Opening a Rehabilitation Center in Ukraine: What It Takes to Launch

Today, opening a rehabilitation center in Ukraine is not just a business decision, but a direct response to the challenges created by the war. The need for national recovery has become unprecedented in scale: from physical rehabilitation after complex injuries and amputations to long-term psychological support for veterans and civilians. Rehabilitation in 2026 covers an entire range of areas: physical therapy, occupational therapy, psychological assistance, speech rehabilitation, and social adaptation.

Consequently, establishing such a facility demands not only a well-defined medical concept but also rigorous legal preparation. The state has substantially overhauled its regulatory framework for the rehabilitation sector, making the healthcare market far more demanding. Government funding and partnerships with insurance providers are now exclusively accessible to organizations that fulfill the revised criteria for inclusivity and professional excellence. Obtaining a medical practice license is one of the critical components in this process.

In this article, we will break down how to open a rehabilitation center in Ukraine: choosing the right legal entity structure, registering the correct KVED activity codes, understanding the criteria for premises, staffing, and equipment infrastructure, securing a license for the rehabilitation center, and identifying critical mistakes to avoid well before launching your facility.

Legal Forms of Operation: How to Open a Rehabilitation Center, LLC or Sole Proprietor?

The first question that arises for a founder when a rehabilitation center project is almost ready for launch is: “How should the activity be formalized so as not to overpay taxes and at the same time avoid problems with the Ministry of Health?” Here, the choice of legal form becomes the key strategic decision, since the structure of your future services will depend on it. Therefore, this is probably the very first thing needed to open a rehabilitation center.

To make the choice easier, let us compare the main organizational and legal forms of activity:

LLC (Legal Entity)

If your goal is to open a large rehabilitation center with a swimming pool, inpatient department, and dozens of specialists, your choice is to register a limited liability company.

• Who it is for: investors who plan to open a network or multidisciplinary hospital.
• Advantages: you can license dozens of medical specialties at the same time. It is also easier for an LLC to participate in large public procurement procedures and work with insurance funds.
• Specific feature: you must appoint a medical director with the relevant qualifications and experience.

Sole Proprietor (Private Practice) 

Previously, a sole proprietor in rehabilitation was “limited in rights”, but reforms in medical legislation have equalized the opportunities.

• Who it is for: practicing doctors, including PRM doctors, physical therapists, or small groups of partners who want to open a private office or a small outpatient center.
• Key insight: now a sole proprietor is not just a “massage therapist in the corner”. You can officially hire staff and form a multidisciplinary team.
• Flexibility: the simplified taxation system and minimal reporting bureaucracy make the sole proprietor format ideal for starting out.

Lawyer’s warning regarding the facility status: having an LLC or sole proprietor status does not in itself make you a “rehabilitation facility” within the meaning of the law. You acquire this status automatically at the moment when you declare a specific list of medical specialties and rehabilitation specialists in the Information submitted to the Ministry of Health.

If you simply open a medical center but do not include rehabilitation cycle specialists, you remain an ordinary clinic. To obtain the right to call yourself a rehabilitation facility and, importantly, to claim the relevant funding packages, your license must include:

1. Key medical specialties for rehabilitation: physical and rehabilitation medicine, PRM, neurology, orthopedics and traumatology, sports medicine, rheumatology, and psychology.
2. In addition to doctors, the “status” structure includes specialists with higher non-medical education: physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech and language therapists.

Which KVED Codes to Choose for Opening a Rehabilitation Center

For full operation, you will need the following codes:

• 86.22 Specialized Medical Practice: the main KVED. This covers the activities of specialist doctors, including PRM doctors, neurologists, and traumatologists. It is the basis for the medical license.
• 86.90 Other Human Health Activities: critically important. This covers the work of physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, and psychologists, namely specialists who are not doctors by diploma.
• 86.21 General Medical Practice: for consultations and primary examinations.
• 86.10 Hospital Activities: mandatory if you will have an inpatient department, beds, or a comprehensive center.
• 96.04 Physical Wellbeing Activities: for additional services, such as massage, not therapeutic massage, sauna, or salt room.

