Emergency plan rules in Arizona
One licence type researched, regulated by Arizona Department of Health Services — Bureau of Residential Facilities Licensing. Every requirement below carries the rule that imposes it.
Assisted living / residential care
Licensed in Arizona as Assisted Living Facility (center, home or adult day), by Arizona Department of Health Services — Bureau of Residential Facilities Licensing.
Ariz. Admin. Code R9-10-818 (Emergency and Safety Standards)
A disaster drill for employees on each shift at least once every three months, documented. Separately an evacuation drill for employees AND residents at least once every six months, including everyone on the premises — except a resident whose medical record documents that evacuating would cause them harm, plus enough caregivers to keep the residents who stay safe.
Arizona takes the plan at the STATE licensing application rather than through a county emergency management agency. There is no local EM filing or approval step — the plan is submitted to ADHS with the application and thereafter reviewed at least every 12 months in house.
Authority: Arizona Department of Health Services, as part of the licensing application
Documentation of each evacuation drill maintained for at least 12 months after the drill. The disaster plan is reviewed at least once every 12 months.
When, how and where residents will be relocated; how each resident's medical record will be available to whoever provides services during the disaster; a plan ensuring each resident's medication is available to administer; and a plan for obtaining food and water for everyone present, at the facility or at the relocation site.
Ariz. Admin. Code R9-10-818- Arizona takes the middle position on the evacuation-drill conflict: residents are included by default, but a documented medical reason in the record excuses an individual. That is neither Illinois (must evacuate) nor California (never compel), and a multi-state operator needs all three policies.
Reviewed 2026-07-30
What this page is
The requirements Arizona places on a facility emergency preparedness plan, taken from the state’s own rules rather than a national template. Where we have confirmed something against primary text it is stated plainly; where we have not, it says so and names what to check. Nothing here is inferred from what other states do.
The part that is the same everywhere
The federal floor does not vary by state. OSHA 29 CFR §1910.38 binds any employer: reporting an emergency, evacuation and exit-route assignments, critical-operations shutdown, accounting for everyone afterwards, rescue and medical duties, and naming who to ask about the plan. That layer, plus the exit-route, alarm and first-aid rules and the fire code’s plan structure, is covered in the main crash course rather than repeated on all fifty state pages.
Write the plan
The Emergency Plan Builder produces the document itself and is driven by this same research, so the two cannot disagree about what Arizona requires. The Compliance Calendar puts the drills and inspections on dates.