Maryland State Veterans Home: Charlotte Hall Guide (2026)

If a veteran parent in Maryland needs more care than your family can give at home, the state's only State Veterans Home is Charlotte Hall Veterans Home in St. Mary's County.1 Charlotte Hall offers assisted living, skilled nursing, and memory care, and the Maryland regulation that decides who gets in turns on two details families often miss: how long your parent has lived in Maryland, and, for a veteran under 62, the VA disability rating.2 You may be weighing this while also worrying about Mom or Dad every day. This guide lays out who qualifies, what your family would pay, and how to apply, so the first phone call goes well.

In This Guide

• Charlotte Hall at a Glance
• What Is Charlotte Hall, Maryland's State Veterans Home?
• Does Your Parent Qualify for Maryland's State Veterans Home?
• What Will Charlotte Hall Cost Your Family?
• If Your Parent Has a Service-Connected Rating
• How to Apply to Charlotte Hall, Step by Step
• If Charlotte Hall Says No
• Who Can Help Your Family
• Frequently Asked Questions

Charlotte Hall at a Glance

Charlotte Hall's assisted living and skilled nursing programs run under different money rules, so it helps to see them side by side before you call.

Sources for the table: bed counts come from the Maryland Department of Veterans and Military Families (MDVMF);1 residence periods come from COMAR 35.04.01.02;2 and the payment rules come from MDVMF's Charlotte Hall cost-of-care page and COMAR 35.04.01.02.3

What Is Charlotte Hall, Maryland's State Veterans Home?

Charlotte Hall Veterans Home, which MDVMF calls "the only state veterans home" in Maryland, sits on 126 acres in St. Mary's County, has been in operation since 1985, is Medicare/Medicaid certified, and partners with PruittHealth to provide care.1

Charlotte Hall offers a continuum of care: a 126-bed assisted living program, a 318-bed skilled nursing program, and memory care in secure units. MDVMF lists a Veterans Service Officer among the on-site amenities for all Charlotte Hall residents, which matters later when you apply.1

Charlotte Hall is part of a national program. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), a State Veterans Home is owned, operated, and managed by a state government, not VA, and each state sets the eligibility and admission criteria for its own homes.5 That is why Maryland's rules below come from Maryland law, and why a home in Virginia or Pennsylvania may treat your parent differently. Our national guide to State Veterans Homes explains the program as a whole, and VA's State Veterans Homes page describes the program from VA's side.

Does Your Parent Qualify for Maryland's State Veterans Home?

This is the question that keeps families up at night, and Maryland's answer lives in a regulation most people never see: the Code of Maryland Regulations, COMAR 35.04.01.02. Under COMAR 35.04.01.02, a Maryland veteran is eligible for Charlotte Hall at 62 or older if the veteran served on full time active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces, other than active duty for training, and was discharged or released under honorable conditions, and meets one of the Maryland residence rules below. The same Maryland regulation says a veteran, to be considered for admission to Charlotte Hall, must be incapable of earning a living because of age, disease, or disability.2

How long your parent has lived in Maryland

Residence is a clock at Charlotte Hall, not just an address. Maryland's regulation accepts any one of four routes:2

• Nursing home: 90 days of Maryland residence immediately before admission.
• Assisted living with a State subsidy: 2 years of Maryland residence immediately before admission.
• Assisted living without a subsidy yet: 90 days of Maryland residence, if there is no cost to the State until the 2-year requirement is met.
• Discharge papers: a DD Form 214 or other discharge document showing a Maryland address as the "Permanent Address" or "Home of Record."

If your parent recently moved to Maryland to be near you, the assisted living timing matters most, and the cost section below shows why.

If your parent is under 62

MDVMF's own eligibility summary lists a "Maryland resident, at least 62 years of age or deemed disabled by either Social Security Administration or the US Department of Veterans Affairs." The regulation is narrower. Under COMAR 35.04.01.02, a person younger than 62 isn't eligible for Charlotte Hall unless the person is disabled and unable to work through no fault of their own, and is receiving disability benefits from the Social Security Administration or VA's Veterans Benefits Administration with a VA disability award of 70 percent or higher, at least one award being 40 percent or greater.2 A 58-year-old veteran with a 40% rating alone doesn't meet Maryland's under-62 test, even though the MDVMF summary might read that way.

If your parent's spouse wants to come too

Charlotte Hall can admit certain nonveteran spouses of eligible veterans, but COMAR 35.04.01.02 admits a nonveteran spouse only at no cost to the State, except for Medicaid. Under Maryland's rule, a nonveteran spouse who is younger than 62, or who cannot pay for care, has no insurance, or is not eligible for Medicaid, is not eligible for Charlotte Hall.2 MDVMF says a non-veteran spouse who wants to live in Charlotte Hall's assisted living must pay the full cost of their own care, prescriptions, and ancillary services.3

Health rules for admission

Charlotte Hall can only take a resident it can care for. Under COMAR 35.04.01.04, a veteran or spouse applying to Charlotte Hall may not need acute care, may not have an infectious disease that would be a continuing health risk to other residents, may not need extensive psychiatric care because of mental illness or danger to self or others, and may not be chemically dependent, and must have a completed physical exam. A person previously dependent on drugs or alcohol must have taken part in a structured rehabilitation program before admission to Charlotte Hall. Maryland's rule also says Charlotte Hall may admit only veterans and spouses for whom the Home can provide the appropriate level of care.2

What Will Charlotte Hall Cost Your Family?

