The Provider Edition
Check your ESP contact info before the Nov 15 timesheet, what 7 counties have published for 2027, three things to do before December, and the new provider registry.
The Provider Edition
A special issue of the quarterly newsletter · November 2026
The November issue, for IHSS care providers. Three things changed this month that touch your pay or your sign-in, and one new thing opened on our sister site. Short, in order of urgency: the ESP passcode first, then your rate on January 1, then the year-end checklist, then the registry.
Thanks for the work you do — IHSSHours.com
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1 · The new ESP sign-in
The ESP is replacing your password with a one-time code
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Since October 24, the sign-in page at etimesheets.ihss.ca.gov carries this notice: “Enter your username and select Continue. Once your password expires, you will sign in using a One-Time Passcode (OTP) sent to your registered email address or phone number.” The same step applies to the EVV Mobile App. So the switch reaches each provider when their current password runs out, which is why a coworker may see it weeks before you do.
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Check your contact information now. Sign in to the ESP, open Contact Information, and make sure the email and phone number are current and that you can open them. The code can only reach what is on file. |
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A change takes 24 hours to work. After you update a number or address, you must wait 24 hours before the new contact information can receive a code. Do it this week, not the morning a timesheet is due. |
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Phone changes are made in the ESP; email changes go through the IHSS Service Desk, (866) 376-7066, Monday to Friday, 8 to 5. |
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Each code works once and expires in 10 minutes. No code? Wait a minute, check spam, or select Resend Passcode. |
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Nobody legitimate will ever ask for your code. Not IHSS, not the county, not us. A call, text or email asking for it is a scam: hang up and delete it. |
The full guide: how the passcode works and what to check → · Registering for the ESP
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2 · Your pay on January 1
The state floor rises to $17.40 on January 1, 2027
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$16.90
state minimum wage now | $17.40
from January 1, 2027 | +$0.50
an hour at the floor |
No county’s IHSS wage can be lower than the state minimum wage. Above the floor, each county sets its own rate, and many agreements are written as the minimum wage plus a county supplement, so the rate rises when the floor does. The county’s published rate is the one that counts; where there isn’t one yet, the new minimum is the only certain figure.
What counties have published so far (7 of 58):
| San Francisco | $25.50 an hour from January 2027 |
| Alameda | minimum wage + $5.20 now; + $5.62 from July 1, 2027 |
| Stanislaus | minimum wage + $1.95 from January 1, 2027 |
| San Diego | minimum wage + $3.50; + $4.50 no sooner than March 1, 2027 |
| Ventura | minimum wage + $4.07, subject to state approval |
| Riverside | $3.00 above the minimum wage |
| Sonoma | minimum wage + $3.35 (the 2026 step; no 2027 step published) |
Only what an official county, Public Authority or state page states, checked Oct 28, 2026. Source for the minimum wage: California Department of Industrial Relations, News Release 2026-66. The full list, updated as counties publish →
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3 · November timesheets
Two pay periods, two deadlines, two holidays
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November’s pay periods are the 1st–15th and the 16th–30th. A timesheet can’t be submitted before the last day of its period, and the recipient still has to approve it. State offices are closed on Veterans Day (November 11) and Thanksgiving (November 26) with the day after (November 27), which slows paper. Submitting through the ESP or the phone system does not depend on an office being open.
1 |
If you are a non-live-in provider, check in and out for every visit. Forgot? Check in or out as soon as you can, and correct the times when you fill out the timesheet entry in the ESP; you are paid for the hours you enter, not the span between check-in and check-out. |
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Set up direct deposit under the Financial tab if you haven’t. It takes about 30 days to start, so a request this week covers your December pay. |
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The Provider Enrollment Agreement (SOC 846) says you are paid within 10 days of the day your timesheet is received at the timesheet processing facility, and that a timesheet submitted more than two weeks after the end of the pay period delays your pay. |
How IHSS providers get paid → · Free timesheet reminders by email
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4 · Before December
Three things to do before December
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1 |
Live with your recipient? The live-in self-certification (SOC 2298) is what keeps IHSS wages off your federal and state taxable income. If you have moved in with the person you care for this year and have not filed it, file it now so next year’s W-2 is right from the first paycheck. |
2 |
Sick leave does not expire at New Year. Your 40 hours run July 1 to June 30. Nothing is lost on December 31, so there is no need to rush a claim; just remember unused hours do expire on June 30. |
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Working more than 40 hours a week? Overtime pay is normal; going over the weekly limit (66 hours combined for two or more recipients) without an approved exemption is what earns a violation. The holiday weeks are when schedules shift, so check the week before you work it. |
Overtime and the two exemptions → · Taxes and the live-in exclusion
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5 · Where families can find you
A registry where families can find you, on your terms
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Our sister site IHSSProviderReady.com opened a provider registry this week. It lists certified providers who chose to be listed, searchable by county and language, and families send a message through the site; your email, phone and address are never shown. You turn it on from your provider card, and off again whenever you like.
| The quiz | free, 15 questions, about 10 minutes |
| The certificate | $20 after you pass; a public verification page families can check |
| The registry | free for certificate holders; opt in from your provider card |
| Care Provider Advantage membership | $30 for your first year, then $8 a month: certificate kept active, Enrollment Kit, printables, premium card, top placement |
Take the free quiz → · See the registry · The Advantage membership
An independent credential and registry. Not issued by or affiliated with CDSS or any county; not a background check; it does not replace county enrollment or orientation.
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6 · New this month
New on the sites this month
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ESP One-Time Passcode: the new login step and what to check now
The sign-in change explained, with the 24-hour rule and scam warnings. In English and Spanish. |
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IHSS Provider Pay in 2027: what is published so far
Seven counties and the state floor, updated as counties publish. |
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The provider registry
Certified providers by county and language, with contact through the site. |
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Free IHSS Timesheet Generator & Overtime Tools
Fill in a sample timesheet, plan your month, and catch overtime and workweek problems before you submit. Free, no sign-up. |
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7 · Numbers to call
Statewide help lines for providers
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IHSS Service Desk
ESP, electronic timesheets and payment questions · Mon–Fri 8–5 |
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Timesheet phone system (TTS)
submit or approve timesheets by phone (833-DIAL-EVV) |
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Accessible TTS for blind or low-vision providers
set up through your county IHSS social worker |
Every county’s IHSS and Public Authority numbers are in the county guides →
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8 · Tell us what you need
What should December cover?
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Reply to this email with a question you keep running into or something that held up your pay. We read every reply, and the most common questions become guides on the site.
More provider guides: the Provider Hub →
Sources. ESP sign-in page notice, etimesheets.ihss.ca.gov (seen October 28, 2026); CDSS ESP One-Time Passcode Guide and ESP help page (cdss.ca.gov/inforesources/esphelp); CDSS Electronic Visit Verification help page and EVV Location Services FAQ; California Department of Industrial Relations, News Release 2026-66 (August 13, 2026); the county and Public Authority pages listed in the 2027 pay guide; CDSS IHSS Provider Resources (pay periods); CalHR 2026 State Holidays; CDSS Online Direct Deposit Service page; IHSS Provider Enrollment Agreement, SOC 846 (10-day payment, workweek, 66-hour limit, overtime, violations); CDSS Live-In Provider Self-Certification page (SOC 2298); CDSS Paid Sick Leave Program page. Product details from IHSSProviderReady.com and IHSSHours.com as of October 28, 2026. Educational information, not legal or tax advice.
This is the web version of the November 2026 Provider Edition, a special issue as it went out by email. Pay figures are as of the date stated in the issue and are not updated after publication — for the current list, see IHSS provider pay in 2027. All issues →