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SOC 873 Explained: The IHSS Health Care Certification
Updated September 16, 2026. Reviewed September 16, 2026 against public CDSS, DHCS, Medicare.gov, VA, and CareScout 2025 California tables. County wages, hours, and wait times still change. Official .gov pages decide.
A form-by-form explanation of SOC 873: who completes it, what the county uses it for, and why it is the medical piece they ask for.
About 5 minutes to read. Based on CDSS and DHCS public program pages retrieved 2026-09-16. County offices apply these rules. Hourly rates, hour totals, and wait times are local and change.
Short answer
SOC 873 is the IHSS Health Care Certification. A licensed health professional completes it, or the county accepts alternative documentation that meets the same rule. The form is the medical piece counties ask for before they authorize services. Extra hospital records are not a substitute unless the county asked for a specific page.
Who decides
A licensed health professional completes SOC 873 or alternative documentation. The county IHSS office decides whether the page is complete enough to authorize services after the in-home assessment.
What to do next
Ask the county for a blank SOC 873 if you do not have one, take it to a licensed health professional who knows the person who needs care, and return the signed page with the rest of the packet.
What SOC 873 is
SOC 873 is the Health Care Certification used in California In-Home Supportive Services. CDSS treats a completed SOC 873, or acceptable alternative documentation signed by a licensed health care professional, as a core eligibility piece. The page must reach the county before services are authorized. It is the medical piece they ask for, unless they request a specific extra page.
The form is not the application. SOC 295 opens the case. SOC 873 tells the county that a clinician has looked at the person’s condition in the way the program requires. It is also not a provider form. SOC 426, SOC 846, and SOC 2298 belong to enrollment and Electronic Visit Verification, not to this medical step.
Who completes the page
A licensed health professional completes SOC 873. That is usually someone who already knows the applicant: a primary clinician, a specialist who follows a long-term condition, or another licensed professional the county will accept. The adult child helping a parent can carry the blank form, sit in the visit if the parent wants that, and return the signed page. The clinician still signs it.
If the office will not complete SOC 873, ask what they will sign instead. CDSS allows acceptable alternative documentation. Do not guess whether a discharge summary, a therapy note, or a portal printout counts. Ask the county IHSS office before you treat a stack of records as a replacement. The how to get SOC 873 signed guide is the practical walk-through.
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Questions people ask
- Who is allowed to complete SOC 873?
- A licensed health professional. The county uses that signature as the medical piece of the file. If a clinician offers a letter instead, ask the county whether that counts as acceptable alternative documentation.
- Can I send the hospital chart instead of SOC 873?
- Not as a routine substitute. Extra hospital dumps can slow the file. Keep those records for the county packet and return SOC 873, or the alternative documentation the county accepts, unless they named a specific extra page.
- Does SOC 873 replace the in-home assessment?
- No. The certification documents need from a clinical point of view. A county social worker still interviews the person at home and authorizes tasks and hours.
- Is SOC 873 different for a child?
- The same form idea applies. CDSS says children also need SOC 873 or acceptable alternative documentation. Parent-provider rules are a separate question.
Official sources for this guide
Related pages on California Home Help
Reviewed against CDSS, DHCS, Medicare.gov, and CareScout public pages. We do not quote IHSS wages. County IHSS offices and Medi-Cal decide eligibility, hours, and pay. For current county wage rates, use the official CDSS wage page. CDSS county IHSS wage rates.
Official program pages: CDSS: In-Home Supportive Services, CDSS: IHSS for children, County IHSS offices, CDSS: IHSS providers, CDSS: county IHSS wage rates, CDSS: provider orientation, CDSS: Electronic Visit Verification, CDSS: Electronic Services Portal, DHCS: Medi-Cal, Apply for Medi-Cal, BenefitsCal, CDSS: hearing requests, CDSS: forms catalog, CDSS: IHSS overtime and workweek, DDS: regional centers.