Caregiver Job Description: Template, Duties, Requirements & Pay (2026)
A caregiver (also posted as personal care aide, home care aide or direct care worker) helps older adults and people with disabilities with daily living — bathing, dressing, meals, medication reminders, transportation and companionship — in a private home or residential community. This page has a copy-paste caregiver job description template, the requirements worth keeping, and what caregiver applicants cost on social media in our 2026 benchmark.
What a caregiver does
Caregivers keep people at home who would otherwise be in a facility. A typical shift in home care is one client, two to twelve hours, doing whatever that person's care plan calls for: help getting up and showered, breakfast, medication reminders from a pre-filled organizer, light housekeeping, a drive to an appointment, and company. In assisted living and memory care the work is similar but with multiple residents and a med tech or nurse on site.
Home health aides and personal care aides together had about 4.7 million jobs in 2025, more than any other occupation in the BLS 2025–35 projections, and the BLS projects 18% growth through 2035 — roughly 760,500 openings a year once turnover is counted. The supply is enormous and the credential bar is low, which is why caregiver applicants are among the cheapest of any role we track. Where the client is on a Medicare-certified plan of care the bar is not low at all, and our home health aide job description sets out the federal 75-hour rule and the jurisdictions that go beyond it. The hard part is not finding applicants; it's finding ones who show up for the third week.
Caregiver job description template
Copy this into your ATS or job board, replace the bracketed fields, and cut anything that doesn't apply. It's written the way applicants read — pay, schedule and location first — because those are the three things people screen on before they read a duty list.
Job title
Caregiver / Home Care Aide — [Full-time / Part-time / Weekend], [City] area
Summary
[Agency name] is hiring caregivers to support clients in their homes across [county / service area]. Pay is $[XX.XX]–$[XX.XX]/hour, paid [weekly / daily pay available], with [mileage reimbursement] between clients. We match you to clients near you and build a consistent schedule around your availability. No certification required — we train and pay for it.
Responsibilities
- Help clients with bathing, grooming, dressing and toileting
- Prepare meals and assist with eating according to the care plan
- Provide medication reminders (no administration unless certified)
- Light housekeeping: laundry, dishes, tidying the client's living space
- Transport or escort clients to appointments, errands and activities
- Provide companionship and engage clients in conversation and activities
- Document each visit in [app name] and report changes in condition to the care coordinator
Requirements
- 18 or older with a valid driver's license, reliable vehicle and auto insurance
- Able to pass a background check and [state]-required screenings (TB test)
- Physically able to assist with transfers and lift up to [40] lbs
- Available for [a minimum of 20 hours / weekends / overnights] as scheduled
- Smartphone for scheduling and visit documentation
Preferred
- Experience caring for a family member or in a paid caregiving role
- HHA, CNA or PCA certification (we pay for training if you don't have one)
- Experience with dementia, hospice or mobility-limited clients
- Bilingual [Spanish/English]
Schedule and pay
- $[XX.XX]–$[XX.XX]/hour; [+$X.XX] for weekends and overnights
- [Weekly pay / daily pay available]; [$0.XX/mile] between client visits
- Shifts from [4 to 12] hours; consistent clients and schedule
Benefits
- Paid training and certification
- [Health insurance for 30+ hours/week]
- Paid time off
- [401(k)]
- Referral bonus: $[XXX] per caregiver you refer who completes 90 days
Requirements: what's required, what's preferred, and what kills applications
Caregiver postings are where the most unnecessary requirements pile up, and it shows in the numbers: caregiver campaigns convert at 31% when the application is short, and collapse when it isn't.
