Sample IHSS timesheets

Paper timesheets are mostly gone

Today providers submit timesheets online in the Electronic Services Portal (ESP) or by phone through the Telephone Timesheet System (TTS). Santa Cruz County says that as of January 1, 2021, timesheets are only available electronically or by phone (Santa Cruz County), and San Mateo County says paper timesheets ended after September 1, 2021 (San Mateo County). To sign up for TTS, call 833-342-5388 (Santa Cruz County).

Sample: provider who doesn’t live with the recipient

If you don’t live with your recipient, each day you work needs hours, minutes, a start time and location, and an end time and location (LA County DPSS, PA 6242).

Our illustration with example numbers, laid out like the ESP workweek view. It is not the official screen. Mon 9: 9:00 AM to 1:30 PM at the location, but 4 hours worked. You claim the hours you worked, not all the time between check-in and check-out.

Sample: provider who lives with the recipient

Providers who live with their recipient only enter hours worked (LA County DPSS, PA 6242).

Our illustration with example numbers. It is not the official screen.

Rules the timesheet checks

• There are two pay periods a month: the 1st through the 15th, and the 16th through the end of the month (Napa County).
• Each pay period is split into workweeks. Open each workweek, enter the days you worked, and save it (LA County DPSS).
• You need a separate timesheet for each recipient (LA County DPSS).
• Leave days you didn’t work blank. On a day you did work, every field needs an entry (ESP time entry guide).
• Hours can’t be more than 24, minutes can’t be more than 59, and hours worked can’t be more than your time at the location (ESP time entry guide).
• Location is Home (services in the recipient’s home) or Community (services outside the home). Start location is where your first service of the day happened, and end location is where your last one happened (ESP time entry guide).
• Check-in and check-out from ESP or the IHSS EVV Mobile App fill in the timesheet, and you can correct them before you submit. You’re paid for hours worked, not the time between check-in and check-out (ESP time entry guide).
• Only claim time you worked on the services your county authorized. Hours above the recipient’s authorized hours aren’t paid (CDSS, CDSS).

How to submit in ESP

1. Log in at etimesheets.ihss.ca.gov and choose Timesheet Entry.
2. Pick the recipient, then the pay period.
3. Open each workweek, enter each day you worked, and save.
4. Choose Submit Timesheet, check the box declaring the timesheet is true and correct, and electronically sign it.
5. Your recipient then reviews and approves it (LA County DPSS, PA 6242).

A timesheet sent before the pay period ends isn’t processed until it ends (Santa Cruz County). Want a nudge? Get a free reminder email on the 15th and the last day of the month.

Official samples and guides

• ESP Non-Live-In Provider Time EntryStep-by-step guide with ESP screenshots, revised June 2023 (PDF, posted by LA County DPSS)
• How to Enter Time and Submit E-Timesheets (PA 6242)LA County DPSS, revised July 2023 (PDF)
• IHSS paper timesheet sample (SOC 2261)CDSS. The older paper form, useful to see the layout (PDF)
• Completing Your TimesheetCDSS IHSS Training Academy, written for the paper timesheet (PDF)

Questions about ESP or TTS: the IHSS Service Desk at (866) 376-7066, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (San Mateo County). If your county tells you something different from this page, follow your county.