Home health aide phone screen questions: the 75-hour rule, recent paid work, EVV visits, driving and pay
On this page
- What do you need from the agency before the call?
- How should a 15-minute home health aide phone screen run?
- Which knockout questions come first?
- How do you check the 75-hour rule and the 24-month rule on a call?
- How do you check visits and EVV in three minutes?
- How do you check scope and changes in condition quickly?
- How do you test motivation on a home health aide phone screen?
- How do you ask about pay without asking salary history?
- When should you advance a home health aide?
- What should you not ask a home health aide on a phone screen?
- Questions people ask
A home health aide phone screen is a 15-minute recruiter call that confirms the aide meets the training rules the agency works under and can do the parts of the job no supervisor sees: getting to each home on time, clocking in through electronic visit verification, and staying within scope with the client alone. Ask where and when they trained and whether it ended with a competency evaluation, when they last worked as an aide for pay (the federal 24-month rule), whether they are on the registry the agency needs, and whether they can drive the territory and work the visit pattern. Then cover motivation and pay. Rules are as of November 2026.
This page is the first-call version. The deeper bank, with care skills, boundaries and case-fit questions, is in home health aide screening questions; the full hiring loop with an observed skills station is in the interview guide for home care roles. For non-medical companion and personal care roles, the caregiver screening questions fit better.
What do you need from the agency before the call?
A Medicare-certified home health agency, a hospice and a private-duty personal care agency hire aides under different rules. Get these facts first; the home health aide job description template shows where each belongs in the posting.
| Fact | Why the screen needs it | A usable answer (example) |
|---|---|---|
| Agency type and payer | Medicare-certified agencies follow 42 CFR 484.80; private duty and Medicaid programs follow state rules. | "Medicare-certified home health; some Medicaid waiver clients." |
| Training standard accepted | Decides whether a CNA, an HHA certificate or a new competency evaluation counts. | "HHA certificate with competency, or CNA in good standing on our state registry." |
| State registry or certification | Some states run their own aide registry or certification. | "Must be on the state's home care aide registry before the first visit." |
| Territory and driving | Most visit-based aides drive their own car between homes. | "North county, about 30 miles of driving a day; mileage reimbursed." |
| Visit pattern | Short visits, long shifts and live-in cases suit different people. | "Four to five one-hour visits a day, weekdays, one weekend a month." |
| EVV method | Aides who have not used EVV need a few minutes of training. | "State EVV app on the aide's phone; telephone option if needed." |
| Care needs of current clients | Transfers, dementia care and mechanical lifts need recent hands-on experience. | "Two clients use a mechanical lift; several with dementia." |
How should a 15-minute home health aide phone screen run?
- Opening (1 minute). The agency type, territory and visit pattern in two sentences, how long the call will take, and your consent line if you record.
- Knockouts (4 minutes). Training and competency, last paid aide work, registry, driving, schedule, work authorization.
- Visits and EVV (3 minutes). How they clock in, what they do when something goes wrong.
- Scope and changes in condition (2 minutes). One scope question and one escalation question.
- Motivation, pay expectations and logistics (3 minutes). Why now, pay needed, start date.
- Their questions and the next step (2 minutes). Consent to submit and the skills check or interview.
The timings are a planning example. If a knockout fails, say so kindly and end the call or redirect to another opening.
Which knockout questions come first?
| Question | What a good answer sounds like | Weak answer or red flag |
|---|---|---|
| Where did you complete your home health aide or nurse aide training, and did it end with a skills test? | Names the program, roughly how many hours, supervised hands-on practice and a competency test. | An online-only course with no hands-on skills check, for a Medicare-certified agency. |
| When did you last work as an aide for pay, and for whom? | A recent agency, facility or private employer, with dates. | Recent care was for a family member without pay, and paid aide work ended more than 24 months ago. |
| Are you on a state nurse aide or home care aide registry? Which state, and is it current? | The state, status and expiration, or a clear "not yet". | Claims CNA status but cannot say which state's registry. |
| The role means driving between homes in [territory]. Do you have a valid license and a reliable car you can use for work? | Yes to each part, and knows how far they can travel. | Relies on rides for a route with no transit. |
| The schedule is [visit pattern, weekends, on call]. Can you work that? | A yes to each part, or one clear limit. | "Whatever you need", then a list of unavailable days at orientation. |
| Are you legally authorized to work in the US, and will you now or in the future need visa sponsorship? | A direct answer to both parts. | None from the answer. Ask the same two parts of everyone. |
The authorization wording follows the Justice Department's Immigrant and Employee Rights Section FAQ, which says an employer may generally ask whether applicants have the legal right to work in the United States and whether they will need visa sponsorship (as of November 2026).