| Requirement | What to know |
|---|---|
| Driver's license, vehicle and insurance | Required for home care with multiple clients; not required for live-in or facility roles. State which one, because it's the single most common disqualifier. |
| Background check | Required by state regulation for home care agencies and licensed communities. Say it upfront. |
| Certification (HHA/CNA/PCA) | Depends on state and payer. Medicare-certified home health requires HHA training; private-pay and most Medicaid waiver programs don't. If you don't require it, say “no certification required — we train you.” That line alone widens the pool dramatically. |
| Experience | Optional. Family caregiving experience is real experience — ask about it instead of requiring paid history. |
| Minimum availability | Include it. Weekend and overnight availability is the constraint that matters; a caregiver who can only work Tuesday mornings is not a hire for most agencies. |
| High school diploma | Not required by the BLS for most of these roles and rarely needed. Drop it unless a payer mandates it. |
How to customize it for your setting
Home care agency
Distance is the deciding factor. Say where the clients are, not where the office is, and mention mileage pay and client matching. Our home care agency recruiting page has campaign data by market density.
Senior living and assisted living
Lead with shift, resident count and team support. Facility caregivers cost meaningfully less to reach than home care in our data; see senior living staffing.
Memory care
Screen for temperament, not credentials. One question — “Have you cared for someone with dementia?” — is more useful than a certification requirement.
Live-in and 24-hour care
Spell out the sleep arrangement, break coverage and pay structure (hourly vs. daily rate). Ambiguity here is the top reason live-in candidates drop out at offer.
Home care provider job description
“Home care provider” is used for two different things, and the job description depends on which one you mean. In most job ads it is simply another name for a caregiver or home care aide who works in clients’ homes. In publicly funded programs, “provider” can also mean the individual worker the program pays — sometimes a family member — rather than the agency. If your posting is for an agency employee, say “employed by [agency]” in the first line so nobody reads it as a self-employed or program-enrolled role.
For an agency hiring a home care provider, the job description is the template above with three changes:
- Where the work is. Home care providers work alone in a client’s home, often for several clients a week. State the service area, how clients are matched to the provider’s location, and the mileage rate between visits.
- What the provider is and is not allowed to do. Medication reminders from a pre-filled organizer are usually in scope; administering medication is not, unless the provider holds a credential your state recognizes for it. Say which, because experienced providers screen on it.
- How visits are recorded. If the funding is Medicaid or a waiver program, name the electronic visit verification app and explain that clocking in and out at the client’s home is part of the job. It is the documentation load providers most want warned about.
Pay belongs near the top. The May 2025 national median for home health and personal care aides was $17.21 an hour, and home care providers compare offers on the hourly rate, the hours they can count on each week and whether travel between clients is paid, in that order. A personal care aide job description covers the non-medical role in more detail; if the client is under a Medicare home health plan of care, use the home health aide version instead.
Companion caregiver duties
A companion caregiver provides company, supervision and help around the house rather than hands-on personal care. Agencies use the title for non-medical visits, often for clients who are mostly independent but should not be alone, or to give a family caregiver a break. Companion caregiver duties usually include:
- Conversation, games, reading, hobbies and walks with the client
- Supervision for safety and noticing changes in health, mood or memory, and reporting them to the office or family
- Meal planning and preparation, and reminders to eat and drink
- Medication reminders (not administering medication)
- Light housekeeping and laundry for the client
- Errands, shopping and rides to appointments or social outings
- Respite visits so a family caregiver can work or rest
What a companion role usually leaves out is hands-on help with bathing, toileting, dressing and transfers. If the client needs that, post the role as a caregiver or personal care aide, and use the home health aide version for a Medicare plan of care. Say plainly in the posting whether personal care is included, because candidates choose companion work specifically to avoid it, and a surprise on the first visit ends the placement.
One caution about the word itself. “Companionship services” is also a term in federal wage law. The current regulation, 29 CFR 552.6, defines it as fellowship and protection, with care allowed only if it does not exceed 20 percent of hours worked per person and per workweek. The Department of Labor proposed in July 2025 to return to its 1975 rules, which would change who can claim the related overtime exemption. Calling a job “companion” does not settle how it is paid; check the agency’s current guidance and your state’s rules.
