IHSS Los Angeles County: pay rate, phone numbers, how to apply and how providers enroll

What IHSS Los Angeles County pays for and who qualifies

DPSS describes IHSS as a program that helps pay for services so that low-income people who are elderly, blind or disabled, children included, can stay safely in their own homes. The state's own description is similar: care at home in place of a move into a facility. A county social worker interviews the applicant, decides whether they qualify, and sets which services and how many hours a month the county will pay for.

The DPSS IHSS page lists these conditions. An applicant must:

• physically reside in the United States and be a California resident;
• apply for Medi-Cal if not already receiving it;
• live at home or in a dwelling of their own choosing; acute care hospitals, long-term care facilities and licensed community care facilities are not treated as a home;
• return a Health Care Certification (form SOC 873) completed by a physician or other licensed health care professional. Per CDSS, no services are authorized until that form reaches the county.

Once approved, the recipient hires their own provider and is the employer: hiring, training, supervising and, if it comes to it, firing are the recipient's job, not the county's. The State, not the recipient, issues provider paychecks. DPSS notes that a provider can be a relative, a friend, a neighbor, or someone found through the PASC registry.

IHSS pay rate in Los Angeles: $19.64 an hour

The county IHSS wage for individual providers is $19.64 an hour, effective January 1, 2026. DPSS gives that figure on its provider page, and it matches the Los Angeles row of the CDSS wage workbook in force from October 1, 2026. Counties set IHSS wages one by one, so the Los Angeles rate applies to Los Angeles County cases only; the IHSS pay by county guide sets it beside other counties.

The two local minimum wages are shown for comparison: they cover work performed inside the City of Los Angeles and inside unincorporated county areas respectively. The IHSS rate sits above both.

Overtime and weekly limits. Under the state provider agreement (SOC 846), any hour past 40 in one workweek earns one and a half times the base rate; the IHSS week starts at midnight on Sunday and closes at 11:59 pm on Saturday. At the Los Angeles wage that is $29.46 an hour (illustrative calculation: $19.64 × 1.5). Someone working for two or more recipients is capped at 66 claimed hours per week in total, and travel directly between two recipients on the same workday is capped at seven hours a week and does not count toward the 66. None of this adds hours: every hour still comes out of the recipient's monthly authorization.

Share of cost. Some recipients have a share of cost. DPSS explains that it forms part of the provider's pay and that the recipient pays it to the provider each month; both receive an "Explanation of IHSS SOC" letter twice a month showing the amount, which can change from month to month.

How to apply for IHSS in Los Angeles County

DPSS accepts the IHSS application (form SOC 295) three ways:

• By phone: call (888) 944-IHSS (4477) toll-free, or (213) 744-IHSS (4477) locally.
• By mail: send the completed SOC 295 to DPSS In-Home Supportive Services, PO Box 769, Rosemead, CA 91770.
• By secure fax: print the application and fax it to (562) 684-4264.

After the application, the county social worker carries out a home assessment interview, records what help is needed and justifies the services and hours it authorizes. Ask the doctor or other licensed professional to complete the SOC 873 early, because services cannot be authorized until the county has it. The county's decision arrives as a Notice of Action; DPSS points recipients to the back of that notice for how to request a State Hearing if they disagree. DPSS also publishes a general IHSS brochure, PA 6253, in English and several other languages.

Neither DPSS nor PASC gives a standard processing time on the pages we checked, so if a case seems stalled, call the IHSS Helpline and ask where it stands.

IHSS Los Angeles phone numbers

DPSS also runs an online IHSS Helpline Community for written questions, linked from its IHSS page.

How to become an IHSS provider in Los Angeles County

Being hired by a recipient is not enough to get paid: PASC notes that a new provider must be enrolled with the county before any payment can be made. DPSS sets out the route:

1. Call the IHSS Helpline on (888) 822-9622 to begin enrollment.
2. Complete the provider orientation, either in person or online through the state's provider orientation. At an in-person orientation you receive a fingerprint packet containing the form Live Scan sites need.
3. Visit an IHSS office with your photo ID and Social Security card (PASC says originals, so the county can photocopy them), return the enrollment forms, including the Provider Enrollment Form (SOC 426), and collect the Request for Live Scan Service form.
4. Sign the Provider Enrollment Agreement (SOC 846), which confirms you understand the program rules.
5. Get fingerprinted at an approved Los Angeles County Live Scan location, not just any fingerprinting business, and clear the Department of Justice criminal background check. PASC states that providers pay for their own fingerprints; neither DPSS nor PASC lists the fee.

Your recipient has to name you on form SOC 426A, the provider designation form; PASC says the provider clerk or social worker can supply it. SOC 846 also requires an I-9 proving you may work in the US (the recipient keeps it), and it leaves income tax withholding optional: nothing is deducted for federal or state tax unless you hand in a W-4 or DE 4.

Timesheets and pay. Timesheets are submitted through the state Electronic Services Portal (etimesheets.ihss.ca.gov), where travel time can also be claimed (or by mailing form SOC 2275). SOC 846 gives you two weeks after a pay period closes to submit; payment follows within 10 days for a complete timesheet that arrives on time. DPSS explains how to find a missing pay statement: open the portal's Financial tab, choose Recent Payments, then View Payment Detail.

Sick leave. The 2026/27 allowance is 40 hours, credited from July 1, 2026 to providers who have worked 100 hours. It becomes usable after another 200 hours of work or 60 calendar days, if sooner, and anything left on June 30 is lost. Claim it in the portal or on form SOC 2302. For how the state background check treats past convictions, read our IHSS provider guide.

