Tennessee · personal care aide (PCA)
Tennessee has no statewide minimum training hours for personal support workers, the state’s main term for personal care aides. Instead, licensed agencies and TennCare programs train you for each person you serve. Here is how it works and how family caregivers can get paid.
At a glance
What the state asks of PCAs who work for licensed agencies or Medicaid programs.
| Job titles | Personal support worker, direct care worker, direct support professional (DSP), consumer-directed worker |
| Training | No statewide hour minimum. Agencies train you on each client’s needs before you start. ECF CHOICES workers finish pre-service training within 30 days and core training within 60 days of hire. |
| Exam | No state exam was found in state sources. |
| Certification | No state certificate or registry for personal support workers was found in state sources. |
| Background check | Criminal background check within 10 days of hire and every two years, plus Tennessee Abuse Registry and sex offender registry checks before you start and every year. |
| Yearly training | Ongoing training is required in TennCare CHOICES, but no hour minimum was found. Agencies also do a yearly performance review. |
| Minimum age | 18 |
| Agency licensing | Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services for most agencies; Department of Disability and Aging for agencies serving people with intellectual or developmental disabilities |
Training
Licensed personal support services agencies must train you on each client’s specific needs, such as self-care, household tasks, and community living, and document it before you work with that person.
If you work in TennCare, Tennessee’s Medicaid program, CHOICES providers give initial and ongoing training on topics such as ethics, patient privacy (HIPAA), person-centered support, reporting abuse and neglect, and electronic visit verification (EVV). In Employment and Community First (ECF) CHOICES, you must finish pre-service training within 30 days of hire and core training within 60 days.
The steps
The usual path for a new aide.
Family caregivers
Yes, through TennCare CHOICES and ECF CHOICES. In Consumer Direction, the member or their representative is the employer, and a fiscal employer agent handles background and registry checks. Provider agencies may also hire family members, with some limited exceptions.
A 2025 state law bars agencies from adding their own limits on hiring family members based only on a parental or spousal relationship. Parents of minors can serve without court approval, but conservators and court-appointed guardians need the court order to allow it. Whether a spouse can be paid as a consumer-directed worker was not confirmed.
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 statewide hours; client-specific training | 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 (TN) | $15.45 an hour* | $15.45 an hour* | $18.27 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 state license or certificate for personal support workers was found. The agency must be licensed, and you must pass background and registry checks.
Tennessee sets no statewide minimum. Your agency trains you for each client, and ECF CHOICES workers must finish core training within 60 days of hire.
Yes, if she is in TennCare CHOICES or ECF CHOICES. She can hire you through Consumer Direction, or a provider agency can hire you to care for her.
A criminal check is due within 10 days of hire and every two years after. Abuse registry and sex offender registry checks happen before you start and every year.
Home health and personal care aides in Tennessee earn a median of $15.45 an hour, based on the May 2025 federal wage survey.