N.Y. Mental Hygiene Law § 32.05: Operating certificate required

§ 32.05 Operating certificate required.

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b) of this section no provider

of services shall engage in any of the following activities without an

operating certificate issued by the commissioner pursuant to this

article:

1. operation of a residential program, including a community residence

for the care, custody, or treatment of persons suffering from chemical

abuse or dependence; provided, however, that giving domestic care and

comfort to a person in the home shall not constitute such an operation;

1-a. operation of a certified recovery residence in accordance with

section 32.05-a of this article for the promotion of sustained recovery

of persons suffering from a substance use disorder;

2. operation of a discrete unit of a hospital or other facility

possessing an operating certificate pursuant to article twenty-eight of

the public health law for the purpose of providing residential or

non-residential chemical dependence services; or

3. operation of a program established or maintained by a provider of

services for the rendition of out-patient or non-residential chemical

dependence services; provided, however, that such operation shall not be

deemed to include (i) professional practice, within the scope of a

professional license or certificate issued by an agency of the state, by

an appropriately licensed individual or by a partnership of such

individuals, or by a professional service corporation duly incorporated

pursuant to the business corporation law wherein all professionals bear

the same professional license, or a university faculty practice

corporation duly incorporated pursuant to the not-for-profit corporation

law, unless more than fifty percent of such practice by either such

corporation consists of the rendering of chemical dependence services;

or (ii) non-residential services which are chartered or issued a

certificate of incorporation pursuant to the education law; or (iii)

pastoral counseling by a clergyman or minister, including those defined

as clergyman or minister by section two of the religious corporations

law; or (iv) services which are exclusively prevention strategies and

approaches as defined in section 1.03 of this chapter.

* (b) (i) Methadone, or such other controlled substance designated by

the commissioner of health as appropriate for such use, may be

administered to a person with substance use disorder, as defined in

section thirty-three hundred two of the public health law, by individual

physicians, groups of physicians and public or private medical

facilities certified pursuant to article twenty-eight or thirty-three of

the public health law as part of a chemical dependence program which has

been issued an operating certificate by the commissioner pursuant to

subdivision (b) of section 32.09 of this article, provided, however,

that such administration must be done in accordance with all applicable

federal and state laws and regulations. Individual physicians or groups

of physicians who have obtained authorization from the federal

government to administer buprenorphine to people with substance use

disorder may do so without obtaining an operating certificate from the

commissioner. (ii) No provision of this article or any other provision

of law shall be construed to require a provider licensed pursuant to

article twenty-eight of the public health law, article thirty-one of

this chapter or a provider certified pursuant to article sixteen of this

chapter to obtain an operating certificate from the office of alcoholism

and substance abuse services if such provider has been authorized to

provide integrated services in accordance with regulations issued by the

commissioner of alcoholism and substance abuse services in consultation

with the commissioner of the department of health, the commissioner of

the office of mental health and the commissioner of the office for

people with developmental disabilities, including regulations issued

pursuant to subdivision seven of section three hundred sixty-five-l of

the social services law or part L of chapter fifty-six of the laws of

two thousand twelve.

* NB Effective until the date that the rates of reimbursement for

integrated behavioral health services are approved and certified by

parties set forth in chapter 60 of 2026 § 8

* (b) (i) Methadone, or such other controlled substance designated by

the commissioner of health as appropriate for such use, may be

administered to a person with substance use disorder, as defined in

section thirty-three hundred two of the public health law, by individual

physicians, groups of physicians and public or private medical

facilities certified pursuant to article twenty-eight or thirty-three of

the public health law as part of a chemical dependence program which has

been issued an operating certificate by the commissioner pursuant to

subdivision (b) of section 32.09 of this article, provided, however,

that such administration must be done in accordance with all applicable

federal and state laws and regulations. Individual physicians or groups

of physicians who have obtained authorization from the federal

government to administer buprenorphine to people with substance use

disorder may do so without obtaining an operating certificate from the

commissioner. (ii) No provision of this article or any other provision

of law shall be construed to: (A) require a provider licensed pursuant

to article twenty-eight of the public health law, article thirty-one of

this title or a provider certified pursuant to article sixteen of this

chapter to obtain an operating certificate from the office of addiction

services and supports if such provider has been authorized to provide

integrated services in accordance with regulations issued by the

commissioner of addiction services and supports in consultation with the

commissioner of the department of health, the commissioner of the office

of mental health and the commissioner of the office for people with

developmental disabilities, including regulations issued pursuant to

subdivision seven of section three hundred sixty-five-l of the social

services law or part L of chapter fifty-six of the laws of two thousand

twelve; or (B) require a provider licensed under section 36.08 of this

title to obtain an operating certificate from the office of addiction

services and supports. Furthermore, no provision of this article or any

other provision of law shall be construed to limit the volume of

addiction services by a program licensed to provide integrated

behavioral health services, as defined in section 36.08 of this title.

* NB Effective on the date that the rates of reimbursement for

integrated behavioral health services are approved and certified by

parties set forth in chapter 60 of 2026 § 8

(c) No individual, partnership, association, corporation, limited

liability company or partnership, public or private agency or any part

thereof shall adopt a corporate name or hold itself out to the public in

a manner which indicates, directly or indirectly, the availability of

treatment, programs, or services for persons suffering from chemical

abuse or dependence unless it has obtained an operating certificate from

the commissioner in accordance with the provisions of this article.

(d) The operation of a program for which an operating certificate is

required shall be in accordance with the terms of the operating

certificate and regulations of the commissioner.

(e) Any individual, partnership, association, corporation, limited

liability company or partnership, public or private agency or any part

thereof who knowingly fails to comply with the provisions of this

section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor as defined in the penal law.

(f) If the commissioner has reason to believe that there is an

individual, partnership, association, corporation, limited liability

company or partnership, public or private agency or any part thereof

which is providing chemical dependence services or which purports to

provide such services and which does not possess a required current

valid operating certificate, he or she shall proceed pursuant to

applicable sections of this chapter including but not limited to

sections 32.13, 32.15, 32.19 and 32.27 of this article.