Pennsylvania · personal care aide (PCA)
Pennsylvania sets the topics direct care workers must learn but no minimum training hours. You can qualify through an approved program, an agency competency exam, or a nurse license, and your agency must review your skills every year. Family members can be paid through participant-directed care, but spouses cannot.
At a glance
What the state asks of PCAs who work for licensed agencies or Medicaid programs.
| Job titles | Direct care worker (DCW), personal care worker, home care worker |
| Training | No minimum hours. Complete an approved program or pass the agency’s competency exam. Topics include infection control, emergencies, abuse reporting, and personal care skills. |
| Exam | An agency or registry competency exam is one way to qualify |
| Certification | No state certificate found in state sources; your agency confirms your competency |
| Background check | Pennsylvania State Police criminal history check, FBI fingerprints through PA SafeCheck where required, child abuse clearances if needed, and TB screening |
| Yearly training | No set hours, but your agency must review your competency at least once a year |
| Minimum age | Not confirmed in state sources; ask the agency |
| Agency licensing | Pennsylvania Department of Health (home care agencies and home care registries) |
Training
Before your first assignment, you must qualify one of three ways: hold a nurse license, pass your agency’s competency exam, or finish an approved program. Approved programs include agency training that meets state topic standards, a federal home health aide program, a nurse aide program, Medicaid waiver training, or a Department of Health approved program.
Required topics include confidentiality, infection control, emergencies, documentation, and abuse reporting. Personal care workers also learn bathing, grooming, transfers, feeding, toileting, and helping with self-administered medications.
The steps
The usual path for a new aide.
Family caregivers
Yes, in many cases. Through participant-directed personal assistance services run by the Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL), participants hire their own workers with help from a financial management services vendor, and family members may be hired.
A direct care worker cannot be the participant’s spouse, legal guardian, representative payee, or power of attorney.
Read our full guide: how to get paid to care for a family member.
Compare
All three help people with daily care. Training, tasks, and pay differ.
| Personal care aide | Home health aide | CNA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Training | No set hours; topics plus a skills check | 75 hours federal minimum, including 16 hands-on | State-approved program, 75 hours or more |
| Medical tasks | Mostly not. Help with daily living, like bathing, dressing, meals, and housework | Some, like vital signs, under nurse supervision | Yes, under nurse supervision |
| Where you work | Clients' homes, group homes, assisted living | Clients' homes, through home health agencies | Nursing homes and hospitals |
| Median pay (PA) | $14.14 an hour* | $14.14 an hour* | $21.44 an hour |
*Federal pay data groups personal care aides with home health aides. Many PCAs later become CNAs, which opens more jobs and higher pay.
FAQ
Short answers to what people ask most.
No personal license was found. Before your first assignment, you must finish approved training or pass your agency's competency exam, and complete background clearances.
Pennsylvania sets no minimum hours. It sets required topics and lets agencies confirm competency through training or an exam.
Yes, if she uses participant-directed personal assistance services through the Office of Long-Term Living. Family members may be hired, but not a spouse, legal guardian, representative payee, or power of attorney.
A Pennsylvania State Police criminal history check, FBI fingerprints through PA SafeCheck where required, child abuse clearances if they apply, and TB screening.
Home health and personal care aides in Pennsylvania earn a median of $14.14 an hour, based on the May 2025 federal wage survey.