Home Care Aide

A Home Care Aide (HCA) in Washington State is a certified caregiver who assists clients with daily activities, including personal care, mobility, and household tasks. HCAs must complete state-approved training, pass a certification exam, and meet background check requirements to provide care in homes, assisted living, or long-term care settings.

Valid in:

Washington State

Home Care Aide

How to Become a

Becoming a Home Care Aide (HCA) in Washington State involves completing state-approved training, passing a certification exam, and meeting background check requirements. Here is an overview of the process and links to learning paths that help you meet training requirements.

Training Requirements

To become certified, you must complete 75 hours of state-approved training, which includes:

Orientation and Safety Training (5 hours)
Core Basic Training (58 hours)
Population-Specific Training (12 hours)

Training must be completed within 120 days after hire before applying for certification and taking the state exam.

Here's how you can choose your learning plan

Have you completed any HCA training?

Not yet, and I'm ready to get started!	I have completed Orientation + Safety Training.	I have completed Population Specific Training.	I have completed Orientation + Safety and Population Specific Training.
HCA Learning Plans 1 and 2 are the complete package and the perfect place to start. Check them out!	Great! Core Basic Training and Population Specific Training is still required. Take a look at HCA Learning Plans 3 and 4.	HCA Learning Plan 5 includes the remaining training requirements: Orientation + Safety Training and Core Basic Training.	Wonderful! All that is left is Core Basic Training, and HCA Learning Plan 6.

Learning Plans

The most straightforward way to achieve an HCA Training Certificate is through one of our DSHS-approved, 100% online HCA Learning Plans.

We offer different learning plans to match different student needs. Choose between in-person or virtual Skills Labs, as well as training in English or Spanish.