Texas Sober Living Certification Documents & Templates

TROHN / NARR 3.0 Level II Certification Documents for Texas Sober Living Homes

Texas does not license most sober living homes at the state level, but certification through the Texas Recovery-Oriented Housing Network (TROHN) — the official NARR affiliate for Texas — is the credential that treatment providers, drug courts, and state behavioral-health programs require before referring residents or releasing funding. Certifying to the NARR 3.0 Level II standard shows that your home meets nationally recognized benchmarks for safety, ethics, and operations. For operators in Texas, assembling a clean, complete documentation file before you apply is the single most effective way to move through TROHN review without delays.

Every resource in this collection is built around what Texas operators actually need to certify and launch a compliant, sustainable recovery residence. Start with the NARR 3.0 Certification Template Pack to get your policies, resident agreements, grievance procedures, and screening forms in order — then layer in the How to Open a Sober Living Home in Texas book for the state-specific context on zoning, operations, and referral development.

  • NARR 3.0 Level II document templates, pre-built and ready to customize
  • Texas-specific startup guidance covering local zoning and operator obligations
  • Policy & Procedure Blueprint (RHL-104) to build and validate your framework
  • Recovery Housing Law & Practice for Fair Housing and legal compliance
  • The Texas Sober Living Blueprint for a step-by-step launch framework

Explore Texas Sober Living Certification Documents & Templates

Why Get Certified in Texas

Sober Living Certification in Texas

Texas does not license most sober living homes at the state level, which makes voluntary TROHN certification the market signal that actually matters. Treatment providers, drug courts, and HHSC-funded programs increasingly require NARR 3.0 certification before referring residents or releasing state behavioral-health dollars. In a market this large — spanning Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, and dozens of mid-sized cities — a complete, consistent documentation file is what separates operators who certify on the first submission from those who stall in review for months.

TROHN Certification

The Texas Recovery-Oriented Housing Network (TROHN) is Texas's NARR affiliate and the only organization in the state authorized to certify recovery residences to the NARR 3.0 standard across all four levels of support. Most independent sober living homes certify at Level II — monitored housing with a resident manager. TROHN review centers on written policies and procedures, a resident agreement and house rules, grievance documentation, drug- and alcohol-screening logs, incident reporting, and a good-neighbor policy. The process moves through application, document review, site visit, and periodic recertification. Under Texas Health & Safety Code Chapter 469, homes receiving state funds must hold TROHN certification.

The Texas Certification Toolkit

NARR 3.0 Certification Template Pack

Every core policy, agreement, log, and form a Level II recovery residence needs for NARR-Affiliate certification, professionally built and ready to customize.

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Policy & Procedure Blueprint | RHL-104 — Sober Living Academy

Policy & Procedure Blueprint

A step-by-step course for building and tailoring a complete, certification-ready policy and procedure framework for your recovery home.

Explore the Course
3D book cover for Recovery Housing Law & Practice

Recovery Housing Law & Practice

Understand the fair-housing protections, regulations, and legal rights that sit behind certification and compliant operation.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a license to open a sober living home in Texas?

Texas does not require a state license for most sober living homes — they operate as residential properties. However, under Texas Health & Safety Code Chapter 469, any recovery residence that receives state funds, contracts, or referrals from HHSC must be certified by TROHN (or chartered through Oxford House). Even if you don't receive state funding, TROHN certification is the practical credential that treatment centers, courts, and insurers look for before sending referrals.

Which organization certifies sober living homes in Texas?

The Texas Recovery-Oriented Housing Network (TROHN) is Texas's official NARR affiliate and the certifying body for recovery residences in the state. TROHN certifies to the NARR 3.0 standard at all four levels of support. Most independent sober living homes pursue Level II certification — monitored housing — which is the baseline credential recognized by treatment providers and state agencies across Texas.

What documents do I need for TROHN / NARR 3.0 Level II certification?

A TROHN Level II application requires written policies and procedures, a signed resident agreement and house rules, a grievance procedure, drug- and alcohol-screening documentation and logs, incident reporting forms, a good-neighbor policy, and intake, orientation, and discharge documentation. The NARR 3.0 Certification Template Pack provides all of these documents pre-built so Texas operators can customize to their home rather than drafting from a blank page.

How long does TROHN certification take in Texas?

Timelines vary based on application volume and how complete your submission is, but the biggest variable is documentation readiness. Operators who submit a thorough, internally consistent file — complete policies, signed agreements, properly completed forms — move through document review and the site visit significantly faster than those who submit incomplete materials and cycle through revision requests. Assembling your documentation before you apply is the best investment you can make in a faster certification.

What is the difference between the NARR 3.0 Template Pack and the Policy & Procedure Blueprint (RHL-104)?

The NARR 3.0 Certification Template Pack gives you the actual documents — the policies, agreements, forms, and logs — pre-built and ready to customize for your Texas home. The Policy & Procedure Blueprint (RHL-104) teaches you how to build, structure, and tailor that policy framework so it holds up under TROHN review and day-to-day operations. Most Texas operators use them together: the template pack for speed, the RHL-104 to understand what they're signing and how to adapt it.