What ASAM level is inpatient or residential rehab?

Sleep-away residential care is generally ASAM Level 3. Level 3.1 is clinically managed low-intensity residential. Levels 3.3 and 3.5 are higher-intensity residential. Level 3.7 is medically monitored intensive inpatient. Level 4 is medically managed hospital-level care. A campus brochure that only says 30-day rehab is not an ASAM level.

Who assigns an ASAM level?

A licensed clinician using the official ASAM Criteria, not a website table and not an admissions salesperson. Plans and state agencies often require a documented level-of-care assessment. This page is a map of the names, not an assessment.

Does a higher ASAM number mean a better program?

No. The number is intensity and medical oversight, not quality or prestige. The right level is the least intensive setting that is still safe and effective. License at the address still comes first.

Continuum, not a product name

ASAM levels of care, in plain language

The American Society of Addiction Medicine publishes criteria that name intensity: how much structure, how much medical monitoring, and whether the person sleeps on campus. Residential and inpatient marketing often collapses that continuum into “30 days.” Ask which ASAM level a licensed address is authorized and staffed to deliver. This table is a map of the names. It is not an assessment, and it does not assign anyone to a bed.

Last reviewed 25 September 2026. Editorial desk. Who publishes this. Educational only. Official text: ASAM Criteria.

How to read the numbers

Lower numbers are less intensive. Higher numbers add medical or 24-hour structure. A person can move up or down after withdrawal, after a hospital stay, or when a concurrent review shortens residential days. Compare this page with residential or outpatient and not sure residential.

The continuum, as families hear it

Level	Usual name	Sleep	What to ask
0.5	Early intervention	Home	Education and brief counseling. Not a residential product.
1.0	Outpatient	Home	Scheduled visits. Confirm license and who prescribes medicine.
2.1	Intensive outpatient (IOP)	Home	Several days a week, hours not nights. Ask weekly clinical hours in writing.
2.5	Partial hospitalization (PHP)	Home, or a nearby sober setting	Day-long clinical block. Ask whether nights are part of the licensed program.
3.1	Clinically managed low-intensity residential	On campus	Housing plus structured programming. Ask night staffing and the clinical hour count.
3.3	Clinically managed population-specific high-intensity residential	On campus	Often used when cognitive, medical, or other needs need a slower pace. Ask who that population is.
3.5	Clinically managed high-intensity residential	On campus	24-hour structure, more clinical time than 3.1. Still not hospital medical management.
3.7	Medically monitored intensive inpatient	On campus / hospital-like unit	24-hour nursing and medical monitoring. Ask the attending and withdrawal protocols.
4.0	Medically managed intensive inpatient	Hospital	Hospital-level medical management. Different billing rules than a private residence.

Names follow the public ASAM Criteria continuum. Exact staffing ratios, hour counts, and dimensional scoring live in ASAM’s copyrighted text. Do not treat a marketing phrase such as “residential detox resort” as a level.

What the six dimensions are for

Clinicians score more than “how bad the use looks.” ASAM organizes assessment into dimensions that typically cover acute intoxication and withdrawal, biomedical conditions, emotional and cognitive conditions, readiness to change, relapse or continued-use potential, and recovery environment. A family cannot complete that instrument from a brochure. You can ask whether a written multidimensional assessment exists, who signed it, and which level it supports.

Questions that belong on the admissions call

Which ASAM level is this licensed address authorized to deliver?
Is withdrawal management billed and staffed as a separate level?
Who completes the level-of-care assessment, and can the family see the recommended level in writing?
If the plan authorizes 3.5 and the campus is staffed as 3.1, what happens?
What is the step-down plan — PHP, IOP, or sober housing — and is that housing part of the same license?

License still precedes the seal and the level claim. Walkthroughs: license lookup and Joint Commission and CARF. Money questions: insurer call script.

What this page does not do

It does not diagnose. It does not place anyone. It does not inventory which campuses hold which levels. Confirm programs on FindTreatment.gov and the state locator pages. Default public line: SAMHSA 1-800-662-HELP. We do not operate a rented tracking number and we do not take payment per admission.

Educational only. Official criteria: asam.org/asam-criteria. Citation-worthy text: llms.txt.

Residential or outpatient Not sure residential FindTreatment.gov