The IHSS Provider Agreement (SOC 846)

SOC 846 is the agreement to be an IHSS provider

CDSS lists a provider agreement among the enrollment pieces, and the form families handle is SOC 846. It is how the person who wants to be paid agrees to the program’s provider terms: claim authorized time, follow enrollment and timesheet rules, and stay inside the role of an individual provider. It is not the Notice of Action. It is not a promise of a certain number of hours. It is not a union contract that sets the local wage. Unions and the county employer of record set the rate separately.

Ask the Public Authority for the current agreement. Read it before you sign. If a line is unclear, ask them, not a group chat. Return the signed page with the rest of the enrollment steps.

How it sits next to SOC 426 and orientation

SOC 426 identifies you and attaches you to the recipient’s case. SOC 846 is the agreement. Orientation is the required briefing. Counties may staple them into one packet. Completing the identity form does not sign the agreement for you. Sitting in orientation does not sign it for you. A background check does not sign it for you.

If you live with the recipient, SOC 2298 may also be in the folder. That is live-in self-certification for EVV. It is a different signature on a different purpose.

Each person signs their own

If two adult children will share authorized hours, there are two SOC 846 pages. If a friend will cover weekends, that friend signs their own. Do not sign for a sibling who is “bad with forms.” Do not have the recipient sign the provider agreement unless the county’s current form has a recipient line that is truly theirs. Provider terms belong to the provider.

Names on SOC 846 should match SOC 426 and the identity documents used for work authorization. Mismatched signatures are a common bounce. Use the same legal name throughout the packet.

What the agreement does not change

• The recipient remains the employer of the individual provider.
• The State still issues the check after accepted timesheets.
• A spouse or parent of a minor still depends on PCSP versus CFCO, IPO, or IHSS-Residual.
• You still must be authorized to work in the United States.
• You still record time with the EVV method the county assigns.

Signing does not make an unable spouse payable under PCSP. It does not raise the notice. It does not enroll a second person. It does not replace Medi-Cal. It also does not let someone who is not authorized to work in the United States become payable. The agreement assumes the rest of enrollment is real.

If you later add a second recipient (for example, helping more than one family member who each have an IHSS case), ask the county whether a new agreement or only a new case attachment is required. Do not reuse a photocopy of last year’s SOC 846 and treat it as filed on a new case.

After you sign

Keep a copy. Ask whether the county needs the agreement at orientation or at a later desk visit. Finish any open piece on the when pay starts checklist. If the county returns the agreement, fix the line they mark. Do not send a new unsigned copy “to be safe” without asking; duplicate paper can split the file.

If you stop being the provider

The recipient can end the arrangement. Tell the county you are no longer the provider so timesheets and EVV access do not stay attached to a person who has left the home. The next helper signs their own SOC 846. Your old agreement does not transfer.

Official sources

Use CDSS providers, orientation, IHSS, and the county office list. If you want help checking that each helper has their own SOC 426 and SOC 846 before you submit, ask for help once you have the county packet.