Legal tip! The process of selecting KVED codes and further business registration is only the initial stage, where the safety foundation of your rehabilitation facility is laid. To avoid tax and licensing traps from the very beginning, it is worth considering legal support for medical institutions: delegating the completion of registration forms, communication with tax authorities, and verification of licensing information to specialized experts.

Requirements for a Rehabilitation Center: How to Successfully Pass a Ministry of Health Inspection

To understand how to open a rehabilitation center and successfully pass a Ministry of Health inspection, it is necessary to examine three key blocks of requirements in detail: premises, personnel qualifications, and the material and technical base. Each of these elements is strictly controlled by the state, and failure to meet even one criterion makes legal operation impossible.

Requirements for the Premises of a Rehabilitation Facility: DBN Standards and Zones

Premises for rehabilitation are a technological space where every centimeter must comply with the Licensing Conditions and DBN, namely State Building Standards V.2.2 10:2022 “Healthcare Facilities. Basic Provisions”.

Accessibility (Inclusiveness): Requirement No. 1

Today, a “formal” ramp at a 45-degree angle is a direct path to cancellation of the application. The Ministry of Health requires real accessibility, confirmed by an official expert opinion entered into the Unified State Electronic System in the Construction Sector (USESC):

• Entrance area: if there are stairs, a compliant ramp is mandatory, with a slope of no more than 8 percent and handrails on both sides at heights of 70 and 90 cm, or a certified lift.
• Doorway width: all doors, including those to offices and restrooms, must be at least 90 cm wide. A wheelchair must pass through without obstacles.
• Thresholds: there should be none. The maximum permitted floor height difference is 2 cm, and even that must be rounded.

Functional Zoning and Requirements for Rehabilitation Rooms

A Ministry of Health rehabilitation license is issued for a specific structure of the facility. The regulator pays attention not only to the presence of rooms, but also to whether there is enough space for staff and patients. Your “premises map” should be based on the following principles:

• Specialists’ offices, basic level: the minimum area of a doctor’s consultation room is 18 square meters. This is the gold standard that ensures free maneuvering for a patient in a wheelchair and comfortable work for the medical specialist.

Legal nuance: several specialists may work in one office. However, in such a case, the area must be increased proportionally, usually by 4 to 6 square meters for each additional workplace, so as not to violate sanitary standards and the patient’s right to privacy.

• Physical therapy hall: this is the key zone where the main work takes place. The area is calculated individually, based on the dimensions of exercise equipment, suspension systems, and the expected number of patients who will be there at the same time. In general, the minimum is from 18 to 25 square meters for small groups.

Additional Therapeutic Spaces

In addition to the basic premises, a status facility must include:

• Occupational therapy rooms: special areas with simulated household conditions, such as a kitchen or restroom, for restoring self-care skills.
• Massage and hardware physiotherapy rooms: separate rooms with specific lighting and ventilation.
• Inclusive restroom: this is not just a toilet, but a certified restroom. It must have a system of handrails, an emergency call button for staff, and a free turning radius of at least 1.5 meters for a wheelchair.

Medical Waste Disposal in a Rehabilitation Facility

To obtain a rehabilitation center license, you must prove that your facility does not create an environmental risk. This is one of those “small details” that can cause document preparation to fail.

• Agreement with a specialized company: you must have a valid agreement for the removal and disposal of medical waste, at least category B.
• Internal logistics: the premises plan must include a separate place or room for temporary waste storage before removal, inaccessible to unauthorized persons.
• Containers and labeling: each room must be equipped with containers, such as pedal bins and puncture-resistant containers, for collecting used materials according to hazard class.

