Arizona is a gorgeous state with great weather - and a state that has a big opioid problem, making it a great candidate for your next addiction treatment center location. A recent study found that Arizona had over 66,500 overdoses between 2017 and 2021. Nearly 10% of Arizona residents admitted to using illegal drugs of abuse in the last month. 

Opening an addiction treatment center in Arizona is a somewhat opaque process, but don’t worry. we’ll walk you through the steps and give you the information you need to get started. 

Arizona Doesn’t Have a Special Form Dedicated to Licensing Addiction Treatment Centers 

Unlike many other states, Arizona lumps addiction treatment centers in with other medical facilities on it’s application form. Yes, there’s a box to check that indicates that you are wanting to open an addiction treatment center rather than, say, a dialysis center, but the form you’d use for both is the same. This is somewhat confusing if you don’t know what you’re looking for. 

When the form asks you to select one class or subclass you’ll want to choose “behavioral health inpatient facility” for inpatient and “outpatient treatment center” for outpatient. 

Do NOT choose “behavioral health specialized transitional facility,” as that is a designation for sex offender treatment centers. 

You’ll also want to avoid “Substance abuse transitional facility” - despite the fact that that looks like the right box to check - as that is a designation for sobering centers (a.k.a. “drunk tanks”).

You can read more about how Arizona defines these terms here. 

Arizona Does Not Require That You Get Your Addiction Treatment Center Accredited Before You Create Your Initial Application With the State 

The Initial Licensing Application for Health Care Institutions in Arizona specifically asks if your facility is accredited. 

They specify that local accrediting bodies won’t cut it, too. Your accreditation must come from a nationally recognized organization. 

Arizona’s Initial Application for Addiction Treatment Facilities Requires a Lot of Extras You May Not Expect 

In addition to requiring information around the scope of your services as well as information about your business structure and the owners and operators of your facility, Arizona also requires you to provide the following: 

• You licensed capacity request 

• Your licensed occupancy request 

• A completed remittance form

• Fee payment

• A site plan showing property lines, streets, parking, fencing, etc. 

• A floor plan showing rooms, exits, fire protection, etc. 

• Documentation proving your compliance with local building codes and zoning regulations

Arizona Has Some of the Lowest Application Fees in the Country for Opening an Addiction Treatment Center

Finally, some good news! 

Unlike California, Arizona doesn't charge hundred or thousands of dollars to apply to open an addiction treatment center in the state. The last we checked, Arizona requires only $50 for each facility you want to make legal, which is an absolute steal. This fee is much lower than any other states we’ve investigated this far. 

After the initial application fee, however, you will be paying yearly licensing fee. 

Unfortunately, these aren’t as cheap. Licensing fees start at $375 and cap out at $1875 plus the licensed capacity times $94. Where you fall in this wide range depends on the licensed capacity of your facility.  

We’re Here to Help You Open a Treatment Center in Arizona 

At Behave Health, we love helping behavioral health care providers build their businesses from the ground up. 

One of the best ways to get off on the right foot is to start with a software solution that is especially designed for addiction treatment. 

Our all-in-one solution for addiction treatment providers delivers everything you need - EHR, billing, testing, property management, CRM - in one cloud-based package that’s intuitive and easy to access on any device. 

Get your free trial started today and see why more addiction treatment centers prefer Behave Health.