Each lead agency (county, managed care organization) and Tribal Nation will select one 245D moratorium liaison who will communicate with DHS regarding any exception requests.

It is up to each lead agency (county, managed care organization) and Tribal Nation to identify one 245D moratorium liaison. The moratorium liaison must be identified to DHS prior to submitting any exceptions requests and all requests must be submitted through that liaison. Each lead agency needed to email the name of the 245D moratorium liaison to licensemoratorium.dhs@state.mn. us by December 31, 2025.

If a change needs to be made to the designated 245D moratorium liaison, send an email to DHS at licensemoratorium.dhs@state.mn.us two weeks prior to the change.

No. The 245D moratorium liaison should only submit the form to DHS if the lead agency or Tribal Nation is in support of the exception. Before submitting an exception request, the lead agency or Tribal Nation should have clearly identified an individual with a service need or a local/regional capacity deficit and a provider who is capable of meeting that need. If the lead agency or Tribal Nation does not believe that the provider can meet the person’s needs or local/regional capacity deficit, the agency should not submit an exception request.

In most cases, an exception request form will need to include a specific service recipient. However, DHS will consider requests from lead agencies or Tribal Nations if there is an identified geographic need for a service, or a particular service where individuals receive care for a short period of time.

DHS may deny an exception request for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to:

• Determination, after consultation with the lead agency or Tribal Nation, that additional service providers are not needed in the geographic area;
• Other ways of meeting the service recipient’s needs have not been explored; and/or
• The lead agency has not clearly determined that the provider can meet the service recipient’s needs.

There is not an appeal option for the exception process. Lead agencies and Tribal Nations have discretion of whether to approve a request for an exception. DHS has discretion of whether a provider can apply for a license.

If a provider is approved to apply for a license and their application is denied, they have the same appeal rights as any other application (MN Statutes, section 245A.05).

The exception request form will ask for the service recipient’s preferences.

We expect that the exception process will take no more than 60 days and if approved, move to the submission of an application or request to add the service.

No. First, in consultation with the lead agency or Tribal Nation, DHS will need to determine that there is a need for services in the area. If DHS determines there is a need, the applicant will need to submit an application. The application will still need to go through the normal review process, and the applicant must meet all application requirements before being licensed.

DHS will notify the 245D moratorium liaison and the applicant of its decision.

It depends on how responsive the provider is and how quickly they provide documentation, but the application review process should not take longer than 45 days.

If the license holder already has the service on their license, they do not need to apply for an exception to open a new facility. If the provider is not licensed and/or does not have the requested service on their license, the lead agency will need to determine if it will recommend an exception to the moratorium.

However, if a license holder wants to add a CFRS or CRS to their license, they will need to go through the moratorium exception process for those settings. CBSM - Moratorium on corporate foster care and community residential setting development.

Any application submitted prior to January 1, 2026, has been canceled, unless it has been identified as an exception by a lead agency or Tribal Nation and an application has been submitted by the deadline. Affected applicants have received an email stating that their application has been canceled and instructions for applying for a refund of the $500 application fee.

• For applications received by DHS between April 1, 2024, and December 31, 2025, that were canceled:

  • DHS has completed the process of automatically refunding application fees by crediting the money back to the original source of payment (for example, the credit card, debit card, or bank account associated with an e-check/ACH payment used for the application fee). Payment of these refunds began the week of March 23, 2026, and continued through May 2026. 
  • For any eligible applicant that did not receive their refund through the automated process, DHS emailed on July 23, 2026, the authorized agent or controlling individual listed on the application about a separate process to apply for the refund. Additional information was emailed by DHS during the week of July 27, 2026, for the authorized agent or controlling individual to complete.

• For applications received by DHS on or before March 31, 2024, that were canceled:

  • Applicants will be required to apply for a refund. On July 23, 2026, DHS emailed the authorized agent or controlling individual listed on the application more details about the process to apply for a refund. On August 7, 2026, DHS emailed the authorized agent or controlling individual about how to submit information for a refund. If affected applicants have questions about those instructions, they can contact the DHS 245D Licensing help desk at 651-431-6624. The help desk is staffed Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.

If you have any questions, please send an email to licensemoratorium.dhs@state.mn.us.

If the acquisition or change of ownership does not result in an increase in licensed capacity or service scope, a new license application may be required, but a moratorium exception is not required. 

If the acquisition or change of ownership results in an increase in licensed capacity or service scope (addition of new services) and requires a provider to apply for a new 245D license, the moratorium will be implemented, and the exception process would need to be used.

Yes. The 245D moratorium exception process is solely for issuance of a license. The license holder must enroll with MHCP after their license is approved.

As a first step, anyone interested in obtaining a 245D license must contact the 245D moratorium liaison in their respective county. The county liaison will determine whether or not a 245D moratorium exception request is appropriate.