of Alzheimer's and dementia training each year. Four hours a year is a floor, not a mark of deep expertise, so treat it as a baseline and ask the administrator directly how long they've worked in dementia care and whether they're on site day to day.

What Memory Care Costs in Utah and Who Pays

Cost is usually the part families brace for, and there's no clean single number for memory care in Utah. The CareScout Cost of Care Survey 2025 reports Utah medians for assisted living, nursing homes, in-home care and adult day health care, but not for memory care as its own category.

What you do have is a solid anchor for the base. The CareScout Cost of Care Survey 2025 puts the median for assisted living in Utah at about $62,790 to $65,700 a year (its Utah data release and its data tables give different figures), which is below the national assisted-living median of $74,400 a year ($6,200 a month) in the CareScout 2025 survey. That figure is for standard assisted living, not a secure unit. A secure unit carries obligations a standard room doesn't, such as trained dementia staff present at all times, so ask each community how its secure-unit price compares with its standard rate and what accounts for any difference.

For context on the upper end, the CareScout 2025 survey put a semi-private nursing-home room in Utah at about $8,669 a month and a private room at about $10,646. Those are industry-survey medians, not government figures, and costs vary across the state and rise as care needs grow. Use them to set expectations, then get a specific written quote from any community you're serious about. Ask what the advertised figure includes, how charges change as dementia progresses, and how often rates rise.

On who pays, Utah Medicaid's New Choices Waiver counts a licensed assisted living facility among the settings a participant may live in, but federal rules bar Medicaid from paying a resident's room and board, and Utah says participants are responsible for their own room and board. To apply, your parent must meet Utah Medicaid's financial rules and nursing facility level of care, plus one of four routes: 90 days or more of Medicaid-paid nursing facility care; at least 30 days of Medicare-paid care in a licensed Utah medical institution with a planned discharge to a nursing facility for at least 60 more days; 365 days or more receiving nursing facility level of care in a licensed assisted living or small health care (Type N) facility; or a transfer from another Utah waiver. Slots are limited and most are reserved for people living in nursing facilities, hospitals or other medical facilities, so meeting the criteria doesn't guarantee a place. Check how those rules fit your parent's situation rather than assuming.

How to Vet a Memory-Care Setting

You don't have to become an expert in dementia care to make a good decision. You have to confirm the license is real and ask the questions Utah's protections hand you.

1
Step 1

Confirm the Type II license and the approved secure unit

Ask the community to show you its license, and verify with the Utah Department of Health and Human Services Office of Licensing that it holds a Type II license with an approved secure unit, rather than trusting the "memory care" label on the sign. If a place can't produce that, it's worth a hard second look.

2
Step 2

Read the admission and wander-risk agreements before you sign

Take both documents home. The wander-risk management agreement is where the facility's plan for your parent's specific exit-seeking behavior should be spelled out; if it's vague, push for specifics.

3
Step 3

Pin down trained staffing by shift

Utah requires a trained staff member in the secure unit at all times, so ask who that is on days, evenings, and overnights, and how the training is documented. Then tour once around a mealtime, when staffing and a place's mood are hardest to stage, and watch how aides speak to residents who are confused.

4
Step 4

Ask about fire-authority approval and the administrator

Confirm the secure unit has fire-authority approval and an emergency evacuation plan, and ask who runs the facility, how long they've done dementia care, and whether they're on site or stretched across buildings.

5
Step 5

Get the costs in writing, and read the discharge terms

Ask for a written breakdown of the base rate, what the secure unit adds, how care levels get reassessed as dementia progresses, and what triggers an increase. Read the refund and discharge terms at home, without a salesperson in the room.

Tour at least a couple of places. The goal isn't a perfect one. It's a community whose limits you understand going in, and whose license and secure unit you've confirmed rather than taken on faith.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a memory care license in Utah?

No. Utah issues no standalone memory care license. A resident with Alzheimer's or another dementia who needs a secure setting is served in a Type II assisted living facility that has an approved secure unit, under Utah Administrative Code R432-270. So the license to confirm is Type II with an approved secure unit, not a "memory care" label on the door.

What's the difference between Type I and Type II assisted living in Utah?

A Type I facility serves residents who can generally leave the building on their own in an emergency, while a Type II facility serves residents who can exit only with the limited assistance of one person and provides coordinated personal and health-care services 24 hours a day to residents assessed as needing them. A secure dementia unit can only sit within a Type II license, which is why the Type II distinction matters when a parent wanders or needs round-the-clock supervision.

What protections does a Utah secure unit have to provide?

A secure unit must keep at least one staff member trained in Alzheimer's and dementia care present at all times, and each resident's admission agreement must document a negotiated wander-risk management agreement and the discharge criteria that would trigger a transfer. The unit must also be approved by the fire authority having jurisdiction and have an emergency evacuation plan, and the administrator completes four hours of dementia training each year.

How much does memory care cost in Utah?

The CareScout Cost of Care Survey 2025 reports no separate memory-care figure for Utah. The closest anchor it offers is standard assisted living, a median of about $62,790 to $65,700 a year in Utah, depending on which CareScout publication you read, below the national median. Because a secure unit must keep a trained dementia staff member present at all times and hold fire-authority approval, ask each community how its secure-unit price compares with its standard rate. Get a written breakdown from any place you're considering, and ask specifically what the secure unit adds and what triggers a rate increase.

Does Utah Medicaid pay for memory care?

Not for room and board. Utah Medicaid's New Choices Waiver counts a licensed assisted living facility among the settings a participant may live in, but federal rules bar Medicaid from paying a resident's room and board, and Utah says participants are responsible for their own room and board. An applicant must meet Utah Medicaid's financial rules and nursing facility level of care and qualify through one of four routes, including 90 days or more of Medicaid-paid nursing facility care or 365 days or more receiving nursing facility level of care in a licensed assisted living or small health care (Type N) facility. Slots are limited and most are reserved for people living in nursing facilities, hospitals or other medical facilities, so meeting the criteria doesn't guarantee a place.

Learn More

Care TypesMemory Care by StateMemory care is specialized assisted living for dementia. What it costs, who pays (Medicare doesn't), and how the rules change by state, with a guide to yours. Care TypesAssisted Living in UtahAssisted living in Utah runs below the national median of about $6,200/month. Type I vs Type II licensing, what it costs, and where Medicaid helps. Care TypesAssisted Living vs. Memory Care in UtahAssisted living vs. memory care in Utah comes down to cognition and safety. Assisted living runs below the national median; memory care costs more. Care TypesMemory Care vs. Nursing Home in UtahMemory care vs. a nursing home in Utah turns on skilled-nursing need and who pays. Memory care is largely private-pay; a nursing home is Medicaid-covered. Care TypesNursing Homes in UtahNursing homes in Utah in 2026: what a semi-private and private room cost, how to check a facility's record, and how Medicaid pays for long-term care. Care TypesHome Care vs. Home Health in UtahHome care vs. home health in Utah: home health is skilled care Medicare covers at $0, home care is non-medical help it won't, and the state licenses each apart. CaregiverCaregiver Burnout: Signs and SupportHow to recognize caregiver burnout, why it happens, and what actually helps, from respite care to evidence-based programs like REACH II and Powerful Tools. MedicaidMedicaid Planning StrategiesSee which assets you keep, how the 5-year look-back works, and the legal moves that qualify you for Medicaid long-term care without losing the house.

Find personalized help confirming a Utah Type II license with an approved secure unit 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.

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