We wrote more about this here: Medical Waste Processing Agreement: Mandatory Ministry of Health Requirement from 2026

Requirements for Rehabilitation Center Personnel and Formation of a Multidisciplinary Team

There is a myth around the licensing of rehabilitation facilities that without a huge staff, the doors of the Ministry of Health are closed to you. This is not entirely true. In 2026, legislation has become more flexible, allowing businesses to scale gradually.

Is a Rehabilitation License Possible for One Specialist?

Yes, you can obtain a license with only one specialist on staff. This is an ideal option for small physical rehabilitation offices or private practices run by sole proprietors. The main condition is that this specialist’s profession must be “licensable” for the rehabilitation profile.

If you are a doctor and have a specialization in Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (PRM), you can already obtain a medical practice license independently. If you are a physical therapist, a specialist with higher non-medical education, you can also license your activity while working as an independent professional.

When Does the Need for a Rehabilitation Center “Team” Arise?

The concept of a multidisciplinary team (MDT) becomes mandatory only when you plan to:

1. Provide comprehensive rehabilitation care in large volumes.
2. Enter into contracts with the NHSU under specific “rehabilitation packages”. The state is ready to pay high rates only when it sees a full recovery cycle: PRM doctor + physical therapist + occupational therapist plus psychologist.

For the Ministry of Health, it is critically important that the job title in your staffing schedule and diploma match the official classifier. The main “players” are:

• PRM doctor, the foundation of any medical rehabilitation center;
• physical therapist;
• occupational therapist;
• psychotherapist;
• speech and language therapist.

Official Employment and Registration of Medical Workers in the E-Health System

Even if you have only one person working for you, the document requirements remain strict:

• the diploma and certificate must be valid, and professional development must be completed every 5 years;
• continuous professional development, CPD: the specialist must have points for the last year;
• registration in the Electronic Health Care System, E-Health.

Lawyer’s advice: you can start with one specialty, for example physical therapy only, and later, through the procedure for “notification of changes” or “license expansion”, add new specialists, places of activity, new medical or rehabilitation specialties, inpatient or day care wards, equipment, and also expand the list of services as your medical business develops. This allows you to grow organically without spending huge budgets in the very first month.

Requirements for Medical Equipment: Equipment List for a Rehabilitation Department

For each medical specialty and each type of rehabilitation care, the Ministry of Health has approved a list of minimum required equipment. If you declare a PRM office but do not have a goniometer, examination couch, or equipment for muscle testing, this will result in an automatic refusal.

For large centers, the requirements include specialized exercise equipment for mechanotherapy, body weight support systems, and occupational therapy equipment for practicing fine motor skills.

Regardless of your scale, the inspection will expect to see a basic rehabilitation set.

Even minor equipment from the Equipment List must not be ignored. The absence of a simple reflex hammer or tuning fork may become a reason for returning documents due to non-compliance with the material and technical base.

You might also like: Leasing Premises for Medical Practice: Ministry of Health Requirements and Lease Agreement

Procedure for Obtaining a License for a Rehabilitation Facility: Step-by-Step 

Step 1. Preparation of the Information Forms and Other Documents

This is the most important stage. You prepare the key document describing your business: the Information on the condition of the material and technical base and personnel:

• description of each room, each meter, and each piece of equipment with its exact name and year of manufacture;
• surnames, diplomas, certificates, and credentials of your specialists.

The document package also includes an application for obtaining a medical license, inventories in two copies, and a letter of approval.

Note on the letter of approval: this document is not always shown in standard online checklists. However, based on our experience of regularly supporting this procedure at the Ministry of Health, its presence is critical for a positive decision on the first attempt. This is a procedural document that often creates problems for licensees.

Step 2. Submission of Documents. What Are the Options?

Submission through the Ministry of Health Electronic Services Portal or Diia is the fastest option. You upload scanned copies and sign them with the qualified electronic signature of the manager. Postal submission is also available today: the good old registered letter. It must be sent with an inventory of enclosures and delivery confirmation. The submission date will be the date shown on the postal stamp.

You or your lawyer acting under a power of attorney may also submit the documents directly to the “Single Window” of the Ministry of Health.