Money is usually the hardest part to ask about, especially when it's a parent's savings on the table. MDVMF says the cost of care at Charlotte Hall varies per veteran depending on income and service-connected disability rating, and that all Charlotte Hall veterans receive a per diem subsidy from VA to reduce their cost of care.3

Assisted living at Charlotte Hall

For assisted living at Charlotte Hall, MDVMF says a veteran pays 90% of monthly net income, including Social Security, pension, annuity, and retirement income, but never more than the full monthly cost, and in most cases the veteran keeps 10% of net monthly income as a spending allowance. For a Charlotte Hall assisted living resident, VA's per diem appears as a credit on the monthly Charlotte Hall statement, and the State of Maryland subsidizes the balance between that credit and the veteran's monthly income.3

That State of Maryland subsidy depends on residence. Under COMAR 35.04.01.02, a veteran needs 2 years of Maryland residence before entering Charlotte Hall's assisted living unit to receive the State subsidy, and a veteran admitted to assisted living on 90 days of residence must be able to pay in full for all care and services until reaching 2 years.3 If your mother moved to Maryland eight months ago to live near you, plan for the full bill at first, and ask Charlotte Hall's admissions staff what that monthly figure is today.

Skilled nursing at Charlotte Hall

For nursing home care at Charlotte Hall, MDVMF says cost is based on the veteran's personal resources, long-term care insurance, Medicare, and Medicaid if the veteran meets its eligibility requirements.3 If Medicaid is likely to be part of your parent's plan, our guide to Maryland Medicaid and nursing home care explains how Maryland Medicaid eligibility works for a long stay.

How VA's per diem fits in

VA pays its State Veterans Home per diem to the state. Under VA's rules, VA pays a State Veterans Home per diem for an eligible veteran's care at the lesser of one-half of the daily cost of that care or VA's basic per diem rate for the fiscal year, and by statute those payments can never exceed one-half of the cost of the veteran's care.4 VA says the cost to a State Veterans Home resident varies by state, and VA doesn't pay for the care of non-veterans.5

Your parent may also be able to apply for a VA pension with Aid and Attendance. Our guides to Aid and Attendance for a nursing home in Maryland and Aid and Attendance for assisted living in Maryland explain who qualifies and how it pays.

If Your Parent Has a Service-Connected Rating

Find your parent's VA rating letter before you call Charlotte Hall. It can change the whole conversation. For a veteran who needs nursing home care at Charlotte Hall, MDVMF says a veteran rated 70% or greater with a service-connected disability may be entitled to the full cost of that nursing home care. Charlotte Hall's assisted living follows the 90% income rule above instead.3

Federal law sets a related rule for every State Veterans Home. Under 38 U.S.C. 1745 and 38 CFR 51.41, VA's payment to a State Veterans Home for nursing home care is payment in full for three groups: a veteran who needs that care for a service-connected disability, a veteran rated 70% or more who needs nursing home care, and a veteran rated totally disabled based on individual unemployability (TDIU) who needs nursing home care. Under a State home care agreement, a State Veterans Home can't charge the veteran, the family, or an insurer for the nursing home care VA pays for.4 The 38 CFR 51.41 rule covers nursing home care, so ask Charlotte Hall how it applies before choosing assisted living.

A separate VA duty sits alongside that one. Under 38 U.S.C. 1710A, VA must provide needed nursing home care to a veteran who needs it for a service-connected disability, and to a veteran rated 70% or more who needs nursing home care. VA's duty under 38 U.S.C. 1710A ends on December 11, 2026, unless Congress extends it.6

How to Apply to Charlotte Hall, Step by Step

You can apply to Charlotte Hall for yourself or on behalf of a veteran. MDVMF lists three steps:3

1. Call Charlotte Hall's Veterans Service Officer. Call 301-884-8171 ext. 5112 for an appointment. MDVMF says VSOs help with VA documents and review the benefits a veteran may be entitled to.3
2. Complete the Charlotte Hall application form. Follow its instructions and use its checklist to gather the documents. The form is linked from MDVMF's Charlotte Hall page.
3. Send in the application. Email it to the admissions contact on MDVMF's Charlotte Hall page, or mail it to Charlotte Hall Veterans Home, Attn: Admissions, 29449 Charlotte Hall Road, Charlotte Hall, Maryland 20622.3

Under COMAR 35.04.01.03, a Charlotte Hall applicant must furnish proof of the veteran's service (or the spouse's), complete an application covering personal history and financial status, enclose a copy of honorable discharge papers, submit an income affidavit, have a physician document a physical exam on the application form, and give the medical director medical records if the applicant has been hospitalized.3

Maryland's eligibility regulation puts the burden of proving eligibility for Charlotte Hall on the applicant, the applicant's responsible party, next-of-kin, or legal representative, or whoever applies on the applicant's behalf.3 In practice, that means you gather the DD Form 214 and the proof of Maryland residence before you mail anything.

If Charlotte Hall Says No

A denial letter can feel like the end of the road. It isn't, but the clock is short. Under COMAR 35.04.01.02, an applicant, responsible party, or legal representative may appeal a Charlotte Hall eligibility decision in writing to the Director, Veterans' Home Program, Charlotte Hall Veterans' Home, within 10 working days of being told the applicant is ineligible. If the Director upholds the denial, the final appeal of a Charlotte Hall eligibility decision goes in writing to the Secretary within 10 working days of the Director's decision.3 Mark both deadlines on a calendar the day the letter arrives.

Who Can Help Your Family

Start with Charlotte Hall's Veterans Service Officer at 301-884-8171 ext. 5112, who can help with the VA paperwork.3 MDVMF gives the Veterans Home Program's main number as 301-884-8171.1

For VA benefits beyond Charlotte Hall, including home care and VA health care options, our guide to VA benefits for senior care in Maryland covers what else is available. If your family lives near the District line, our guide to State Veterans Homes in Washington, DC covers the options on that side.

Learn More

Find personalized help choosing long-term care for a veteran parent in Maryland by chatting with Brevy's care navigator 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.