Learn · Licensing
Maryland's 80-Hour Assisted Living Manager Course: Can You Take It Online?
Yes — Maryland's 80-hour Assisted Living Manager course can be taken 100% online from an OHCQ-approved vendor. Who needs it, what it covers, what it costs, and how to pick a vendor.
By Aaron Payne · September 19, 2026
Maryland now licenses assisted living managers, and the first question almost everyone asks is the same one: “Can I take the 80-hour manager course online, or do I have to sit in a classroom?”
The short answer: yes, you can take Maryland’s 80-hour Assisted Living Manager (ALM) course 100% online — as long as the vendor is approved by the Office of Health Care Quality (OHCQ) for the 80-hour course specifically. The Care Insider is one of those approved vendors, and our course is fully online and self-paced at $997. Here’s everything else you need to know before you pay anyone.
Who needs the 80-hour course
Since July 1, 2026, practicing as an assisted living manager in Maryland requires a license from the State Board of Long-Term Care Administrators (COMAR 10.33.03.01A). Every Maryland assisted living program must have a manager responsible for day-to-day operation and compliance (COMAR 10.07.14.15).
The 80-hour manager training is the training step on the way to that license. It has to come from a vendor approved by OHCQ, and you keep the certificate — your Board application relies on it.
If you’re already licensed, this isn’t your course. You need the 20 hours of continuing education the Board requires every two-year renewal cycle.
What the 80 hours covers
The content isn’t up to the vendor. The course must cover the 13 required content areas of COMAR 10.07.14.17A and end with a required examination (COMAR 10.07.14.16B). Here’s how our course lays that material out, unit by unit:
- Licensing, levels of care, and the manager’s role
- Program administration, compliance, and surviving survey
- Staffing, personnel, and nurse delegation
- Admissions, assessment, and service planning
- Resident care and services
- Medication oversight, management, and administration
- Cognitive impairment, mental health, and Alzheimer’s care
- Resident rights, representatives, discharge, and restraints
- Abuse, neglect, exploitation, and resident funds
- Infection control, food safety, nutrition, and fall prevention
- Emergency preparedness, fire and life safety, and physical plant
- Business operations, HR, and leadership
- The philosophy of assisted living, the aging process, and end-of-life care
One thing to watch for: Maryland’s assisted living regulations were completely rewritten effective April 28, 2025. A course should be written to the current COMAR 10.07.14 — not a generic national course with the state name swapped in.
Online vs. classroom: what’s actually different
Most approved vendors run the course as a classroom or live-virtual cohort on fixed dates — typically Saturdays or weekday evenings over about two months. Those versions run $1,155 to $1,400, plus the days off work to sit in them. If the next cohort starts in six weeks, you wait six weeks.
A self-paced online course has no cohort and no start date. You enroll, the first lesson opens, and you work through it around your shifts. The state requirement is the same either way: the same content areas, the same 80 hours, the same final exam, the same certificate for your Board application.
What it costs
| Typical price | Schedule | |
|---|---|---|
| Classroom or live-virtual cohort | $1,155 – $1,400 | Fixed dates over about two months |
| The Care Insider, online self-paced | $997, one time | Start any day, no deadline |
The course is only one line in the cost of the license. The Board charges a $100 application fee and a $200 license fee (both non-refundable), and you’ll pay for fingerprinting on top of that. I laid out the whole path, step by step, in our Maryland ALM license guide.
Five things to check before you pay any vendor
- Are they approved for the 80 hours — not just the 20? OHCQ approves vendors per course. Some vendors on the list teach only the 20-hour continuing education and can’t take a new manager through the 80-hour course. Check the OHCQ approved-vendor list yourself.
- Who teaches it — by name? Ask whether the instructor holds a current Maryland ALM license and runs a facility today.
- Is there an access clock? Some online courses expire 90 days after purchase, all sales final. If you’re working full-time, a deadline on an 80-hour course is a real risk.
- Is any of it in person or on Zoom? “Online” sometimes means live-virtual sessions on fixed dates. If you need true self-paced, ask.
- What do you walk away with? You need a verifiable certificate of completion. That’s the document the Board application depends on.
What happens after the course
- Fingerprints — before you apply. Every applicant needs a state and national criminal history records check run under the Board’s own authorization number. A background check from another Maryland health license doesn’t transfer.
- Apply through the Board’s online portal. You’ll apply as Applicant I if you practiced as an assisted living manager in a licensed Maryland program before July 1, 2026, or Applicant II if you didn’t.
- Get approved and pay the license fee. Don’t stall — an application is void if all requirements aren’t met within one year.
- Post your license, then keep it current with 20 hours of continuing education every two years.
The details, fees, and the step that trips people up are all in the license guide.
Where we fit
The Care Insider is listed by name on OHCQ’s approved-vendor list for both the 80-hour Assisted Living Manager course and the 20-hour continuing education. The course is 100% online and self-paced — no cohorts, no classroom days, no Zoom, and no access clock. It’s 15 units plus the final exam, with video lessons, auto-graded quizzes, and an instant, verifiable certificate when you pass.
I teach it with Mavis Payne, who has operated Maryland assisted living programs for more than 25 years. I hold the same license you’re working toward, and I own and operate a licensed Maryland assisted living facility today.
See the full course outline, FAQ, and enroll — $997 →
Shopping around? Good. Here’s how to compare your options honestly.
This article is practical guidance, not legal advice. Board fees and requirements were verified in September 2026 — always confirm current figures on the Board’s site before you apply.