Step 3. Review and Decision

The law sets clear time limits for reviewing the application: 10 business days is the standard period within which the licensing authority must make a decision. In practice, taking into account the issuance of the Order, it takes around 14 days on average.

The decision to issue a license is formalized by an Order of the Ministry of Health, which is published on the official website. From the moment the Order is published, you are considered a licensee, and the relevant information is entered into the state Register of Medical Practice Licensees.

A medical practice license is unlimited in terms, and the fee for it is paid once, in the amount of one subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons effective at the time the decision is made. As of 2026, this amount is UAH 3,328.

Please note! Clients often forget that this payment must be made strictly within 10 business days from the date of publication of the Ministry of Health Order on license issuance. Moreover, payment must be made using very specific details of the budget revenue classification code at the place of registration of the licensee.

Why Independent Attempts to Obtain a Medical License Often Fail: Grounds for Refusal

After building a business plan for a rehabilitation center, most founders believe that obtaining a license is a purely technical procedure of completing the Information form based on templates from the internet. When organizing the process independently, businesses usually follow the classic path: renting premises “by eye”, doing a quick renovation, hiring the first specialists based on diplomas, and submitting documents by post or through an online portal.

However, according to monitoring of the Ministry of Health administrative practice, more than 25% of independently submitted applications are returned to applicants with a refusal already at the first review stage. The reasons are typical:

• The licensing authority identifies that the material and technical base does not comply with the actual accessibility building standards.
• Specialists’ documents do not meet the requirements for continuous professional development.
• Equipment descriptions do not match the strict requirements of the official Equipment Lists.

Today, any inaccuracy in documents or any mismatch between an office and legal requirements is not just a need to “rewrite a paper”. It means an automatic loss of at least one month of waiting, idle expensive premises, and salary payments to a team of specialists who are not yet generating revenue.

For a modern rehabilitation center, one refusal cycle costs the owner from UAH 100,000 to UAH 300,000 in direct losses, while a six-month launch delay can completely destroy the business model and lead to the loss of scarce personnel, who will simply move to competitors.

To avoid financial losses, leading medical institutions that need a license for rehabilitation services have long abandoned the practice of “trial and error”. The optimal solution on the market is full-cycle legal consulting with a preliminary audit and licensing assistance.

You might also like: Updating Rehabilitation Facilities Under Resolution No. 309

Legal Support and Assistance with Licensing Rehabilitation Practice

Licensing a rehabilitation facility is not about “submitting a document package”. It is about building the correct project architecture before renovation, equipment purchase, and team formation even begin. It is at the planning stage that center owners most often make mistakes that later cost months of delays and hundreds of thousands of hryvnias in losses.

We provide comprehensive support for opening a rehabilitation center, from premises analysis to the appearance of your facility in the Ministry of Health Register of Licensees. For us, it is important not just to “obtain a license”, but to create a legally safe operating model for you, one that will allow you to scale, work with the NHSU, and calmly pass any inspections.

Our support will help you:

• determine and register the optimal legal model of operation (LLC or sole proprietor), select a safe package of KVED codes without tax risks, and fully complete state registration of the business entity;
• check the premises for compliance with DBN requirements, inclusiveness, and the Ministry of Health Licensing Conditions before signing the lease agreement;
• properly form the structure of the rehabilitation facility and determine the list of specialties required specifically for your operating model;
• audit specialists’ diplomas, certificates, and CPD before documents are submitted;
• prepare the Information forms and the full document package without the risk of return or refusal;
• properly formalize staff, internal documentation, and registration of employees in the E-Health System;
• support communication with the Ministry of Health at all stages of review of the licensing application;
• prepare the facility for cooperation with the NHSU and further license expansion.

Contact us now to build a rehabilitation center from the start without legal “surprises”, loss of time, or financial losses. The earlier you check the project for compliance with Ministry of Health requirements, the faster your facility will be able to officially receive its first patients.

More about medical practice licensing with us here.