The New York State Home Care Registry is the Department of Health’s public database of home health aides (HHAs) and personal care aides (PCAs) who completed a state-approved training program. Anyone can search it on the health.ny.gov site by name or by the worker’s DOH registry number, and the record shows training information and an employment status of Yes, No, Unknown or Never Reviewed. It is a good first check, but the Department says it does not guarantee the data, so it should never be your only one.
What is the NYS Home Care Registry?
People search for it as the NYS HHA registry, the New York home care registry or the NY home health aide registry. All mean the same Department of Health (DOH) tool. According to the registry’s own FAQ, it was mandated by Chapter 594 of the Laws of 2008 so that the people employed by home care agencies are properly trained and suitable to work in New Yorkers’ homes.
The registry page describes its content as “limited information” about workers who finished a state-approved training program. Three groups of people feed it: training programs (who issue the training certificate through the registry), home care agencies (who report employment), and DOH staff (the only people who may enter convictions and findings). The workers themselves report some details too.
Who is listed in the registry, and who is not?
The search form lets you filter by worker type. Those types show you what the registry covers.
| Worker type in the search | Training standard (per DOH program guides) |
|---|---|
| Home Health Aide (HHA) | At least 75 hours: 59 classroom hours plus 16 hours of supervised practical training. Testing is not counted in the 75. |
| Personal Care Aide (PCA) | At least 40 hours of training. Testing and breaks are not counted in the 40. |
| Advanced Home Health Aide (AHHA) | A certified HHA with at least one year of experience plus extra training and exams. DOH says only someone listed in the registry may perform advanced tasks. |
Several kinds of caregivers will not appear, and that is not always a red flag:
- Nurses (RN, LPN). They are licensed by the State Education Department. Use its license verification search.
- Nursing home nurse aides. DOH’s HHA program guide describes a separate nurse aide registry for nursing homes, with its own 100-hour training standard.
- Family members hired through CDPAP. Personal assistants in that program do not need aide certification (see our CDPAP eligibility guide), so a missing record means nothing there.
- Aides trained outside New York or at a program that was not state-approved. Check their paperwork directly with the agency.
How do I search the NYS Home Care Registry?
The search is free and does not require an account. These are the steps on the DOH page, checked on the live form.
- Open the registry page. Use the official NYS Home Care Registry search on the health.ny.gov network. Read the notice at the top; it explains the limits of the data.
- Pick a search type. You can search by name or by the DOH Home Care Registry Number. A name search needs at least two characters of the last name. You can choose “Exact” or “Starts With” and narrow by gender, county and worker type.
- Start with what you know for sure. Use the name exactly as it appears on the aide’s certificate or ID. Ask the aide for the registry number if they have it; a number search avoids name mix-ups.
- If you get too many results, the site says “Found too many records” and asks you to refine the search. Add a first name, choose the county or select the worker type. Brooklyn is listed as Kings County and Queens as Queens.
- If you get “No Data Found,” try a spelling variant, a maiden name or the number search before drawing conclusions (see the FAQ below).
- Read the whole record, not just the name. Check the training information, the employment status, any convictions and findings section, and the work history.
- No internet? Per the registry FAQ, you can call the Help Desk at 1-877-877-1827, and staff can verify a person’s training status and whether the aide is approved for employment.
What do Yes, No, Unknown and Never Reviewed mean?
The employment status is the part families misread most often. DOH explains each value in its registry FAQ.
| Status | What DOH says it means |
|---|---|
| Yes | The DOH background investigation was favorable and the home health aide certification is current. The aide may be hired by a home care agency. |
| No | A background investigation, including a fingerprint-based criminal history check, found factors that disqualify the worker. Agencies may not hire this person. |
| Unknown | The background review may still be pending, or new criminal record information arrived and needs review. The status can later change to Yes or No. |
| Never Reviewed by NYS DOH | Mostly aides who were already working for an agency before DOH began background checks on September 1, 2006 and never applied elsewhere, plus anyone who has worked only as a “private duty” aide. |
DOH adds an important warning: an eligibility determination is only valid on the date it was made, and the Department does not receive updated information about the worker afterwards. It encourages extra reference checks for anyone whose status is not “Yes.”
What does the registry not show?
The registry confirms paperwork. It does not tell you whether a person is gentle, reliable or good at transfers. From DOH’s own notice and FAQ:
- Employment history is self-reported and not guaranteed, and it does not include the reason someone left a job.
