Sober Living Homes in Tennessee Aren’t Required to Seek Accreditation, But…
There are no laws on the books that state that sober living homes must get third-party accreditation or be licensed by the state in Tennessee.
However, there are big advantages to being accredited by an organization like the National Affiliation of Recovery Residences in Tennessee.
Recovery residences that are accredited receive many more referrals from addiction treatment centers than do unaccredited facilities. This is because licensed residential addiction treatment facilities may only refer patients and graduates to accredited sober living homes in Tennessee. If they refer to sober living homes that do not have a nationally recognized accreditation, then addiction treatment centers risk losing their license to operate in Tennessee.
The Tragic Death of Katie Baird and Two Other Women Made a Big Impact on the Tennessee Sober Living Community
In 2018, a sober living home in Nashville went up in flames, taking with it the lives of three women, one of them named Katie Baird. The local fire department concluded that the home was unsafe because the operator had failed to install smoke detectors or fire extinguishers. Because sober living homes at that time had no regulation in Tennessee, the home had never been subject to any licensing or accreditation process. This meant that the home had no safety inspection and that it lacked basic fire safety plans. Like many home fires, the blaze that took the lives of these three women was likely caused by careless smoking.
In response to this tragedy, Tennessee lawmakers quickly passed the SAFE Act, or the “Stopping Addiction and Fostering Excellence Act,” which created negative consequences for sober living home affiliates that refer to non accredited sober living homes.
If Your Sober Living Home Does Not Seek Accreditation in Tennessee, You Must Share That Information with Residents
If your sober living home does not seek accreditation, you must post a sign notifying residences of that fact in a common area - like a kitchen or a living room. This is part of a larger legislative priority on informed consent and patient education in Tennessee. This law was part of the SAFE Act, discussed in the previous section above.
You Can Get Your Tennessee Sober Living Home Accredited With TN-ARR
TN-ARR, or the Tennessee Alliance of Recovery Residences, is the NARR affiliate of Tennessee. They uphold the same national standards for sober living homes as NARR and represent the recovery community and the sober living home community in particular to state lawmakers in Tennessee.
You can find electronic versions of all the paperwork you need to get your home certified with TN-ARR here. While the application does come with a $250 fee in addition to a yearly bed capacity fee, the lifetime benefits you receive being a TN-ARR member are worth it.
Unlike Some States, You Must Re-Certify Your Sober Living Home on a Yearly Basis in Tennessee
Tennessee outsources certification of sober living homes to TN-ARR. At TN-ARR, you'll need to complete the certification process on a yearly basis. This means that not only are you completing a new set of forms and completing a new on-site inspection each year to obtain certification, you’re also required to pay yearly fees. The amount of the fee due is based on the number of beds at your sober living home. Because they are based on “bed capacity,” these fees apply regardless of whether those beds are filled at the time of certification or not.
The certification fees for sober living homes in Tennessee are as follows:
1-8 person bed capacity: $300/year
9-20 person bed capacity: $400/year
21-30 person bed capacity: $500/year
31-40 person bed capacity: $600/year
41-50 person bed capacity: $700/year
60+ person bed capacity: $800/year
When you look at typical NARR affiliate certification fees around the country, these numbers rank slightly higher than the national average, but not as egregious as some states.
Bed capacity fees are due January first of each year.
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