Assisted Living and Nursing Homes in Guatemala (2026): Licensing Standards, the One Public Residence, and a Visit Checklist

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In short: Guatemala regulates care homes for people aged 60+ through one compulsory MSPAS standard, Norma Técnica 03-2018 “Centros de Atención al Adulto Mayor”. It covers every establishment — “denominados como centros, hogares, residencias o albergues” — public or private, residential or day-only. The standard is specific: a 5-year sanitary licence on public display, one caregiver per three dependent residents, a 24-hour responsible caregiver, hot water 24 hours, one full bathroom per 10 residents, no bunk beds, no carpets, a written earthquake and fire plan, and a medical evaluation within 48 hours of admission. The state itself runs just one permanent residence, for about 25 people (Agencia Ocote, August 2026). And no private residence whose website we read publishes a price.

This page is about residential and day care for an older parent or for yourself. If the better fit is care at home, that is a different decision with its own costs and employer obligations — see our elderly caregiver price guide.

The decision table

The standard every care home must meet

Norma Técnica 03-2018 was issued by MSPAS’s Dirección General de Regulación, Vigilancia y Control de la Salud through DRACES. Article 2 is unambiguous: “Esta normativa es de carácter obligatorio para los establecimientos de cuidado y atención al Adulto Mayor, sean estos de servicio público o servicio privado, en todo el territorio nacional”. It replaced a 2007 normativa (Art. 11).

It defines two kinds of establishment. A permanent one offers “Alojamiento de horario de 24 horas con alimentación, recreación, higiene y atención médica”, plus therapy and activities; a transitory one offers them part-time and for short stays, without lodging. An adulto mayor is anyone who “haya cumplido sesenta años de edad”.

The standard then reads like an inspection checklist, which is exactly how you should use it.

Building and safety

• A written, communicated plan de contingencia for earthquakes and fires, with a signposted evacuation route (6.5). In a seismic country, ask to see it.
• Hot water 24 hours, natural light by day, electric light 24 hours and emergency lighting (6.6).
• Multi-storey homes need a lift or a wheelchair ramp; otherwise residents with physical or mental impairment “no podrá alojar en pisos superiores” (6.7).
• Non-slip floors, no level changes within a room — “No se permitirá el uso de alfombras” (6.9).
• Doors at least 1.00 m clear for wheelchairs (6.12); at least one extinguisher per floor (6.13); a telephone in a central, accessible place (6.15).
• A clinic for medical evaluation (6.23); a first-aid kit and secure medicine storage (6.19).

Rooms and bathrooms

• One bed per resident — “Queda prohibido para tales fines el uso de catres o literas” — with at least 1.00 m between beds (6.17.4).
• A call bell or other alarm for every resident (6.17.6).
• Shared rooms are single-sex, except for married couples living together (6.17.8).
• At least one bathroom with shower, toilet and basin per 10 residents; staff bathrooms and outdoor bathrooms do not count (6.17.9). Grab bars, non-slip floors, no steps into the shower (6.17.10, 6.17.13-6.17.16).

Staff

• One caregiver for every three dependent residents and one for every six ambulatory, non-dependent residents (7.10).
• A responsible person or principal caregiver 24 hours a day, trained with the backing of a doctor or nurse (7.9).
• At least one worker per shift with documented first-aid training (7.8).
• All staff with a current health card or annual medical certificate, including hepatitis B and annual influenza vaccination (7.3).

Records and the resident’s file

• Written consent to admission from the resident, or from the legal guardian if the resident has a disability (8.2).
• A medical, psychological and social evaluation at admission or within 48 hours (8.3), and an individual written care programme from the home’s doctor or the resident’s own (8.4).
• A written medication-administration procedure and a personal medication log (8.6-8.7); an emergency procedures manual (8.8).
• A register of admissions, discharges and deaths (8.5), and an internal regulation — a copy of which must be given to the family (8.18).

If a home is closed as a sanction, Article 10 obliges the state to “procurar por el resguardo y bienestar de los residentes”.

The licence, and how to check it

The establishment needs a sanitary licence from DRACES under Acuerdo Gubernativo 376-2007. Guatemala’s Catálogo de Trámites describes it as valid for 5 years, with an operator fee “en un rango entre Q.90.00 a Q.5,400.00 (dependiendo el tipo de establecimiento)”; the file is lodged in person at DRACES, Avenida Bolívar 28-07, zona 8. The operator side of that process is on our sanitary licence for health establishments page.