Private duty caregiver: the employment model, and why candidates ask about it first
“Private duty” describes who pays and who employs, not what the caregiver does. The tasks are the same ones on this page — bathing, dressing, meals, medication reminders, transfers, companionship. What changes is the arrangement around them, and experienced caregivers screen on that before they read the duties.
Private duty through an agency. The family pays the agency privately rather than through Medicaid or insurance; the agency employs the caregiver, handles payroll, tax, workers’ compensation, scheduling and backup cover. From the caregiver’s side this is a normal W-2 job with one or two steady clients. This is what most postings mean by private duty and it is worth saying explicitly.
Private duty hired directly by a family. No agency: the family is the employer. Pay is often higher per hour and everything else is thinner — no backup if the caregiver is ill, no supervisor, no payroll department, and frequently no clarity about tax status. Caregivers who have been burned by this ask early, so an agency posting that says “you are employed by us, W-2, with backup cover” is answering a real question rather than filling space.
Medicaid, waiver and home health. Publicly funded personal care, usually with mandated documentation, electronic visit verification and a care plan set by a case manager. More paperwork, more rules, and typically lower hourly rates than private pay. If this is your funding model, say so — the documentation load is the part caregivers want warned about.
One caution on titles. A home health aide works under a plan of care supervised by a nurse and, in certified agencies, holds federal training hours. A private duty caregiver or personal care aide generally does not. Posting one title while meaning the other produces applicants who are either over-credentialed for the rate or unable to do what the client needs.
What it costs to reach caregivers on social
Caregivers are among the cheapest applicants in our 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark, second only to customer service and admin ($2.71): the median cost per applicant was $3.76, the middle half of campaigns ran $2.99–$5.83, and 31% of clickers completed the application — the highest apply rate of any role family. In an earlier cut of 24 Boostpoint-managed caregiver and home health aide campaigns run in 2025 and 2026, the average was $3.47, and individual agencies ranged from about $1.22 to $15 depending on market density.
The reason is supply: about 4.7 million people already do this job. The lever is not volume, it's screening and speed — calling back the same day, before the applicant accepts another agency's shift. Role-level detail is in our caregiver recruitment cost and caregiver recruitment strategies pages.
If you are hiring caregivers rather than describing the job, the recruiting side — where they are, what the ad has to say, and what an applicant costs to reach — is on our caregiver recruitment strategies page.
Writing the ad version
On social, the whole ad is pay, area and flexibility: “Caregivers wanted — $17–$19/hr, weekly pay, clients near [Town]. Pick your hours, we train you. Apply in 60 seconds.” Three knockout questions: driver's license and vehicle, availability, and distance you'll travel. Don't ask for a résumé; most caregivers don't have one and the ones who do are applying from a phone.
Then respond within the hour. Caregiver applicants apply to several agencies in one sitting, and the first call back usually wins.
Related: Home Care Aide Job Description.
Live-in caregiver job description
A live-in caregiver lives in the client’s home for a run of days, usually several days on and several off, and provides the same care as any caregiver: personal care, meals, medication reminders, housekeeping, errands and company, plus being there overnight. The duties list in the template above works as written. What a live-in caregiver job description needs on top of it is the arrangement, because that is what live-in candidates screen on and what most often breaks a placement.
What to put in a live-in posting
- The rotation. How many days on and off, the changeover day and time, and who covers the days off.
- The room. A private bedroom, the bathroom arrangement, whether meals are provided, and whether the caregiver can bring a car or has parking.
- Sleep and breaks. The scheduled sleep period, how often the client usually needs help at night, and when the daily breaks are. A client who is up three times a night is a different job, and candidates need to know before they arrive.
- The client. Level of mobility, whether transfers or a lift are involved, dementia, and whether a spouse or pets live in the home.
- Pay structure. Hourly or a daily rate, how overtime is handled, and how hours are recorded.
