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Home care staff requirements in Arizona

Arizona licenses home health agencies through the Department of Health Services as health care institutions. Staff who give home health or hands-on supportive services need a fingerprint clearance card (or must apply within 20 working days), and the agency must check the adult protective services registry before hire and every year. Workers need proof they are free of infectious TB before they start, and personnel records must be kept for at least 24 months after a worker leaves.

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Licenses

The Arizona Department of Health Services licenses home health agencies as health care institutions under 9 A.A.C. 10, Article 12 (9 A.A.C. 10, Article 12).
A home health agency may add supportive services, including personal care, to its licensed scope of services, and staff other than home health aides may give personal care (A.A.C. R9-10-1211(A)-(B)).

Background checks

Employees, owners, contractors and volunteers who give home health services or direct supportive services must hold a valid fingerprint clearance card or apply for one within 20 working days of starting work, unless a health licensing board already fingerprinted them (A.R.S. 36-411(A)-(B)).
The completed fingerprint clearance card application must be sent to the Department of Public Safety within 20 days after the person starts work (A.R.S. 36-411(D)).
A worker who is denied a card, or whose card is suspended or revoked, cannot keep giving those services (A.R.S. 36-411(E)).
The agency must make documented good-faith efforts to contact previous employers and to verify the current status of each person's fingerprint clearance card (A.R.S. 36-411(C)(1)-(2)).
Since January 1, 2025, the agency must check that a job candidate is not on the adult protective services registry before hiring, and must recheck every employee against that registry every year (A.R.S. 36-411(C)(3)-(5)).
If a person's work history has a gap of six months or more with no employer, a new application with new fingerprints must be submitted (A.R.S. 36-411(G)).
The agency's personnel record for each worker must document compliance with A.R.S. 36-411 (A.A.C. R9-10-1206(B)(1)(c)(v)).

Training and competency

The agency must set the skills and knowledge needed for each job and verify and document a worker's skills and knowledge before the worker provides physical health services (A.A.C. R9-10-1206(A)(1)-(2)).
Personnel records must document completed orientation and in-service education as required by the agency's own policies (A.A.C. R9-10-1206(B)(1)(c)(iii)).
A registered nurse must assign a home health aide's tasks in writing and verify the aide's competency in those tasks (A.A.C. R9-10-1210(F)(1)(a)).

Health screening

Any staff member, employee, volunteer or student who will have direct contact with patients must give evidence of freedom from infectious tuberculosis on or before the first day of work, following the general TB rule (A.A.C. R9-10-1206(A)(4); A.A.C. R9-10-113).

Also in the personnel file

Personnel records must include the worker's license or certification if required, CPR and first aid training if required by the rules or agency policy, and TB evidence (A.A.C. R9-10-1206(B)(1)(c)).
Personnel records must be kept while the person works for the agency and for at least 24 months after the last date they provided services (A.A.C. R9-10-1206(B)(2)).
A registered nurse must meet with each patient getting aide services to review the aide's work at least every two weeks if the patient also gets nursing or therapy, and at least every 60 days if the patient gets only aide services (A.A.C. R9-10-1210(F)(1)(c)).

Common questions

What background checks do home care aides need in Arizona?

Employees, owners, contractors and volunteers who give home health services or direct supportive services must hold a valid fingerprint clearance card or apply for one within 20 working days of starting work, unless a health licensing board already fingerprinted them (A.R.S. 36-411(A)-(B)).

How much training do home care aides need in Arizona?

The agency must set the skills and knowledge needed for each job and verify and document a worker's skills and knowledge before the worker provides physical health services (A.A.C. R9-10-1206(A)(1)-(2)).

Do home care workers in Arizona need a TB test?

Any staff member, employee, volunteer or student who will have direct contact with patients must give evidence of freedom from infectious tuberculosis on or before the first day of work, following the general TB rule (A.A.C. R9-10-1206(A)(4); A.A.C. R9-10-113).

Which license does a home care agency need in Arizona?

The Arizona Department of Health Services licenses home health agencies as health care institutions under 9 A.A.C. 10, Article 12 (9 A.A.C. 10, Article 12).

Some rules for Arizona weren't confirmed from an official source. Check with the state before relying on this page.

Sources

This page summarizes state licensing rules in plain words, with links to the rules themselves. It is not legal advice, rules change, and your license type decides what applies: check the linked source and your licensing agency. Medicare-certified home health agencies also follow 42 CFR 484.80. Checked October 2026.

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