As an IHSS recipient in California, you approve your provider’s timesheet either online at the Electronic Services Portal (etimesheets.ihss.ca.gov) or by phone through the Telephone Timesheet System. IHSS recipient timesheet approval is the step that releases your provider’s paycheck, so the state will not pay until you sign off on each pay period’s hours.
Set Up Your Account First
You cannot approve anything until you are enrolled in one of the two systems. Both feed the same statewide payroll.
Electronic Services Portal (Online)
Go to etimesheets.ihss.ca.gov and choose the registration option for recipients. You will need your seven-digit IHSS case number, which appears on your Notice of Action. The portal walks you through personal verification and sets up a secure profile. Once you are registered, any timesheet your provider submits shows up in your account automatically.
Telephone Timesheet System (Phone)
If you prefer the phone, contact your county IHSS office or your social worker to enroll in the TTS. During enrollment you create a four-digit Recipient Authentication Number (RAN). Keep it private. You will enter your seven-digit case number and that RAN every time you call in to approve hours.1California Department of Social Services. Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) Help – IHSS Once you are enrolled in TTS, paper timesheets stop coming and there is nothing to physically sign.
Approving a Timesheet in the Online Portal
Log in to the ESP. Your dashboard lists any timesheets your provider has submitted and are waiting for your review. Open the pending timesheet to see a daily breakdown of the hours and minutes claimed for that pay period.
Go day by day. Compare each entry to what actually happened, and check that the total does not exceed the hours your social worker authorized in your assessment. If everything is correct, follow the prompts to approve and electronically sign. The system forwards the approved timesheet for state payment processing, and you can check payment status in the portal afterward.2California Department of Social Services. In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) Program
Approving a Timesheet by Phone
Call the TTS toll-free number. Enter your seven-digit case number followed by the pound key, then your four-digit passcode followed by the pound key. The automated system reads back each day of the pay period along with the hours and minutes your provider claimed.
Listen to every entry before you respond. If the hours are correct, press 1 when prompted to approve and sign. That records your approval in the statewide payroll system right away.3County of Santa Clara Social Services Agency. IHSS Telephone Timesheet System Approving and Rejecting Timesheets
Rejecting a Timesheet With Errors
Do not approve a timesheet you know is wrong. Approving inaccurate hours creates bigger problems than a short delay, and correcting a paid timesheet is much harder than sending an unpaid one back.
On the TTS, press 2 when prompted instead of 1, and the timesheet goes back to your provider for correction. In the ESP, select the reject option. Either way, your provider makes the changes and resubmits, and you review the corrected version. Payment only moves forward once you approve an accurate timesheet.3County of Santa Clara Social Services Agency. IHSS Telephone Timesheet System Approving and Rejecting Timesheets
When Timesheets Are Due and How Soon Your Provider Gets Paid
IHSS runs two pay periods each month: the 1st through the 15th, and the 16th through the last day of the month. Timesheets cannot be submitted before the last day of the pay period, and they are due as soon as possible after it closes.4California Department of Social Services. IHSS Provider Resources
Take “as soon as possible” seriously. The state cannot release funds without your approval, so every day you wait pushes your provider’s paycheck back. After you finalize approval, processing can take up to ten business days before payment lands by direct deposit or paper check. Approving on the first or second day after the pay period closes gives your provider the most predictable pay schedule.5California Department of Social Services. Completing Your Timesheet
What to Check Before You Approve
Three things are worth a look on every timesheet:
- Daily hours match what actually happened. Keeping your own simple log (a notebook or calendar with start and end times) gives you something concrete to compare against instead of relying on memory.
- The pay-period total stays within the hours your social worker authorized.
- Weekly totals are reasonable given the overtime rules. Providers earn overtime for any hours over 40 in a workweek, and the combined cap across all IHSS recipients is 66 hours per workweek. Hours a provider works for another recipient count toward that same cap.6California Department of Social Services. IHSS Program Live-in Family Care Provider Overtime Exemption
One exception raises the cap. A provider who lives with two or more recipients, is related to them as a parent, stepparent, adoptive parent, grandparent, or legal guardian, and meets the eligibility criteria can qualify for the Live-In Family Care Provider Exemption. That raises the cap to 90 hours per workweek and 360 hours per month. The provider has to apply for it through the county; it does not happen on its own.6California Department of Social Services. IHSS Program Live-in Family Care Provider Overtime Exemption
One thing you do not approve through this process: your provider’s paid sick leave. Sick leave runs on a separate track (an SOC 2302 form or a request submitted directly through the ESP by the provider) and pays out in its own check.7California Department of Social Services. Paid Sick Leave Program Information
When Someone Else Approves for You
If a health condition, disability, or any other reason keeps you from reviewing and signing timesheets yourself, you can name someone to do it on your behalf. Complete Part C of the SOC 839 form to designate an authorized representative with the legal authority to sign your IHSS timesheets.
There is a boundary here worth knowing. If the person you want as your authorized representative is also your IHSS provider, and is not already your legal representative, you have to pick a different person to sign timesheets. The same individual cannot both submit hours and approve them. You can also name separate authorized representatives for timesheets and for other IHSS documents if that suits your situation better.
Approving Accurately Matters Legally
Signing a timesheet is not a formality. Timesheets are signed under penalty of perjury, and approving hours that were not actually worked is fraud against a state-funded program.2California Department of Social Services. In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) Program
At a minimum, overpayments must be repaid, and the state can recover the amount from future provider payments. Serious cases can lead to criminal prosecution. If you are not sure about a particular day, reject the timesheet and sort it out with your provider before you sign off. A brief delay is always better than approving hours that did not happen.