Glossary
Electronic Visit Verification
Also called: EVV, electronic visit verification, visit verification
Last reviewed September 15, 2026
The one-sentence answer
Electronic Visit Verification is a federally required electronic record confirming that an in-home care visit actually happened — who provided it, for whom, and when — and it applies to Self-Determination Program services.
What this means for you
If someone provides personal care in your home, those visits have to be verified electronically. This is not a regional center preference or an FMS company policy. It comes from federal law — section 12006(a) of the 21st Century Cures Act — which requires every state to implement EVV for personal care and home health services delivered by an in-home visit.
Who is responsible for EVV depends on which FMS model you use. This is the part families are rarely told, and it is worth understanding before you choose:
| Your model | Who is the employer of record | Who is responsible for EVV |
|---|---|---|
| Co-Employer (316) | Your FMS | Your FMS handles it. |
| Sole Employer (317) | You | Your choice — use your FMS's EVV system, or take full responsibility yourself. |
| Bill Payer (315) | The vendor or agency | The vendor or agency handles it. |
That middle row deserves a second look if you are considering Sole Employer. DDS is explicit that a sole employer "can choose to use the EVV system provided by their selected FMS, or they can choose to be fully responsible for EVV." Being fully responsible for a federal compliance requirement is a real obligation, and it belongs on the list of things you weigh when comparing models — alongside the workers' compensation question covered in the Sole Employer entry. Most families choosing 317 are thinking about control, not about who files the compliance record.
Your FMS has to help even when it is not responsible. Where the FMS is not the employer of record, DDS requires it to hand over the relevant service code and the Unique Client Identifier (UCI) and vendor number information as needed, to make its own EVV system available to you if you want to use it, and to provide EVV resources to other employers of record. So "you are responsible" never means "you are on your own" — ask.
For the detail-oriented
The operative document is DDS's letter to regional center executive directors, Electronic Visit Verification: Provider Compliance in the Self-Determination Program, dated 2 August 2023 and signed by Vicki Smith, Deputy Director for Policy and Program Development.
Its reasoning runs in a straight line, and the logic is worth following because it explains why the answer differs by model:
"The SDP allows consumers to choose how their services will be arranged using a variety of qualified providers. This arrangement determines who will be the employer of record for any direct staff person delivering services. The employer of record for the direct staff person determines who is responsible for EVV compliance."
So EVV responsibility is not assigned model by model as a rule of its own — it simply follows the employer of record, and the model determines who that is.
Which services are covered. The regional center personal care and home health
services subject to EVV were identified in DDS guidance issued 8 July 2022. SDP
services became subject to the same compliance date under guidance issued 18 April
2023. The service-code list itself lives in a separate DDS "EVV Resource Center
Service Codes Guidance" document that we have not yet obtained — so this entry does not
list which codes are covered. If you need to know whether
a specific service on your plan is subject to EVV, ask your regional center or email DDS
at EVV@dds.ca.gov.
A wrinkle specific to Bill Payer. Where a vendor, agency or company is the employer of record, DDS requires that "the EVV visit record must be tied to the FMS vendor number under which that service is invoiced to the regional center." DDS publishes an EVV Bill Payer Provider Agreement form for FMS providers and bill payer vendors to formalize how they share EVV information.
Questions go to EVV@dds.ca.gov. DDS names that address directly, and it is a faster
route than the regional center for EVV-specific questions.
Note on EVV systems generally: EVV is a requirement, not a product. Many timekeeping platforms are EVV-capable, and different FMS providers use different ones. The requirement is that visits are electronically verified — not that any particular system is used.