California HHA Requirements

In order to receive your home health aide certificate in California you need to follow their specific home health aide education requirements.

HHA training in California must consist of at least one-hundred-twenty (120) hours of training.

• at least twenty (20) hours of clinical training
• Personal Care Services: seventy (70) hours
• Introduction to Aide and Agency Role: four (4) hours
• Interpretation of Medical and Social Needs of People Being Served:  twenty (20) hours
• Nutrition: sixteen (16) hours
• Cleaning and Care Tasks in the Home: ten (10) hours

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Best kept secret? Free HHA training is available in California! The demand is great for home health aides and agencies are offering free training classes; below is an example – be working and making money as a HHA in just weeks!

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How To Be a HHA in California

The steps to be a HHA in California are not difficult, but you do need to remain focused on the end goal: getting your certificate and beginning work as soon as possible.

The requirements are fairly typical of many other states though it’s worth going in some of the details and the actual steps to be a home health aide in California.

Become a Certified Home Health Aide (HHA) in California by following these steps.

California HHA Training Requirements

HHA’s must successfully complete a training program in 2024: minimum of 120 hours (or an competency evaluation program approved by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH)).

Home Health Aide Training Programs In California

Training programs can be provided through community colleges, home health aide agencies, or numerous state programs, many of which are free.

Looking for home health aide (HHA) programs in California?

Here’s a listing of all HHA Training Programs.

And here’s what the site looks like.

California Criminal Record Clearance

California HHA candidates will need a criminal record clearance which can be completed by completing an application, submitting the form to their home health agency who will take care of it for them.

[The applicant will be fingerprinted for the criminal record clearance; if convictions exists and this prevents certification then the applicant will be notified.

No HHA certification will be granted until the candidate receives a criminal record clearance.

Contents of the California HHA Training

HHAs are required to take a state-approved program to get certified and licensed in the state of California.

California 120 Hour Home Health Aide Training Program

The basic training program for certification shall be a minimum of 120 hours and consist of at least the following:

1. Introduction (4 hours)
2. Interpretation of medical and social needs of people being served (20 hours)
3. Personal care services (70 hours). Personal care services include those supportive services which are required to help provide and maintain normal bodily and emotional comfort and to assist the patient toward independent living in a safe environment.
4. Cleaning and care tasks in the home (10 hours) which includes at least:
   1. Home safety measures
   2. Economical cleaning materials and method of use
   3. Maintenance of cleanliness where dishes and food are stored
   4. Principles of general cleanliness of environment
   5. Handling of laundry
5. Nutrition (16 hours) which includes at least:
   1. Basic principles of diet
   2. Meal planning and serving
   3. Food purchasing
   4. Food preparation, sanitation and storage

• There needs to be a minimum of 20 hours of clinical experience of which 15 hours are in personal services, 2 hours are in cleaning and care tasks and 3 hours are in nutrition.

California 40 Hour Home Health Aide Training Program

If the candidate is a certified nurse assistant (CNA) then training consists of a minimum forty (40) hours HHA training. The training needs to be twenty (20) hours of classroom and twenty (20) hours of supervised clinical training in home health topics. Here’s a breakdown of the 40 hours:

1. Introduction (2 hours)
2. Interpretation of medical and social needs of people being served (5 hours)
3. Personal care services (20 hours)
4. Cleaning and care tasks (5 hours)
5. Nutrition (8 hours)

HHA Certification

The 3rd and final step is obtaining the formal certification and registering with CDPH.

Home health aides need to be certified by the CDPH.

When the student successfully completes the HHA competency exam they will receive their state certification within a few weeks from the California Department of Public Health.

HHA License Renewal

The home health aide certificate in CA expires two years after it was initially approved, on the holder’s birthday. In order to maintain a valid and current certification as an HHA in California you must renew your eligibility every other year by submitting new criminal records.

In California home health aides must obtain twenty-four (24) hours of In-Service Training/Continuing Education Units (CEU’s) within their certification period.

Twelve (12) of the twenty-four (24) hours are required in each year of the two (2) year certification period; online CEU’s cannot be used meet this requirement.

One last thing…CEU’s must be taken with providers that are approved with the California Department of Public Health.

California HHA Resources

• Here’s our search tool to find California HHA agencies and FREE training classes near you!

• Get started as a California home health aide in 4 weeks.
• Learn how to pass the California HHA exam.
• NEW: California food stamp recipients (also called SNAP) can get free HHA training!
• Home care aides in California must be registered as a home care aide, which means they need to have a criminal background check. Registration is through the Department of Social Services

Here’s the Code of Regulations (Title 22; Division 5) that California follows.