Several state DME licenses depend on a named individual: Georgia's Board-approved designated representative at each location, California's pharmacist or licensed exemptee for prescription devices, North Carolina's person in charge of one location only, Mississippi's permit holder who signs the application, and Tennessee's administrator. The person must come from inside the supplier.
A state DME license is issued to a business, but in several states it also depends on a named individual: someone who supervises the location, answers to the board and, in some states, holds the permit personally. Georgia calls this person the designated representative, California the exemptee (or a pharmacist), North Carolina the person in charge, Mississippi the permit holder, and Tennessee the administrator. The titles differ and so do the rules. What they share is that the person has to come from inside the supplier, because the role carries legal responsibility for the location.
How do the major states compare?
| State | Role | Key rules | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | Designated representative | Board-approved; at least one present at each licensed location; 18 or older; background check; attests to DME law, quality control and USP/FDA storage knowledge | Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 480-7B-.03 |
| California | Licensed pharmacist or CDPH-licensed exemptee | In charge where prescription devices are sold; on premises whenever they are available for sale or fitting unless locked under that person's control | Health & Safety Code 111656.4, 111656.5 |
| North Carolina | Person in charge | Permit issues to this person on a joint application with the owner; one location per person; present (or a designee) during posted hours; personally completes the Board's education module | 21 NCAC 46 .1606, .1608(b), .2605 |
| Mississippi | Permit holder | Whoever signs the application holds the permit and is responsible for all regulated activity; permit returned and new application due within 10 days if that person leaves | Board of Pharmacy Article XXXVIII(2)(f)-(g) |
| Tennessee | Administrator | Appointed by the governing body; change reported within 15 days; serves one licensed home care organization except same ownership and location | Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0720-30-.04(1)-(3) |
| Alabama | Person in charge | Named on the application for day-to-day operations; a change of person in charge filed within 30 days | Ala. Admin. Code 473-X-3-.01 |
| North Dakota | Licensed health care professional | Licensee employs or contracts with an in-state licensed professional (such as a respiratory therapist, pharmacist, nurse or occupational therapist) named on the application; change reported within 30 days | N.D. Cent. Code 43-15.3-11(1)(a) |
What does Georgia's designated representative do?
"The Board shall only issue a license to a DME supplier if a qualified individual has been approved as a designated representative." The designated representative provides "sufficient and qualified supervision of the DME supplier's place of business, ensuring compliance with all state and federal laws and regulations," and protects public health "in the handling, storage, warehousing, distribution, and shipment" of equipment. "Where operations are conducted at more than one licensed place of business ... each licensed place of business shall have at least one designated representative present" (480-7B-.03).
To qualify, the person must be at least 18, submit the Board's personnel certification form with the application, attest to knowledge of distribution law, quality control and USP and FDA storage standards, and "pay for a background check" covering criminal and driver license history. Board notices go to the designated representative of record. See Georgia's DME supplier license.
Who qualifies as a California exemptee?
California generally reserves prescription devices to pharmacies. A home medical device retailer may sell them only if "A licensed pharmacist or an exemptee ... shall be in charge" (Health & Safety Code 111656.4(a)). The exemptee must have a high school diploma or GED, "a minimum of one year of paid work experience related to the distribution or dispensing of dangerous drugs or dangerous devices," and approved training in drug and device law, quality control, USP storage standards, home medical device handling and prescription terminology. CDPH licenses exemptees separately, at $466 to apply and $280 a year as of July 23, 2026.
The presence rule is strict: the pharmacist or exemptee "shall be on the premises at all times that prescription devices are available for sale or fitting," unless the devices are stored separately under that person's exclusive control (111656.4(b)). Only that person, pharmacists, interns, prescribers and CDPH agents may enter the area where prescription devices are stored, and the pharmacist or exemptee "shall remain present" whenever someone is there for a fitting or consultation (111656.5(a)). A warehouse needs a pharmacist or exemptee designated in charge, who need not be present. See California's HMDR license.
Why does North Carolina limit one person to one location?
