Emergency plan rules in Minnesota
One license type researched, regulated by Minnesota Department of Health. Every requirement below carries the rule that imposes it.
Assisted living / residential care
Licensed in Minnesota as Assisted Living Facility, by Minnesota Department of Health.
Minn. Stat. §144G.42 subd. 10 (disaster planning and emergency preparedness); §144G.45 subd. 2 (fire safety and evacuation plans, training and drills) and subd. 5 (Life Safety Code); Minn. R. 4659.0100 (42 CFR 483.73 incorporated) and 4659.0110 (missing resident plan)
Evacuation drills for staff twice per year per shift, with at least one evacuation drill every other month — at least six a year, and more where the building runs more than three shifts. Residents do not have to be evacuated, and the fire alarm does not have to be activated to start the drill.
Minnesota assisted living facilities must comply with the federal emergency preparedness regulations for long-term care facilities at 42 CFR §483.73, or successor requirements. The duty comes from the state licensing rule, not from Medicare or Medicaid participation. The same rule also incorporates MDH's Appendix Z emergency preparedness guidance by reference.
Minn. R. 4659.0100The written emergency disaster plan must contain a plan for evacuation, address the elements of sheltering in place, identify temporary relocation sites, and detail staff assignments. Emergency and disaster training is given to all staff at initial orientation and annually after — and must also be MADE ANNUALLY AVAILABLE TO RESIDENTS, not only to staff. Staff who have not yet been trained may work only when trained staff are also working on site.
Minn. Stat. §144G.42 subd. 10The facility must have a written policy and procedure regarding missing residents. For residents who cannot take appropriate action for self-preservation or are at risk of wandering or elopement, the missing resident plan must identify a staff member on each shift responsible for it, with one such person on site 24 hours a day, seven days a week; require an immediate and thorough search; and require staff to immediately notify local law enforcement. The facility must review the plan at least quarterly and document any changes.
Minn. Stat. §144G.42 subd. 10(a)(5); Minn. R. 4659.0110The facility must develop and maintain fire safety and evacuation plans that include the location and number of resident sleeping rooms, staff actions, fire protection procedures necessary for residents, and procedures for resident movement, evacuation or relocation, including unique or unusual resident needs. The plans must be readily available at all times within the facility. Staff are trained on them upon hiring and at least twice per year after that, and residents who are capable are trained at least once per year on what to do in a fire.
Minn. Stat. §144G.45 subd. 2(b)–(e)The emergency disaster plan must be posted prominently. Building emergency exit diagrams must be provided to all residents and posted on each floor.
Minn. Stat. §144G.42 subd. 10(a)(2)–(4)Assisted living facilities with six or more residents must meet the applicable provisions of the 2018 edition of NFPA 101, Life Safety Code, Residential Board and Care Occupancies chapter. Every assisted living facility must also comply with the State Fire Code, Minn. R. ch. 7511.
Minn. Stat. §144G.45 subd. 2(a), 5(a)- The 'or successor requirements' wording in Minn. R. 4659.0100 matters: if CMS amends 42 CFR §483.73, Minnesota's obligation moves with it automatically, with no state rulemaking needed.
Reviewed 2026-09-28
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Everything else we’ve researched about Minnesota
Same state, the problems either side of this one. Each carries its own statute and the date we last checked it.
- Minnesota deposit return law & letterThe landlord's deadline to return a deposit, and the itemized letter.
- Minnesota deposit demand letterFor the tenant: whether the landlord is late, and by how many days.
- Minnesota deposit deduction rulesWhat may fairly come out of a deposit, prorated by useful life.
What this page is
The requirements Minnesota 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 layer does not vary by state, and it is narrower than it is usually described. OSHA 29 CFR §1910.38 does not bind every employer on its own — by its applicability paragraph it governs an emergency action plan whenever another OSHA standard requires the employer to have one, and it then settles what that plan must contain. The CMS emergency preparedness rule applies by certified provider type rather than by building. 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. It reads the same research as this page, but it does not yet carry every requirement here into the plan it writes, so check the plan against this page before you rely on it for Minnesota. The Compliance Calendar puts the drills and inspections on dates.