Assisted living tour checklist: what to bring and what to look for
This guide is general educational information, not medical, legal, or financial advice. Talk with your own attorney, financial advisor, or care professional about your situation. Elder Living Guide provides education and referrals; we are not a care provider, facility, agency, or medical practice.
Short answer: Before you tour, write down what services your family member needs now and might need later, then bring a thin folder: a one-page "about my loved one" sheet, a current medication list, mobility notes and one question sheet you use at every community. On the tour, look for state licensing, residents who look well cared for, warm and respectful staff, and a clean, well-kept building, and ask about staff training, turnover, activities and exactly what the fee includes (NIA: how to choose a long-term care facility). Also ask, in writing, how medications are handled and when a resident can be asked to move out, because discharge or eviction and medications are among the most frequent complaints Long-Term Care Ombudsman programs handle in assisted living (ACL). Then go back once without calling ahead, ideally at a meal.
A tour doesn't commit your family to anything. This page gives you what to bring, what to watch for, a question list built from official sources, and a free tour scorecard so every community gets the same questions. It doesn't recommend any community. If your family member has memory loss or dementia and you're looking at a special unit, use our memory care tour guide alongside this one.
Before you book a tour
It helps to know what assisted living usually is, so you can tell on the tour where a community sits. The National Institute on Aging (NIA) describes assisted living as being for people who need help with daily care, but not as much help as a nursing home provides. Residents usually live in their own apartments or rooms and share common areas, and services can include up to three meals a day, help with personal care and medications, housekeeping and laundry, 24-hour supervision and security, and social activities. A few levels of care are typically offered, and residents pay more if they need extra services. NIA adds that exact arrangements vary by facility and by state (NIA: long-term care facilities).
Money is worth one sentence before the first visit too. NIA says most people pay the full costs of assisted living themselves and that Medicare does not pay for assisted living; Medicaid may cover some aspects depending on the state and whether the person is eligible, and some long-term care insurance policies partially cover it. Medicare.gov says the same about long-term care in general: most of it is non-medical, and Medicare doesn't pay for it (Medicare: long-term care). Our guides on how families pay for senior care and the household care budget cover that side. If you're not sure assisted living is the right setting at all, start with assisted living vs nursing home.
Then do three things before you book:
- Write down needs now and later. NIA suggests asking what services are needed now and might be necessary in the future, and what features matter to the person, such as meals, activities, a religious connection or staying close to family and friends. If you're unsure which services would help, NIA suggests asking a health care provider.
- Call each place first. NIA suggests asking how many people live there and what it costs, mentioning any special needs or preferences, and finding out whether there's immediate availability or a waiting list. Ask the community to send its fee sheet and care-level price list before the visit, so you can read them at home.
- Book a time with key staff. NIA suggests meeting the director, nursing director or other key staff members, not only the sales office.
What to bring
Keep it light enough to carry with one hand. A thin folder beats relying on memory while the tour moves from room to room.
- A one-page "about my loved one" sheet (see the sample below). It's a hospitality brief, not a medical chart.
- A current medication list as kept with their clinicians, so you can ask how the community helps with medications. It's for the conversation, not for leaving behind.
- Mobility and equipment notes: walker or wheelchair, hearing aids, glasses, any equipment they already use. Facts, not diagnoses.
- Your needs-now-and-later list from the step above.
- The same question sheet for every community. The free tour scorecard (CSV) below works for this; print it or open it on a phone.
- Copies, not originals, of any insurance or benefit cards you might want to discuss later. Don't hand over Social Security cards or originals on a tour.
If your family member is coming, bring comfortable shoes, a light layer, water, and an agreed way for anyone to say "we need a break" without a debate. If they're not coming, bring their voice anyway: a short note on what they want to keep doing, foods they dislike and routines that matter. A family meeting about changing care needs before the first tour helps everyone look for the same things.
You can leave at home: a decade of medical records "just in case," a binder too heavy to carry, and any idea that a same-day deposit is needed to "hold" a room without written terms.
Sample one-page "about my loved one" sheet
- Preferred name, and the morning and evening routine highlights
- Food likes and dislikes, and how independent they are at meals
- Mobility aids and how far they usually walk indoors
- Hearing and vision supports they already use
- Activities that calm them and topics that usually upset them
- Emergency contacts, and who has authority to discuss next steps
Hand it to the staff member leading the tour and notice whether they read it and ask about it. That tells you something about how the community listens.
What to look for during the tour
NIA's checklist for visiting a long-term care facility suggests looking for these (NIA):
- State licensing
- Accessibility for people with disabilities
- Residents who look appropriately dressed and well cared for
- Warm and respectful interaction between staff and residents
- A clean, fresh-smelling, comfortable and well-maintained facility
A few more things we suggest watching for, because a tour route is usually planned and an ordinary day isn't:
- The daily rhythm. What are residents doing between scheduled activities? Is there a choice, or one schedule for everyone?
- How staff respond. If a resident asks for help while you walk past, what happens, and how long does it take?
- The apartment you'd actually get, not only the model unit: its location, distance to the dining room, bathroom layout and call system.
- Outdoor space. NIA lists "Is there a safe place for residents to go outside?" as a question to ask. Ask to see it.
- Pressure. Note any push to decide that day, or add-on prices that only come up when you ask.
Ask before taking photos, and never photograph other residents.
