Your authorized hours
Max 283:00. Find yours on your NOA. Use HH:MM (e.g. 231:30).
With 231:00 authorized hours a month, your weekly planning maximum is 57:45 (the monthly hours divided by 4), and your average daily target in a 31-day month is 7:27.
- Weekly Maximum
- 57:45
- hrs/week
- Average Daily Target
- 7:27
- hrs/day to pace correctly
- Weekly OT Hours
- 17:45
- hrs above 40/week at OT pay
What happens if you schedule your full weekly maximum every week:
- Week 1OK
- Hours Scheduled
- 57:45
- Remaining
- 173:15
- Week 2OK
- Hours Scheduled
- 57:45
- Remaining
- 115:30
- Week 3OK
- Hours Scheduled
- 57:45
- Remaining
- 57:45
- Week 4OK
- Hours Scheduled
- 57:45
- Remaining
- 0:00
- Days 29–31No Hours Left
- Hours Scheduled
- 0:00
- Remaining
- 0:00
Hours Trap Warning
If you work your full weekly maximum for the first 4 weeks, you will have 0 hours remaining for the last 3 days of the month. Submitting a timesheet for those days would trigger a violation.
Safe approach: Use the Average Daily Target of 7:27 hrs/day to pace your hours evenly across all 31 days of the month.
Where to go next
Understand your result
- Your monthly authorization of 231:00 divided by 4 gives a weekly maximum of 57:45 (CDSS SOC 846, 11/15, p. 2; SOC 2271A; DHCS WPCS Provider FAQ, Oct 2025). It is a planning figure for one recipient. Your county IHSS office confirms the limit that applies to you.
- 231:00 spread evenly over the 31 days of this month is 7:27 a day. Working that much each day uses your hours up on the last day of the month.
- A week of 57:45 is 17:45 over 40:00. Hours over 40:00 in a Sunday to Saturday workweek are paid at 1.5 times your hourly rate (WIC §12300.4(c)).
- Four full weeks of 57:45 add up to 231:00, which is all of your hours. That leaves 3 days of the month with 0:00 left, because four weeks cover only 28 days. Check any hours you plan for those days against your authorization before you submit the timesheet.
Planning tool — not official guidance. This calculator is for planning purposes only. The weekly maximum shown is a planning heuristic — your monthly authorized hours divided by 4, the method in CDSS SOC 846 (11/15), p. 2; SOC 2271A; DHCS WPCS Provider FAQ, Oct 2025 — not an official CDSS figure. Results are estimates based on your inputs. Verify all hours with your Notice of Action (NOA), your county IHSS office and official timesheets. How we source our information.
Know another IHSS provider? Share this tool.
Learn more
How this is calculated
Weekly maximum: your monthly hours divided by 4
This is how CDSS form SOC 846 (11/15, page 2), SOC 2271A and the DHCS WPCS Provider FAQ (Oct 2025) describe the weekly maximum for one recipient: monthly authorized hours divided by 4 (also CDSS All County Letter 16-01). With more than one recipient the letter gives 66 hours; this calculator does not apply that. The figure it shows is a planning figure; your county IHSS office confirms the limit that applies to you.Average daily target: your monthly hours divided by the days in the month
Simple division. It is the pace that spreads your hours evenly, so they last the whole month.Weekly overtime: the part of the weekly maximum above 40 hours
Overtime is hours over 40 in a Sunday–Saturday workweek, paid at one and one-half times your rate. The figure shown assumes you work the full weekly maximum every week.The end-of-month trap: four weeks cover only 28 days
If you work the full weekly maximum for four weeks, you have used all of your authorized hours, and any month longer than 28 days has days left with none. The table shows that case. For what counts as a timesheet violation, see the timesheet violations guide.
Sources: CDSS All County Letter 16-01 and LA County DPSS (listed below). More in the overtime guide.
Questions providers ask
Where do I find my authorized hours?
On the Notice of Action (NOA) your county sends. The most hours IHSS authorizes in a month is 283 (CDSS Manual of Policies and Procedures §30-765), which is the most this calculator accepts.
Is the weekly maximum shown an official limit?
It is a planning figure: your monthly hours divided by 4, the method CDSS SOC 846 (11/15), p. 2; SOC 2271A; DHCS WPCS Provider FAQ, Oct 2025, and ACL 16-01 describe for one recipient. Your county IHSS office confirms the limit that applies to you.
What if I work for more than one recipient?
The weekly limit is different (ACL 16-01 gives 66 hours for multiple recipients), and this calculator does not apply it. The IHSS Planner lets you choose the cap that matches your situation.
Want the full context?
The Hours & Compliance Calculator is part of our IHSS Parent & Spouse Provider guide, which covers the 40-hour overtime threshold, why 283 authorized hours creates an end-of-month trap, and how to avoid violations. Full guide: IHSS Parent & Spouse Provider Rules →
Sources
Every rule on this page comes from one of these documents.
- CDSS All County Letter 16-01 (January 7, 2016) Overtime over 40 hours per workweek; the workweek defined; the weekly maximum (monthly authorized hours divided by four, 66 hours for multiple recipients). (read October 30, 2026)
- LA County DPSS, IHSS Program Rules: Overtime, Travel Time and Wait Time Hours worked over 40 hours in a workweek are overtime. (read October 30, 2026)
- CDSS Manual of Policies and Procedures, Division 30, Section 30-765 (Cost Limitations) In the individual provider mode, the most a severely impaired recipient may receive is 283 hours of service a month, and the most a recipient who is not severely impaired may receive is 195 (30-765.111 and .121). (read October 31, 2026)
- Disability Rights California, Understanding the Maximum Amount of Hours Available & Calculating Hours Secondary source: the authorized hours are listed on the county’s Notice of Action. (read October 31, 2026)