How do you check the 75-hour rule and the 24-month rule on a call?
Medicare-certified home health agencies follow 42 CFR 484.80. As of November 2026 it says:
| Rule | What it requires | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Routes to qualify | A training and competency evaluation program; or a competency evaluation program; or a state-approved nurse aide training and competency program with good standing on the state nurse aide registry; or a state licensure program that meets the same standards. | "Which of these did you complete, and where?" |
| Training hours | At least 75 hours of classroom and supervised practical training, with at least 16 classroom hours before at least 16 hours of supervised practical training. | "Roughly how many hours was the program, and how much was hands-on?" |
| The 24-month rule | Training no longer counts after 24 consecutive months without paid aide services; the aide must complete another program first. | "Have you had a gap of two years or more without paid aide work since you trained?" |
| In-service training | At least 12 hours in each 12-month period, supervised by a registered nurse. | "Did your last agency give you in-service hours, and do you have the records?" |
A gap is not a reason to end the call; it means the agency's own competency evaluation or a new program before the first visit. Tell the agency what you heard and let its nurse decide. Hospice aides have a parallel rule at 42 CFR 418.76, and private-duty and Medicaid personal care programs follow state rules that can differ a great deal.
One state example for non-medical home care: California's Department of Social Services runs a public Home Care Aide Registry search, and its home care aide page says an applicant must complete a criminal background check process administered by the department before registration is approved (as of November 2026). Ask for the registration status, not the history; the state process handles the rest. Health care agencies also usually check the HHS Office of Inspector General's exclusion list; OIG says anyone who hires an individual on it may be subject to civil monetary penalties.
How do you check visits and EVV in three minutes?
Section 12006 of the 21st Century Cures Act made states require EVV for Medicaid personal care services by January 1, 2020 and home health services by January 1, 2023, according to Medicaid.gov's EVV page. The Social Security Act, section 1903(l)(5), defines it as electronically verifying the type of service, the person receiving it, the date, the location, the person providing it, and the start and end times.
| Question | What a good answer sounds like | Weak answer or red flag |
|---|---|---|
| How did you clock in and out at your last job, and what did you do when the app would not work? | Names the app or phone method, and called the office to record the visit another way. | "I'd just fill it in later", or asked a client to clock in for them. |
| You are running 20 minutes late for your second visit. What do you do? | Calls the office (and the client if the agency allows) before the start time. | Says nothing and arrives late. |
| You arrive and the client does not answer the door. What do you do? | Follows the agency's no-answer procedure: calls the client and the office, does not leave until told. | Leaves and goes to the next visit. |
How do you check scope and changes in condition quickly?
- "Your client asks you to give her the pills from her pill box. What do you do?" Good: follows the care plan and the state's and agency's rules on medication reminders versus administration, and asks the nurse if unsure. Weak: "I'd just give them to her."
- "Your client seems more confused than yesterday and has not eaten. What do you do?" Good: reports to the nurse or office the same visit, writes it in the visit note. Weak: waits to see if it passes.
- "Have you used a mechanical lift, and on what kind of client?" Good: recent, regular use, with a second person where the care plan requires it. Weak: only seen one in training, for a client who needs it daily.
The longer bank on scope, boundaries and safety in the home is in home health aide screening questions.
How do you test motivation on a home health aide phone screen?
| Question | What a good answer sounds like | Weak answer or red flag |
|---|---|---|
| What has you looking right now? | A specific push or pull: more hours, a closer territory, steadier clients. | Not enough hours, for an agency that cannot promise more. |
| Why home care rather than a facility? | One-on-one care, independence, a schedule. | Wants to work without supervision of any kind. |
| If your agency offered more hours to stay, would you? | "No", with a reason. | "Probably." That is counteroffer risk; tell the agency. |
| Are you working for another agency now, and will you keep those clients? | A clear answer the schedule can work around. | Plans to keep a full schedule elsewhere on the same days. |
How do you ask about pay without asking salary history?
Many states and cities bar employers and their agents from asking about current or past pay, as of November 2026; the list is in salary history ban states. State the pay and how travel is handled. The Labor Department's direct care guidance says direct care workers employed by agencies and other third-party employers have been entitled to the federal minimum wage and overtime since January 1, 2015, and its travel time page says travel between clients during the workday is compensable hours worked that the agency must pay, while ordinary home-to-work travel is not. The Department proposed returning to its 1975 rules on July 2, 2025 (90 FR 28976); as of November 2026 its direct care page still shows that as a proposal, with no final rule. State law may require more.
| Ask this | Not this |
|---|---|
| "This role pays [$X to $Y] an hour, with drive time between visits paid and [mileage rate]. Does that work?" | "What does your current agency pay you?" |
| "How many hours a week do you need, and what hourly rate makes this move work?" | "What were you making at your last job?" |
| "Besides pay, what matters most: hours, territory, the kind of clients?" | "Can you send a pay stub so we can match it?" |
If the candidate volunteers a number, keep it out of your notes and the submittal and record the expectation instead. This is general information, not legal advice; check the law where the job is located.