Questions to ask
NIA says not to be afraid to ask about anything that is important or concerning. The questions marked NIA come from its facility guide; the ones marked ACL are our suggestions built on the complaint areas the Administration for Community Living (ACL) reports for assisted living; the rest are ours.
| Topic | Question | From |
|---|---|---|
| Staff | How many care providers are there per resident? What kind of training do they have, and how many are trained to provide medical care if needed? | NIA |
| Staff | How long have the director and the heads of nursing, food and social services worked here? How often do key staff members turn over? | NIA |
| Health care | Is there a doctor who checks on residents on a regular basis? How often? How do residents get to medical appointments? | NIA |
| Daily life | What activities are planned during the week and on weekends? Can we attend one to see what it's like? | NIA |
| Daily life | Is there a safe place for residents to go outside? | NIA |
| Rules | Is there information on state regulations for how care is provided? For example, what happens when there's an infectious disease outbreak requiring quarantine? | NIA |
| Medications | Who helps residents with medications, how are doses recorded, and who do families call with a question about them? | ACL |
| Moving out | For what reasons can a resident be asked to move out, how much notice is given, and where is that written in the contract? | ACL |
| Food | Can we see this week's menu and eat a meal here? What happens if a resident doesn't like or can't eat what's served? | ACL |
| Staffing | Who is on duty overnight and on weekends, and how is a call for help answered then? | ACL |
| Care changes | How are needs assessed, how often, and how are families told when a resident moves to a higher level of care and price? | Ours |
| Costs | What's included in the monthly fee, and what costs extra? Do Medicare, Medicaid or long-term care insurance pay for any of it? Is there a financial office that can help? | NIA |
| Memory support | If it's ever needed, is there a special unit for people with Alzheimer's disease or another dementia, and what services does it provide? | NIA |
Why the ACL rows: ACL reports that the five most frequent complaints Long-Term Care Ombudsman programs handled in board and care, assisted living and other residential care communities were related to discharge or eviction, medications, food services, physical abuse, and staffing (ACL: Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program). That doesn't say anything about any one community. It does tell you which answers are worth getting in writing before you sign. If you're ever worried about a resident's safety, contact the ombudsman program or emergency services; that isn't something to settle on a tour.
Know who to ask outside the community
Every state has a Long-Term Care Ombudsman program. ACL describes these programs as working to resolve problems related to the health, safety, welfare and rights of people who live in long-term care facilities, including assisted living, and says the program operates in all states. They also give information and assistance to individuals: ACL reports 502,484 instances in fiscal year 2023 (ACL). If you have a question about residents' rights or a community's move-out rules, your state's program is a good place to ask.
To find your state's program, your local Area Agency on Aging, or other services, use the Eldercare Locator, a public service of ACL. Because NIA says arrangements vary by state, also ask the community which state agency licenses it, and look that agency up yourself.
Go back once without calling ahead
NIA suggests making a second visit without calling ahead, on another day of the week or at another time of day, so you meet other staff members and see different activities. It also suggests stopping by at mealtime: is the dining room attractive and clean, does the food look appetizing, and can you sample it (NIA)? On the second visit, skip the brochure questions and just watch an ordinary stretch of the day. For a memory care unit, our memory care tour questions go further, and for a nursing home, our guide on how to choose a nursing home adds the Care Compare ratings and inspection report.
After each tour: score it the same way
Do this in the parking lot, before details blur:
- Score only what you saw or were told, 1 to 5, on the same five lines every time: welcome, cleanliness and upkeep, staff with residents, clarity on fees and care levels, and how comfortable you'd feel leaving your family member there overnight.
- List the questions that didn't get a clear answer.
- Note any pressure to decide or any price that only came up when you asked.
- Decide who will ask, by email, for the fee sheet, care-level price list and a sample contract, if you don't have them yet.
Download the free assisted living tour scorecard (CSV). It has the look-fors and questions on this page, columns for three communities, a "still to ask" column and the five 1-to-5 scores. It opens in Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers, and it's blank: no prices, no community names.
Made-up example (not a real family or real communities). After two tours, a family's scores looked like this:
| Score (1 to 5) | Community A | Community B |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome | 5 | 4 |
| Cleanliness and upkeep | 5 | 4 |
| Staff with residents | 3 | 5 |
| Clarity on fees and care levels | 2 | 4 |
| Comfortable leaving them overnight | 3 | 4 |
| Total | 18 | 21 |
Community A had the nicer lobby, but nobody could say what the next care level costs, and night staffing was "it depends." The family's next step wasn't to pick B. It was to send A two written questions, go back to B unannounced at dinner, and compare both fee sheets line by line before deciding.
Before anyone signs
NIA's advice is short: get detailed information about costs and which services are included, and once you select a facility, read the contract carefully, ask about anything you don't understand, and read it again before signing (NIA). Three of our guides cover the paperwork:
- How to compare assisted living fees, line by line across communities
- What assisted living care levels mean on a price sheet
- Reading an assisted living contract before signing, including move-out terms
Don't pay a deposit to "hold" a room until you've seen the written terms for getting it back.
What to do after you've chosen
- Plan the move week by week with our timeline for moving a parent into care, then use the first month after move-in guide.
- NIA suggests getting to know the staff before the person moves in and building a relationship with them so you work together as partners (NIA).
- If family members live far away, share the scorecard and set up long-distance caregiving check-ins.
- See where touring fits in the whole process in our senior care planning guide, or contact Elder Living Guide with a question.
How this page is made
Carter Hockinson, the editor of Elder Living Guide, checked this guide against the National Institute on Aging, Medicare.gov and the Administration for Community Living on October 7, 2026, and re-checked on October 12, 2026. The NIA look-fors and questions and the ACL complaint data are cited where they appear. The extra watch items, the ACL-based questions, the scorecard and the example are our suggestions, labeled as ours; the example uses made-up communities and scores. We didn't tour any community for this page and don't recommend one. Assisted living rules differ by state, so check with your state's licensing agency and ombudsman program.
Keep reading: Memory care tours: when to go and what to ask · Senior care planning: the complete family guide · Respite care: a practical reset for family caregivers
Elder Living Guide provides education and referrals. We are not a care provider, facility, agency, or medical practice.