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Inspection & accreditation decoder
Search the licensure, accreditation, certification, and inspection terms on SAMHSA facility profiles. Each entry returns a plain-English explanation, what to ask the facility, and which body sets the standard.
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Why these terms matter when picking a facility
Accreditation and licensure are the closest thing to an objective quality signal in the SAMHSA directory. Two facilities can offer the same listed services but be governed by very different oversight regimes, and "no accreditation" does not necessarily mean "low quality" if the facility is fully state-licensed and Medicaid-certified. Understand what each badge actually verifies before treating it as a tie-breaker.
Read the source-data semantics on our methodology page, or browse our facility-selection guide for a structured decision walk-through.
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The terms here are drawn from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). According to its National Substance Use and Mental Health Services Survey (N-SUMHSS), the federal record catalogs more than 17,000 substance-use and mental-health treatment facilities nationwide. This directory was last rebuilt from that survey in May 2026, see our methodology for how the data is collected and updated. Always confirm details directly with a facility before relying on them.
Every figure on PlainRecovery is rendered directly from SAMHSA's published N-SUMHSS facility data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these facility listings, or report a data error. Data current as of 2024 N-SUMHSS release.