Your role in caregiving

Home care aides help people with the day-to-day activities.

  • Personal Care – Assists with bathing, dressing, grooming, hygiene, and toileting
  • Daily Support – Helps with meals, housekeeping, and mobility
  • Health Monitoring – Reminds about medications and watches for health changes
  • Companionship – Offers conversation, encouragement, and emotional support
Caregiving smiling while helping a client after hair washing.

Where you'll work

Home care aides support individuals in a variety of settings.

Smiling caregiver standing with a senior women.
  • Private homes where you support individuals living independently.
  • Assisted living facilities where you help residents in a larger community setting.
  • Adult family homes supporting 2-8 residents in a small home setting.

Explore Care Settings

How much does a home care aide make?

Caregivers in Washington State earn an average of $18 to $25 per hour. Pay depends on the job, the employer, and where you work. On average, caregivers here earn about 30% more than the national rate.

This role might be right for you if...

You’re patient, dependable, and enjoy helping others with everyday tasks. You don’t mind working one-on-one and want to make a real difference in someone’s daily life.

Compare the different caregiving roles

How to become a Home Care Aide

 

Search for Caregiving Jobs


You can choose to look for a job before you complete training or after you’re certified. Many employers, but not all, provide the required training after you’re hired.

You can find a home care aide job in your area by:


  • Searching online job websites using terms such as “home care aide” or “caregiver.”

  • Contact the employer directly you want to work for.
  • Contacting a Navigator to get personalized help to find job openings in your area.

 

Pro tip from our Navigators

You must complete 75 hours of approved training within 120 days of your date of hire.

 

Build your skills


As a Home Care Aide, you must complete 5 hours of Orientation and Safety training before you can work with clients. After that, you can begin working while you finish the remaining 70 hours of your 75‑hour DSHS‑approved training.

To get home care aide training, you can either:


  • Find an approved training program.
  • Apply for a job with an employer who will provide you with the required training after you’re hired.

 

Pro tip from our Navigators

Some employers will help you complete your training and get certified while you work for them. To find options in your area, contact your Navigator.

 

Become a certified caregiver


Home care aides are certified by the Department of Health. You can learn more on the DOH Home Care Aide webpage or watch introductory video.
 

  • Apply for your Home Care Aide certification within 14 days of being hired.

  • If you already have a caregiving job, ask your employer if they can help pay the fee. If not, include payment with your application.

  • If you finished training but are not working yet, mark that you are not currently employed as a home care aide.

  • After you submit your application, DOH will email you instructions on how to schedule your exams. More details are on the DOH’s Exam Information webpage.

  • You must become certified within 365 days of your hire date.

 

Pro tip from our Navigators

After your certification application and fee are processed, you will receive an email from the testing company Prometric with instructions for how to register for your certification exams. Check your junk or spam folder!

 

Stay certified to keep making a difference


After you become a Home Care Aide, you must renew your certification every year. Your renewal deadline is usually your birthday.

For renewal details, visit the Department of Health’s License Renewals webpage.

To keep your certification active, you must complete 12 hours of continuing education each year.
 

How to find approved continuing education classes:

  • If you are working as a caregiver, you may be able to take classes through your employer.

  • If you work for an adult family home, assisted living, an enhanced service facility, or a home care agency not part of SEIU, you can take free classes through CareLearn. ​​

  • If you are a SEIU member — including CDWA individual providers and some home care agency staff — take your classes through SEIU 775 Benefits Group.

  • If you are not currently employed, you may be able to take free online classes through CareLearn or learn from approved community instructors.

 

Pro tip from our Navigators

Keep your contact information up to date with DOH to get important notices. To update your contact information, visit the Change your Contact, Address, Name or Personal Status Information webpage.

Need help determining next steps?

Contact a Navigator to find the right entry point for you.

Contact Your Navigator

Common questions

Can I work while I’m waiting for my home care aide certification to be approved?

Yes. You can begin working after you complete 2 hours of Orientation and 3 hours of Safety training approved by the Department of Social and Health Services.

To keep working, you must also:

  • Finish all 75 hours of approved training within 120 days of your hire date
  • Become certified within 365 days of your hire date

If you do not meet these deadlines, you must stop working until the requirements are completed.

Do I need a background check to become a home care aide?

Yes. All long-term care workers must complete a background check.

  • If you work for an agency or facility, your employer will help you with the background check.
  • If you’re an individual provider with Consumer Direct WA, they will give you instructions during the hiring process.
  • If you’re not currently working and you apply for home care aide certification, the Department of Health will run a background check. They will let you know if you need to take any additional steps.

You can learn more on the DSHS Background Check Central Unit website.

For certification details, visit the Department of Health Home Care Aide webpage.

To understand what could disqualify someone from working as a caregiver, review the information on disqualifying crimes and negative actions.

What is an OCA number and do I need one?

When you apply for your Home Care Aide certification, you must include an OCA number. An OCA number (also called an Inquiry ID Number) is a unique number created during a background check. It is required as part of your application.

How you get your OCA number

  • If you are an individual provider, you will get your OCA number from CDWA.
  • If you work for an agency or facility, your employer run a background check and give you the OCA number.
  • If you are not working yet, you may not be able to get a background check through DSHS. The Department of Health may ask you to complete a different background check instead.

The DSHS Background Check Central Unit cannot give out OCA numbers to applicants. 

For more information, visit the Background Check Central Unit webpage.

How do I maintain my Home Care Aide certification in Washington state?

To keep your home care aide certification active in Washington, you must:

If you do not meet these requirements, your certification can expire. If that happens, you cannot legally work as a Home Care Aide until it is renewed.