When should you advance a home health aide?
Knockouts (all must be yes)
- Training and competency that meet the agency's standard, or the aide accepts the agency's competency evaluation.
- Paid aide work within the last 24 months, or the agency will retrain or re-evaluate.
- On the state registry the agency needs, or the application is under way.
- Can drive the territory with a valid license and a car, where the role needs it.
- Can work the visit pattern as stated.
- Work authorization answered, and sponsorship needs known.
| Area | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Training fit | No hands-on training or skills test | Training fits, records unclear | The agency's standard, with records |
| Recent paid work | Over 24 months ago | Within 24 months, sporadic | Regular paid aide work this year |
| Visit reliability | No plan for late or missed visits | A general answer | Calls ahead, follows the no-answer procedure, knows EVV |
| Scope and escalation | Would act outside the care plan | Right answer when prompted | Reports changes and stays in scope unprompted |
| Schedule and territory | Does not fit | Fits with one limit | Fits as stated |
An example rule to agree with the agency: advance when every knockout passes, training fit and recent paid work score at least 2, and two other areas score 3. Hold when one fact, such as registry status, needs confirming. Decline when a knockout fails, and tell the candidate if the agency offers training or a competency evaluation they could complete first.
What should you not ask a home health aide on a phone screen?
The EEOC says pre-employment inquiries should be limited to what is needed to judge whether someone is qualified, and its guidance on pre-employment questions allows asking whether a candidate can perform the job's functions, with or without reasonable accommodation, but not disability-related questions before an offer. Health screening the agency requires comes after the offer; see pre-employment medical exams under the ADA. Criminal history follows the state's background check rules and any fair chance law on timing; see ban-the-box interview questions and the FCRA background check process when a screening company runs the check.
| Do not ask | Ask instead |
|---|---|
| "Any back problems? Some clients need lifting." | "Two clients need help with transfers and a mechanical lift. Can you do that, with or without accommodation?" |
| "Have you had a TB test, and are you healthy?" | "The agency's health screening happens after an offer, before your first visit." |
| "Have you ever been arrested?" | "The agency runs the background check the state requires after [the stage the law allows]. Is there anything about that process you want to ask?" |
| "Do you have small children? Visits start at 7 a.m." | "The first visit starts at 7 a.m. Can you be there on time?" |
| "Where are you from originally?" | "Are you legally authorized to work in the US?" |
If you take aide screens through your computer, Interview Signal keeps the training, 24-month and driving questions pinned until you ask them and writes the candidate's own answers into the notes, with no bot in the call.
Questions people ask
What should I ask a home health aide on a phone screen?
Ask where and when they completed aide or nurse aide training and whether it ended with a competency evaluation, when they last worked as an aide for pay, whether they are on the state registry the agency needs, and whether they can drive to the territory and work the visit schedule. Then ask how they clock in with electronic visit verification, what they do when a client's condition changes, why they want to move and the pay they need.
What training does a home health aide need for a Medicare-certified agency?
Under 42 CFR 484.80, as of November 2026, the aide must complete a training and competency evaluation program of at least 75 hours, with at least 16 classroom hours before at least 16 hours of supervised practical training, or a competency evaluation program, or a state-approved nurse aide program with good standing on the state nurse aide registry. Training stops counting after 24 consecutive months without paid aide work, and aides need 12 hours of in-service training each year.
Are home health aides paid for travel time between clients?
For aides employed by an agency, yes. The Labor Department's direct care guidance says ordinary travel from home to the first client and back home at the end of the day is not work time, but travel between clients during the workday is compensable hours worked, and the agency must pay it. As of November 2026 agency-employed direct care workers are owed the federal minimum wage and overtime; the Department proposed returning to its 1975 rules in July 2025 but had not issued a final rule.
What is electronic visit verification for home health aides?
Electronic visit verification, or EVV, is the system states must require for Medicaid personal care and home health visits under section 12006 of the 21st Century Cures Act. The Social Security Act defines it as electronically verifying the type of service, the person receiving it, the date, the location, the person providing it, and the start and end times. In practice the aide clocks in and out at the client's home, usually with an app or a phone call.