PASC: the IHSS Public Authority in Los Angeles, its registry and benefits

PASC calls itself the public authority for IHSS in Los Angeles County. Its mailing address is 3452 E. Foothill Blvd., Suite 900, Pasadena, CA 91107; phones are staffed on weekdays from 8:00 to 5:00.

Joining the PASC Homecare Registry as a provider

The registry is a list PASC uses to help recipients find providers and help providers find work. To apply you must already be eligible for IHSS work, have attended the county provider orientation and cleared the Department of Justice background check. Anyone who has never worked in IHSS, or stopped for a year or more, should call the IHSS Helpline first. PASC will not accept providers with Tier 2 convictions. You then send a Registry Provider Application online, by email, mail or fax, or apply in person at the Pasadena office (weekdays 9 am to 4 pm, first come, first served). An optional two-hour Registry Information and Recruitment Meeting is also offered; for details call (877) 565-4477 and press 2, then 1.

Using the registry as a recipient

Recipients looking for a provider can ask PASC to search the registry for them on (877) 565-4477; DPSS points recipients to the same service. PASC also runs two back-up services for urgent gaps: the state BUPS (for IHSS or WPCS recipients, no minimum hours) and BUAP, which requires at least 25 hours of personal care a week. Both require sign-up with the registry.

Health plan and union

Providers may qualify for the PASC-SEIU Homecare Workers Health Care Plan, managed by L.A. Care, if they are authorized to work at least 74 hours a month for two consecutive months (and keep working that much), serve recipients whose IHSS comes through LA County DPSS, and live in or within 15 miles of the county. The premium is $1 a month, taken from the IHSS paycheck. Dental and vision are not part of the plan; PASC refers providers to the SEIU Member Action Center. The union PASC names for IHSS homecare workers in Los Angeles County is SEIU 2015.

IHSS offices across Los Angeles County

PASC lists seven IHSS offices, all open to the public on weekdays from 8:00 to 5:00 and all reached on the Helpline, (888) 822-9622. DPSS also gives every office a secure fax for documents.

The pages we checked do not say which office covers which neighborhood, so use the office named on your case paperwork or ask the Helpline. Wage, application line and registry are the same county-wide.

• City of Los Angeles: caregiver jobs in Los Angeles and caregivers in Los Angeles.
• Antelope Valley: the Lancaster office is in the valley. See Lancaster jobs, Lancaster caregivers, Palmdale jobs and Palmdale caregivers.
• South Bay and Long Beach: see Torrance jobs, Torrance caregivers, Long Beach jobs and Long Beach caregivers.
• San Gabriel and Pomona valleys, Verdugos: see Pasadena jobs, Pasadena caregivers, Glendale jobs, Glendale caregivers, Pomona jobs and Pomona caregivers.
• Santa Clarita Valley: Santa Clarita jobs and Santa Clarita caregivers.

For the whole county, start at Los Angeles County caregiver jobs or Los Angeles County caregivers.

Adding private hours alongside an IHSS case

The county authorizes a fixed number of IHSS hours, and those hours often stop short of what a household needs: nights, weekends, a second person on heavy days, or relief for a relative who is already the IHSS provider. Anything beyond the authorization is private care, paid by the family. Posting that job on CaregiverConnect costs a family nothing. Local caregivers respond to the post themselves, the family picks someone and employs them directly as a household employer, and the pay is whatever they settle on, no lower than the minimum wage where the care takes place. No commission is taken. We do not background-check anyone; a caregiver may choose to upload evidence of their own check. There are optional paid plans for extra features.

Providers can use the same route in reverse, since one IHSS case rarely adds up to a full week. A free caregiver profile lets Los Angeles County families find you for private shifts. Pricing private hours? See our in-home care cost guide for California. Looking after a parent or spouse? The guide to getting paid as a family caregiver sets out the options.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. LA County DPSS, In-Home Supportive Services (application lines, SOC 295, mailing address, fax, eligibility, Helpline, office eFax numbers, PA 6253)
2. LA County DPSS, IHSS Providers (enrollment steps, orientation, Live Scan packet, $19.64, BUPS $21.64, BUAP $22.64, 66 hours, ESP, SOC 2275)
3. LA County DPSS, IHSS Recipients (home assessment, Notice of Action, share of cost, adding a provider)
4. PASC, home page (public authority for IHSS in LA County, phone, TTY, fax, hours, registry, SEIU 2015)
5. PASC, IHSS offices (seven office addresses and hours)
6. PASC, Registry providers (eligibility, Tier 2, application, Pasadena office hours, mailing address)
7. PASC, Provider enrollment information (SOC 426, SOC 846, SOC 426A, providers pay for fingerprints)
8. PASC, Back-up programs (BUAP 25-hour minimum, BUPS, referral line)
9. PASC, Health benefits (PASC-SEIU plan, 74 hours, 15 miles, $1 premium, call center)
10. CDSS, IHSS wages by county (workbook sheet "IP Effective 10-1-2026", Los Angeles $19.64 from January 1, 2026)
11. CDSS, In-Home Supportive Services (eligibility, SOC 873, recipient as employer, State issues paychecks)
12. CDSS, SOC 846 Provider Enrollment Agreement (timesheet deadline, overtime, workweek, 66-hour cap, seven-hour travel cap, I-9, W-4/DE 4)
13. CDSS, IHSS Provider Paid Sick Leave (FY 2026/27, SOC 2302, Service Desk)
14. California DIR, minimum wage FAQ ($16.90 from January 1, 2026)
15. LA County DCBA, unincorporated LA County minimum wage $18.47 from July 1, 2026
16. City of Los Angeles Office of Wage Standards (WagesLA), minimum wage $18.42 from July 1, 2026