To check a home before you commit:

1. Ask to see the licence. Norma Técnica 03-2018 says it “debe estar a la vista del público”. Note the establishment name, address and expiry date — the licence is valid only for the establishment identified on it.
2. Check MSPAS’s accredited list. MSPAS tells the public to look on www.mspas.gob.gt, under Servicios, DRACES, in the section for accredited establishments (government press release, 1 March 2022). When we tried on 23 September 2026 the site sat behind a bot-protection wall and we could not read it, so we have not checked any named residence.
3. Report an unlicensed home to DRACES on 2231-2933 or 2231-2937, or in person at the zona 8 office.

Why this matters: according to Agencia Ocote’s August 2026 reporting, a human-rights ombudsman (PDH) count from about ten years ago found 130 registered homes — 80 residential and 50 day centres — of which 41 had an expired sanitary licence, and PDH supervisions in 2015 found roughly half of the establishments identified operating without authorisation. Ocote reports that the PDH has not published an updated national figure since.

The public option: one residence

The elderly-protection law, Decreto 80-96, promises more than the state delivers. Its Article 19 says the state “creará los asilos necesarios, los cuales será gratuitos”, run by departmental governorships and municipalities; Article 32 attaches the national elderly committee, CONAPROV, to SOSEP, the social-works secretariat of the President’s spouse.

What exists, per Agencia Ocote (18 August 2026, citing SOSEP):

Admission criteria reported: “ser mayor de 60 años; tener recurso familiar y económico limitado; y no consumir ningún tipo de sustancia que produzcan adicción”, entering voluntarily or on referral from the PGN or a judge. It is a protection service for vulnerable Guatemalans, not a retirement option for a foreign pensioner. SOSEP also told Ocote it gives no funding to any other institution caring for older people. SOSEP’s published numbers for the programme are 2294-3900 and 2294-3800.

Does Decreto 80-96 cover a foreign retiree? The text pulls both ways: Article 4 says “Todos los ancianos guatemaltecos son beneficiarios de la presente ley”, while Article 5 says its provisions “serán aplicadas a todas las personas de la tercera edad, en todo el territorio nacional”. We do not resolve that here. What is not in doubt is that Norma Técnica 03-2018 regulates the establishment, so its minimums protect every resident of a licensed home regardless of passport.

What private residences publish — and what they don’t

We read the websites of two private residences on 23 September 2026. What they publish:

We do not know whether either holds a current DRACES licence — that is exactly what the checklist below is for — and listing them is not an endorsement.

On price: because no residence we read publishes one, this page gives no cost band. Anyone quoting a national average for Guatemalan nursing homes is not quoting a residence. Ask for a written, itemised quote: room type, level of dependency, medication administration, doctor and nursing visits, laundry, therapies, incontinence supplies, and what triggers a price change.

Questions to ask on a visit, mapped to the standard

Paperwork that usually comes with a move into care

• Written admission consent is required by the standard (8.2). If a parent can no longer consent, the standard refers to the responsable legal — a legal representative. How guardianship is established in Guatemala is outside this page.
• For residency status and health cover as a retiree, see the pensionado visa guide and healthcare for retirees.

Sources

All read on 23 September 2026:

• MSPAS / DRACES, Norma Técnica No. 03-2018, Centros de Atención al Adulto Mayor (PDF, Biblioteca Virtual en Salud Guatemala).
• Catálogo de Trámites, servicio 1791 — Licencia Sanitaria para Establecimientos de Atención para la Salud.
• Gobierno de Guatemala, DRACES press release, 1 March 2022.
• Decreto 80-96, Ley de Protección para las Personas de la Tercera Edad, PDH edition with reforms (PDF hosted by the Gobernación Departamental de Retalhuleu).
• Agencia Ocote, El Gobierno de Guatemala tiene solo una residencia permanente para adultos mayores en la Ciudad Capital, 18 August 2026.
• Residencias Valentina and Centro Virgen del Rocío, own websites.

Related guides

• Elderly caregiver cost in Guatemala — the in-home alternative
• Physiotherapist prices
• Healthcare for retirees
• Retire in Guatemala
• If a foreigner dies in Guatemala