Because the permit is personal. "Device and medical equipment permits ... shall be issued to the person in charge of the facility pursuant to a joint application of the owner and person in charge," the permit is not valid until that person countersigns it, and it "is valid only so long as the person in charge to whom it was issued assumes his duties and responsibilities" (21 NCAC 46 .1608(b)). "A person shall be in charge of only one location" (.2605(a)), and that person "must personally complete the educational module and may not delegate this responsibility to any other person" (.1606). A five-location supplier serving North Carolina needs five people in charge. See North Carolina's permits.
Can a consultant or outside company fill these roles?
No, and we do not. Each rule ties the role to supervision of a specific place and to personal responsibility: a background check in Georgia, presence on the premises in California and North Carolina, responsibility "for all activities in the permitted facility" in Mississippi. An outside preparer working from another state cannot meet those conditions, and stepping into them would put an outsider's name where the board expects the supplier's own person. The same principle runs through Medicare: only the supplier's authorized official signs the CMS-855S certification, and a delegated official must be an owner or a W-2 managing employee (42 CFR 424.502, 424.510(d)(3)).
What a preparer can do is help you choose and document the right person: check the qualifications against each state's rule, assemble the personnel certification or exemptee application, and keep a record of who is named where.
What happens when the named person leaves?
This is where suppliers get hurt. The rules move fast:
- Mississippi: the departing permit holder returns the permit, and "application for a new permit for that facility must be made ... within ten (10) days."
- Tennessee: "Any change of administrators shall be reported to the Department within fifteen (15) days."
- Alabama: a change of person in charge is filed within 30 days on the Board's form.
- North Carolina: the permit is valid only while the named person serves; a successor takes over by amending the application.
- North Dakota: notice of a change in the named licensed professional within 30 days.
Build a backup into your staffing plan before you need it, and keep the qualification documents for a second person on file. A supplier licensed in many states should keep one list of every named person by state and location.
How should a multi-state supplier keep track?
With one roster, kept current. For each licensed location, record the state, the role's title in that state, the named person, the date that person was approved or named, any personal credential and its renewal (such as California's annual exemptee renewal), and the deadline to report a change. Keep each person's qualification evidence with the roster: the Georgia background check consent, the California training certificate, the North Carolina education module completion. When someone gives notice, the roster tells you which boards to notify and how many days you have. It also tells an accrediting surveyor or a buyer's diligence team, quickly, who is responsible for what.
Do other states have similar rules?
Several have lighter versions. Florida requires notice to AHCA when the general manager changes (Fla. Stat. 400.931(4)). Ohio requires the applicant for a license or registration to be "a natural person that owns and/or operates the business entity" (Ohio Admin. Code 4729:11-2-01(C)). Medicare's own standards add that each location must be staffed during posted hours (42 CFR 424.57(c)(7)). See DME license requirements by state.
How do we help?
We map which states you serve require a named person, prepare the personnel certifications and exemptee applications, and track every named person by license in our License Renewal Tracking ($299 per license, per year). State licenses start at $699 per state, $899 for California, Florida, Georgia and Alabama (pricing). Your people hold the roles, sign their own attestations and pay for their own background checks.
Common questions
- What is a designated representative for a DME license?
- In Georgia, a Board-approved individual who supervises a licensed DME location and its compliance. Each licensed location needs at least one, who must be 18 or older, pass a background check and attest to knowledge of DME law and storage standards (480-7B-.03).
- Does every California DME location need an exemptee?
- Only where prescription devices are sold or fitted. Then a licensed pharmacist or CDPH-licensed exemptee must be in charge and on the premises while those devices are available, unless they are locked under that person's control (Health & Safety Code 111656.4).
- Can one person be in charge of several North Carolina locations?
- No. North Carolina's rule says a person shall be in charge of only one location (21 NCAC 46 .2605(a)), and the permit is valid only while that person serves.
- Can a consultant serve as our designated representative?
- No. These roles require supervision of the location and personal responsibility to the board, so they belong to the supplier's own staff. A consultant can prepare the paperwork and track who is named where.
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