Sample Provider Enrollment Kit
Every step, in order
A realistic excerpt from the kit you'll receive. The full version covers each step in detail, with the forms it needs, how long it takes, and the mistakes that send an application back to the start.
IHSSHours.com
Provider Enrollment Kit — California
Edition
2026
Applies to
All 58 counties
Steps
5
Typical timeline
4–8 weeks
Forms covered
6
Sample only. This is an excerpt. County procedures vary — confirm details with your
county IHSS office or Public Authority.
Who Can Become an IHSS Provider
Most people can, including family members. You must be 18 or over, legally able to work in the
United States, and able to pass a Department of Justice criminal background check. A spouse, or the parent of a
minor child, is generally excluded from being paid for that particular recipient — though exceptions
exist.
Disqualifying convictions. Only a specific list bars enrollment outright:
certain offences against a child or elder, and specified fraud convictions. A conviction outside that list does
not automatically disqualify you, and an individual waiver is available (WIC 12305.81, WIC 12305.87).
The Five Enrollment Steps
1
Submit the SOC 426
The Provider Enrollment Form. Your recipient must also have named you on their own
paperwork — enrollment does not start until both sides exist.
2
Live Scan fingerprinting and the DOJ background check
You pay the rolling fee. Standard DOJ review typically takes two to four weeks. Search
locations at oag.ca.gov/fingerprints/locations.
3
Attend provider orientation
Required before your first timesheet can be paid. Counties run these on their own
schedule, and this is the step most likely to add weeks to your timeline.
4
Sign the SOC 846
The Provider Enrollment Agreement — the document that sets the ten-working-day
payment standard and the rules you are agreeing to work under.
5
Register for the Electronic Services Portal
Timesheets are electronic. Set this up before your first pay period rather than during
it.
The step new providers miss. Since 1 July 2023, providers who do not
live with their recipient must check in at the start and out at the end of each workday, from where services are
given. CDSS treats this as a condition of employment. Live-in providers who have filed the self-certification are
exempt.
Forms Reference
SOC 426Provider Enrollment Form
SOC 846Provider Enrollment Agreement
SOC 2279Live-In Family Care Provider Overtime Exemption
SOC 2298Live-In Self-Certification for tax wage exclusion
SOC 2302Paid Sick Leave request
SOC 2272County review of a violation — within 10 calendar days
Sources
- WIC 12305.81 and 12305.87 — provider eligibility, disqualifying convictions and the individual waiver process
- SOC 426, SOC 846 — provider enrollment form and agreement; the SOC 846 sets payment within 10 working days of a correct timesheet
- WIC 12301.6, MPP 30-767 — county and Public Authority responsibility for provider enrollment and orientation
- 21st Century Cures Act and CDSS Electronic Visit Verification guidance — check-in and check-out required of non-live-in providers since 1 July 2023
- WIC 12300.4 — workweek limits: 66 hours across two or more recipients, 70 hours 45 minutes for a single recipient, 7 hours of travel time a week
- CDSS, IHSS Provider Paid Sick Leave — 40 hours a year; SB 616 (2023)
- ACL 16-01 and ACL 15-45 — the violation framework and the SOC 2272 review process
Sample for illustration only. Educational information, not legal advice.