During recent years home ventilation has been shown to be useful for a growing number of patients with neuromuscular diseases and respiratory insufficiency caused by weakness of the respiratory muscles. Despite its technical simplicity, home ventilation leads to a number of social, ethical, medical and infrastructural problems. This consensus paper discusses the special situation of patients with neuromuscular diseases in home ventilation and describes the current thinking in the following topics: (1) definition of home ventilation; (2) aims of home ventilation; (3) indications and preconditions of home ventilation; (4) techniques and forms of home ventilatory support; (5) preparation for and practical questions of home ventilation; (6) stopping home ventilation.