ABSTRACT This study examined housekeeper referral agencies’ operations in Japan, their services, and fee standards. This promoted an estimation of the standard price of housekeeping services in Japan if insurance coverage was excluded. Questionnaires were distributed to 399 housekeeping agencies whose addresses were available on the website of the Japan Association of Nursing and Welfare Placement Agencies as of October 2022, and 101 agencies responded (response rate: 25.3%). Surveys were completed in February–March 2023. Two-thirds (65%) of the housekeeper placement agencies had a long-term care (LTC) insurance office. Housekeeper referrals were mostly for 1–4 h; the fee varied according to city size and service provider type, which tended to be higher in larger cities. The fees were lower for attached LTC providers than for stand-alone providers. Most managers (60%) of housekeeper referral agencies rated their fees as ‘somewhat low’ or ‘very low’, requesting an increase in users’ burden and housekeepers’ compensation. LTC insurance keeps the prices of services provided by housekeeper referral agencies low. In the future, daily living support services for the lightly insured may be excluded from LTC insurance coverage in Japan, and the demand for housekeeper agencies’ services is expected to increase.