Is This Sober Living Home Certified? NARR, CCAPP, and What Certification Actually Means

Most states, including California, do not license sober living homes. A house that offers only housing and peer support is generally treated as a residence, not a health facility, and no agency inspects it the way treatment programs are inspected. That gap is why voluntary certification exists, and why it is one of the first things to check on any listing.

What NARR is

The National Alliance for Recovery Residences (NARR) publishes a national standard for recovery housing covering resident rights, house operations, safety, and the quality of the recovery environment. NARR does not certify homes directly. It recognizes one affiliate per state, and that affiliate inspects and certifies homes against the standard. Certified homes agree to a code of ethics, submit to inspections, and are subject to a grievance process residents can use.

Certification in California

In California the NARR affiliate is the California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals (CCAPP). A CCAPP-certified home has been inspected, has written policies that meet the standard, and can be reported if it falls short. Some California homes belong to other established networks, such as the Sober Living Network in Southern California, which run their own standards and inspections. On this site, every listing shows whether the home reports NARR-affiliate certification and which body certified it, and we note when a home is part of a recognized network instead.

What certification does and does not tell you

Certification tells you the home meets a baseline for safety, ethics, and operations, and that someone outside the house has looked. It does not tell you the house will be a good fit, that the manager is skilled, or that the community is healthy. Plenty of good homes have never sought certification, particularly small, long-running houses. Treat certification as a strong positive signal, not a guarantee, and treat a lack of it as a reason to ask more questions, not an automatic disqualifier.

Licenses, and the claims to watch for

When a listing says a home is licensed, ask what exactly is licensed. Usually it means an affiliated outpatient or residential treatment program holds a state license, not the housing itself. That can be a good thing, since it often means clinical care is coordinated nearby, but it is a different claim. Be cautious with any home that promises treatment, therapy, or medical care on site without a license to provide it.

How to verify

Ask the home for its certification number and certifying body, then check the certifying body's public directory. CCAPP maintains a searchable list of certified residences. If a home says it is certified and you cannot find it, ask why. A legitimately certified home will not be bothered by the question.