If you’ve logged into the Electronic Services Portal (ESP) looking for a “Remove Provider” button next to “Hire Provider,” you’re not missing a menu — it isn’t there. That trips people up, because hiring a provider yourself online feels like it should have a mirror-image “undo.”
Ending services with a provider isn’t a portal action — it’s a county one. Here’s what actually takes a provider off your case, and what changes in your ESP account once it happens.
At a glance: removing an IHSS provider
- ESP lets you hire a provider yourself — there's no matching self-service button to remove one.
- To end a provider, contact your county IHSS office or social worker directly.
- The provider stays active, and can keep getting paid, until the county processes the change.
The short version
- ESP gives recipients a self-service “Hire Provider” tool to add a provider to their case.
- There’s no matching self-service tool to end one. To remove a provider, you contact your county IHSS office or your social worker directly — by phone or in writing.
- The provider stays active on your case, and can keep submitting paid timesheets, until the county processes the change in the state’s system (CMIPS II). Only after that does the provider drop off your ESP account.
Published ESP guides describe a self-service “Hire Provider” tool, but none document a matching self-service tool to end a provider's assignment. Confirm with your county IHSS office or the ESP help desk before assuming a remove-provider button exists in your account.
Step by step
- Contact your county IHSS office or your social worker. Call, write, or use your county’s request line — check your county’s IHSS or Public Authority contact page. Tell them you want to end services with a named provider, and give the provider’s name, provider number if you have it, and the last date they’ll work for you.
- Ask what your county needs from you. Some counties process a phone request on the spot; others want something in writing, and a few offer their own optional written request form. There’s no single statewide CDSS form for ending a provider, unlike hiring one (that’s the SOC 426A).
- Get confirmation. Ask for the effective date of the change and the name of who you spoke with, or a copy of anything you submit. A plain provider change usually doesn’t trigger a formal Notice of Action on its own — that notice is for changes to your IHSS eligibility or hours, not a provider swap — so your own written record is what you’ll have to point to later.
- Hire a replacement separately, if you need one. Ending a provider doesn’t hire a new one. Once you have their 9-digit provider number, use Hire Provider in ESP, or mail a paper SOC 426A to your county.
- Check your ESP account after it’s processed. Once the county updates your case, the old provider should no longer appear on your ESP account’s provider list and won’t be able to submit new timesheets for you.
Contact your county IHSS office or social worker
Phone, in writing, or your county's request line. Give the provider's name, provider number if you have it, and their last work date.
Ask what your county needs from you
Some take a phone request; others want it in writing. There's no single statewide form for ending a provider.
Get confirmation
Ask for the effective date and who you spoke with — a plain provider change usually won't come with a formal Notice of Action.
Hire a replacement separately, if needed
Ending one provider doesn't hire another. Use Hire Provider in ESP or mail a SOC 426A.
Check ESP once it's processed
The old provider should drop off your provider list and lose the ability to submit new timesheets.
Just want to change how hours are split between providers you already have — not end anyone's assignment? That's SOC 838, Recipient Request for Assignment of Authorized Hours to Providers, not a provider termination.
If you're removing a provider because something went wrong
If the provider isn’t safe, isn’t showing up, or the working relationship has broken down, don’t wait on paperwork before you say so. Call your county IHSS office or Public Authority right away and say plainly that you need to end this provider. Under IHSS’s independent-provider model, you — or your authorized representative — are legally the employer, so that decision is yours to make. The county’s role is processing the change and, if you’d like, helping you find someone new through the Public Authority’s provider registry.
Getting a new provider afterward
Once the previous provider is off your case, you have two ways to hire someone new:
- ESP self-service: open the Hire Provider menu, enter the provider’s 9-digit provider number, review their information, and complete the electronic SOC 426A agreement.
- Paper option: complete a SOC 426A and mail it to your county IHSS office.
If you need help finding someone, use our custom free platform IHSS Connect at www.ihssconnect.com.
Who to call
- IHSS Service Desk (ESP account and technical help): 1-866-376-7066, Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.
- Your county IHSS office or Public Authority — find your county’s contact information on the CDSS county office list linked in Sources below.
Need to talk to someone?
IHSS Service Desk (ESP account help): 1-866-376-7066, Mon–Fri, 8am–5pm
About this article
IHSS Connect publishes this article for general information and education. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney–client relationship. IHSS Connect is not a law firm and is not affiliated with the California Department of Social Services or any county agency.
Program procedures change, and practice can vary by county. Only your county IHSS office or your social worker can tell you exactly what they require to end services with a provider, or confirm a change has been processed on your case.
If a decision on your case looks wrong, or you want advice about your own situation, talk to someone who can look at your file: free and low-cost legal help is available at LawHelpCA.org, and the CDSS Public Inquiry and Response line can be reached at 1-800-952-5253.
Verified September 2026.
Sources
- CDSS — Electronic Services Portal overviewESP self-service functions and Service Desk contact
- IHSS Provider Assignment in ESP — Recipient User GuideHire Provider steps; no removal tool documented
- San Bernardino County IHSS Public Authority FAQConfirms social-worker contact required to terminate a provider
- CDSS — SOC 426A (Designation of Provider)Statewide paper form for hiring a provider
- CDSS ACL 12-55Introduces SOC 838 (hours assignment among providers)
- CDSS — County IHSS OfficesCounty contact directory
