Lookup · nursing homesCalifornia nursing home lookupSee what inspectors found at your family's facility.

Search any California nursing home that Medicare or Medicaid certifies, by name or city. Each result shows its CMS star ratings, staffing hours, recent inspection citations with dates, fines and payment denials, the abuse icon, and the organizations that own it. A citation is an inspector's finding. It is not proof of abuse or neglect.

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★★★★★Five star average on Google · Award-winning · Millions recovered · Josh Kohanim, Esq., California Bar No. 328609

Written and reviewed by Josh Kohanim, Esq., California Bar No. 328609 · Published November 9, 2026 · Reviewed November 9, 2026

Search California nursing homes

Covers the 1,165 California nursing homes that Medicare or Medicaid certifies, from CMS data processed October 1, 2026.

Nursing homes by county

Counts from CMS data processed October 1, 2026, for the counties the firm serves and for all of California. Citations at harm level or above are those CMS lists at the level of actual harm or immediate jeopardy over the last three inspection cycles. Fines and payment denials cover the last three years.

County	Nursing homes	With the abuse icon	Special Focus Facility or candidate	Citations at harm level or above	Fines	Payment denials
Los Angeles County	369	50	26	660	447 totaling $15,373,782	174
Orange County	72	4	0	25	17 totaling $240,595	7
Ventura County	19	1	0	6	6 totaling $117,111	0
Riverside County	54	2	1	59	30 totaling $810,125	9
San Bernardino County	55	1	0	24	17 totaling $380,928	6
San Diego County	83	4	1	41	47 totaling $1,134,885	9
Santa Barbara County	14	0	0	4	3 totaling $54,411	0
Kern County	17	1	0	38	27 totaling $750,630	11
California, all counties	1,165	115	35	1,345	886 totaling $27,221,500	282

Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Provider Data Catalog, nursing home files released October 28, 2026 (processing date October 1, 2026). CMS lists its next release for December 2, 2026. This copy was built November 9, 2026.

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Have these ready before you search

The facility's name, or the city it is inMany facilities go by a shorter name than the one CMS lists. A search by city shows every certified nursing home there, so you can find it in that list.
The months your family member lived thereEvery citation has an inspection date. Comparing those dates with the time your family member was a resident shows which findings come from that period.
Whether it is a nursing home or assisted livingThis lookup covers nursing homes certified by Medicare or Medicaid. Assisted living facilities are licensed by the state, not certified by Medicare, so they are not in these files.

After you find the facility

Write down its CMS Certification NumberThe six-character number identifies the facility in every federal file, even if its name changes. It makes a request for the full inspection reports precise.
Open its page on Medicare's Care CompareCare Compare is Medicare's own page for the facility, with the same ratings and inspection results. CMS's rating system page also links the full statements of deficiencies, with the inspectors' written findings, which this lookup does not copy.
Keep your own notes, photographs and messagesWhat you saw on visits, when you saw it, and the names of staff you spoke with can matter as much as any rating. Our guide to nursing home deaths explains the claims that can follow.
Ask a lawyer to request that records be keptA lawyer can ask the facility in writing to keep the chart, the care plan, incident reports, call light logs, staffing records and any video.

What a citation means, and what it does not

A citation, which CMS calls a deficiency, is an inspector's finding that a nursing home did not meet a federal requirement when it was inspected. It is not proof of abuse or neglect, and it does not say what caused any injury or death. A facility can dispute a citation; disputed citations are marked. The letter beside each citation is CMS's scope and severity code, from its Five-Star technical guide. The lookup shows the data as CMS publishes it and never ranks facilities.

Facilities this search does not cover

The CMS files cover nursing homes that Medicare or Medicaid certifies and that are open now. A facility that has closed drops out of the files, and assisted living facilities are not in them. Inspection results and complaint findings for certified nursing homes also appear on Medicare's Care Compare. California's Department of Public Health also publishes facility information.

Where the data comes from

The lookup searches a copy of five files from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Provider Data Catalog, California rows only: Provider Information, Health Deficiencies, Penalties, Ownership and the Citation Code Look-up, described in CMS's data dictionary. We refresh the copy after each monthly CMS release, and its dates are shown with the search. Individual owners are counted, not named; their names are on Care Compare. The lookup does not log your searches. Wise Law is not affiliated with CMS or Medicare, and CMS does not endorse this page. This page is general information, not legal advice.

This page is general information, not legal advice for your situation. Submitting this form does not create an attorney-client relationship. An attorney-client relationship is formed only by a signed written fee agreement.

Questions about this tool

How do I look up a California nursing home's inspection history?

Search the facility's name or city on this page. Each result shows CMS's star ratings, the citations from its last three inspection cycles with dates and severity, the fines and payment denials of the last three years, and the organizations that own it, with a link to the facility's page on Medicare's Care Compare. The data is a monthly copy of CMS's own files.

Does a citation mean the nursing home abused or neglected someone?

No. A citation is an inspector's finding that a facility did not meet a federal requirement when it was inspected. It is not proof of abuse or neglect, and it does not show what caused an injury or a death. Facilities can dispute citations. Whether neglect caused harm in one family's case is answered from the resident's own records.

What is the abuse icon on a nursing home?

It is a flag CMS puts on a facility cited for abuse that harmed residents in its most recent inspection cycle, or cited for abuse that could cause harm in each of its last two cycles. A facility with the icon has its health inspection rating capped at two stars. CMS removes the icon once the facility no longer meets those criteria.

What do the letters next to a citation mean?

They are CMS's scope and severity codes. A, B and C mean no actual harm with potential for minimal harm; D, E and F, no actual harm with potential for more than minimal harm; G, H and I, actual harm that is not immediate jeopardy; and J, K and L, immediate jeopardy to resident health or safety. Within each group, the letters run from isolated to pattern to widespread.

What do the staffing hours show?

They are nursing staff hours per resident per day, which CMS calculates from the payroll data each facility submits every quarter: registered nurses, licensed practical or vocational nurses, and nurse aides. California's minimum of 3.5 direct care hours per patient day, in Health and Safety Code section 1276.65, is counted under state rules, so the two figures are not the same measure.

Why are some owners not named?

CMS lists the people and the companies that own or manage each facility. This lookup names the organizations and counts the individuals without naming them, as a privacy choice. Family trusts and names that read as a person's are counted the same way. Every name is on the facility's Care Compare page.

Why can't I find my family member's facility?

The CMS files cover nursing homes that Medicare or Medicaid certifies and that are open now. Assisted living facilities are licensed by the state and are not included, and a facility that closed drops out of the files. Try a shorter part of the name, or search the city. California's Department of Public Health also publishes facility information.

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