- The convictions and findings section covers New York State only. It lists limited records of abuse, mistreatment, neglect or misappropriation of funds, and it depends on state and local agencies choosing to report. Convictions from other states are not reported.
- A listed worker’s certification may have lapsed, and the information may be outdated or incomplete.
- The Department does not endorse anyone on the list.
That is why DOH puts the responsibility on whoever uses the registry to verify credentials, suitability and competence.
How do I check a home care agency, not just an aide?
The registry lists workers, not agencies. If you are comparing agencies by name, including large ones such as VNS Health, look them up in the Department of Health’s NYS Home Care Agency Profiles.
The profiles page separates certified home health agencies (CHHAs) from licensed home care services agencies (LHCSAs), which serve people who pay privately or have private insurance and may also contract with Medicaid plans. State law requires an organization to be licensed or certified by DOH to provide or arrange home care. LHCSAs must also register with the Department each year under Public Health Law section 3605-b.
| Your question | Where to check |
|---|---|
| Did this aide finish state-approved training? Is the aide approved for employment? | NYS Home Care Registry |
| Is this agency licensed or certified, and has it been cited? | NYS Home Care Agency Profiles (inspection data and Statements of Deficiencies are published there) |
| Is this nurse licensed? | NYSED Office of the Professions verification |
| I want to report a problem with an agency | DOH Home Health Hotline, 1-800-628-5972, or the online complaint page |
The Home Health Hotline is a federally mandated line that takes calls around the clock. DOH says it is staffed from 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., Monday through Friday. Our guide to choosing a home care agency in New York lists what else to ask.
Should I hire an aide privately because they are on the registry?
A listing proves the person trained at a state-approved program, not that anyone is supervising them. DOH’s FAQ notes that aides who only ever worked “private duty” have never had a DOH background review, so their status can read “Never Reviewed.” You may search the registry before any aide starts work, and you should. If you hire privately you also take on the employer role and the supervision. Read about private home care and the HHA certificate before you decide.
What a nurse director looks for beyond the registry
Anna Klyauzova, RN, MSN, MPA, Director of Patient Services at ProLife Home Care, on what she sees in practice:
Three things separate a good agency. First, RN supervision: a care plan is only useful if someone keeps checking it against the patient’s current condition, and if the person starts falling more or moving worse, the plan changes. Second, matching: an HHA or PCA should fit on language, schedule, location and experience with the person’s needs, not only on certification. Third, replacement: if an aide isn’t right or can’t make a shift, the family should know exactly whom to call.
Need help finding a vetted aide?
ProLife Home Care is a licensed home care agency serving Brooklyn and Queens (NY DOH license #2572L001). If you would like to talk through an aide’s credentials or how care would be supervised, call (718) 232-2777 or use our contact page. Aides who want to work in the field can start with HHA jobs in NYC, and renewal rules are in our guide to renewing an HHA certificate.
Checked on 9 October 2026 against the live registry search page and the registry FAQ. The FAQ page blocks automated access, so its text was read from an archived copy of the DOH page (last revised December 2014); confirm details on health.ny.gov before relying on them. The registry’s results are not verified by ProLife, and this page is information, not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
Is the NYS Home Care Registry free to search?
Yes. The public search page asks for no account or payment. You enter a name or a DOH Home Care Registry Number and read the result.
Why can’t I find the aide I am looking for?
The page warns that information is added over time and may be incomplete. Other causes are a misspelled or different name or training outside New York. Try the number search, ask for the certificate details, or call the Help Desk at 1-877-877-1827.
Is the HHA registry the same as the nurse aide registry?
No. The Home Care Registry covers home health aides and personal care aides. DOH’s HHA guide describes a separate registry for nurse aides who work in nursing homes.
What does “Unknown” mean on the registry?
It means the person has no current employment determination. The background review may be pending, or DOH received new information that needs review. The status can change to Yes or No, so recheck it later.
Does “Yes” mean the aide passed a criminal background check?
It means the DOH background investigation of that worker was favorable and the certification is current. DOH adds that the determination is only valid as of the date made, so keep asking questions and keep checking.
Can the registry tell me whether an agency is licensed?
No. The registry covers individual workers. Agencies are listed in the DOH’s NYS Home Care Agency Profiles, along with inspection information, and complaints go to the Home Health Hotline at 1-800-628-5972.
How often is the registry updated?
DOH does not publish an update schedule. Its notice says most information is reported voluntarily and may be outdated, so recheck periodically and ask for references.
