Registering as a Home Care Aide (HCA) in California

If you’re a reliable, compassionate person and want to start a career in healthcare, this is for you!

At Augusta.Care, we help home care agencies recruit the best and brightest caregivers. Many in the next generation of healthcare workers are new to the field, just like you. Home Care Aides get the opportunity to work with older adults and people who need assistance with their Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). This work may include providing your one-on-one client with companionship, transportation, light housekeeping, meal prep, bathing, dressing, grooming, incontinence care and more. It’s an incredibly rewarding career for people who have a big heart and want meaningful, consistent work.

One of the first steps to this rewarding, meaningful career in to become a Home Care Aide in California. California has made it a requirement that all home care aide (HCAs) are registered and have been fingerprinted and background checked. This is for the safety and protection of the vulnerable people and older adults that HCAs work with. And, once you’re registered, you may use your registration at any home care agency in the state.

This guide walks you though the basic steps to registering as a HCA in California through their online portal:

1. Access the Guardian Applicant Portal at https://guardian.dss.ca.gov/Applicant.

2. Create an Account by clicking “Register as a new user.” A temporary password will be sent to your email account. Your Login username is your email address.

3. Enter Application Information. When prompted for a PIN (Personal Identification Number), enter either the Home Care Organization’s PIN (provided by your prospective employer) or enter R38XKSPE (the PIN for independent home care aides).

You will be required to pay a fee of $35.00 to register; payment can be made by debit or credit card.

4. Retrieve the Live Scan Form. Print the pre-populated form and submit fingerprints with a Live Scan vendor.

For questions regarding the application process in Guardian, please contact the Care Provider Management Bureau (CPMB) at 1-888- 422-5669 or guardian@dss.ca.gov. For further detail and other options in the HCA registration process, please visit the state website here.

Testing for Tuberculosis (TB) is also a Requirement to become an HCA in California

In California, a new HCA candidate is required to complete a Tuberculosis (TB) test. TB is a potentially serious infectious disease that mainly affects the lungs. The bacteria that cause tuberculosis are spread from person to person through tiny droplets released into the air via coughs and sneezes.

If you haven’t completed a TB test in the recent past, there are many pharmacies where you go to a walk-in testing site. One of the easier options is to go to a CVS Walk-in clinic.

A Note about IHSS

In California, the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program is state-monitored program for people are 65 year of age and over, or disabled, or blind to receive care in their home. Sometimes a family member of the person who needs care will become an authorized IHSS caregiver for their loved one. This is really valuable caregiving experience! It is, however, a different registration process than the HCA. To work for a home care agency in California, you would still need to go through the HCA registration process, even if you have been an IHSS caregiver. In some cases, your IHSS caregiving experience can speed up your HCA registration process.