# What a listing shows

Lesson 1 of [Read a memory care home listing](https://memorycarehomes.fyi/academy/read-a-memory-care-listing.md), 10 minutes.

MemoryCareHomes is an independent directory. It is not a regulator and it does not run care homes. A listing is a record, not an endorsement.

## Where a listing comes from

Listings come from public registers of care homes. A register is a list kept by the body that issues licences or registrations. The site names each register it reads. The source list names five:

- Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), adult family home lookup.
- Care Quality Commission (CQC), provider directory, for England.
- Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Division of Quality Assurance, directories of community-based residential facilities and adult family homes.
- Care Inspectorate, datastore of care services, for Scotland.
- Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA), register of regulated services, for Northern Ireland.

The site also adds some rows by hand, from a public register or from the home's own website. Each of those rows names its register in its source note.

The site keeps only homes whose register record carries a dementia or memory speciality. That is a filter on the record. It is not a review of the home.

## The fields on a listing

A listing can show these fields:

- The licence or registration number.
- The body that issued it.
- The bed count.
- The specialities on the public record.
- Whether a dementia speciality is recorded.
- The service type and the provider, where the register gives them.
- A source note: where the record comes from, when the site read it and under what licence.

## Read the source note first

The source note gives the date the site read the register. A register can change after that date. A licence can expire or be suspended later. Treat the date as the age of the facts.

## Sources

- MemoryCareHomes source list and publisher statement (site configuration)
- MemoryCareHomes home page FAQ and plan FAQ (site configuration)
- MemoryCareHomes guide: How to choose a memory care home and check it (updated 2026-10-02)

This course is general information, not medical, legal or financial advice.

Also on the [web page](https://memorycarehomes.fyi/academy/read-a-memory-care-listing/what-a-listing-shows).