How live-in hours are paid
Federal wage rules treat live-in care differently depending on who employs the caregiver. The Fair Labor Standards Act exempts live-in domestic workers from overtime, but under 29 CFR 552.109(c), third party employers of live-in domestic service workers “may not avail themselves of the overtime exemption.” The Department of Labor’s Fact Sheet 79B puts it plainly: “third party employers, such as home care agencies, may not claim the overtime exemption for live-in domestic service workers.” A family that employs a live-in caregiver directly may still claim it, but must pay at least minimum wage for all hours worked.
Sleep, meal and off-duty time can be excluded from paid hours only by agreement. Under 29 CFR 552.102, the periods must be long enough for the caregiver to make effective use of the time, and interruptions count as hours worked. The fact sheet says the agreement should be in writing and that the employer must keep records of the exact hours worked; “the employer’s failure to keep accurate record of hours worked may result in back wage liability.” For 24-hour shifts that are not live-in, 29 CFR 785.22 allows up to 8 hours of sleep to be excluded only where adequate sleeping facilities are provided and the employee can usually get an uninterrupted night’s sleep; if the caregiver cannot get at least 5 hours of sleep, the whole period counts as work.
The Department of Labor proposed in July 2025 to return to its 1975 rules, which would change the third-party position; as of this update the eCFR still carries the 2013 text, so check the DOL direct care page before you set pay. Many states have their own rules for live-in and 24-hour care that go further than federal law. This section is general information, not legal advice.
For the ad, lead with the rotation, the room and the pay: “Live-in caregiver, [4 on / 3 off], private room and meals, one client in [town], $[X] a day.” The live-in and 24-hour note in the setting section above covers why that clarity matters at offer stage.
Frequently asked questions
What does a caregiver do?
Helps clients with daily living activities — bathing, dressing, meals, medication reminders, housekeeping, transportation and companionship — usually in the client's home, sometimes in an assisted living or memory care community. Caregivers don't perform medical tasks unless separately certified.
What qualifications do you need to be a caregiver?
Often none beyond being 18+, passing a background check and having reliable transportation. Some states and Medicare-certified agencies require HHA or PCA training (typically 40–120 hours). Many agencies train new caregivers themselves.
How much do caregivers make?
The 2025 national median for personal care aides was $17.21 an hour ($35,800 a year) per O*NET/BLS. Pay runs higher in high-cost metros and for overnight, weekend and specialized (dementia, hospice) work.
Caregiver vs. CNA vs. home health aide — what's the difference?
A CNA holds state certification and can work in licensed nursing facilities. A home health aide (HHA) has completed federally required training to work for Medicare-certified home health agencies. A caregiver or personal care aide typically has no state certification and provides non-medical support. See our CNA job description for the certified role.
What is a private duty caregiver?
A private duty caregiver provides personal care in a client's home that is paid for privately by the family rather than through Medicaid, a waiver program or insurance. The tasks are the same as any caregiver role — bathing, dressing, meals, medication reminders, transfers and companionship. What differs is the employment arrangement: most private duty caregivers are W-2 employees of an agency, though some families hire directly, which usually pays more per hour and comes with no backup cover, supervisor or payroll support.
What should a private duty caregiver job description include?
Whether the caregiver is employed by the agency as a W-2 employee, whether the assignment is one steady client or a rotating schedule, the exact hours and days, the hourly rate and whether it differs between private pay and waiver clients, mileage reimbursement, the level of care required including any transfer or dementia experience, and what happens to the caregiver's hours when a client is hospitalized. That last point is the most common reason good caregivers leave an agency and is almost never addressed in the posting.
What should a caregiver summary say in a job description?
Four sentences at most, and they should be specific rather than warm: who the client or resident is and what level of support they need, where the work happens and how long the shifts are, what the schedule looks like week to week, and the pay as a number. A caregiver summary that opens with “we are a compassionate team” tells an applicant nothing they can act on; one that opens with “one client, mornings, 7 to 11, four days a week, $18 an hour, in [town]” gets the phone call.
How long should the summary section of a caregiver job description be?
Three to four sentences, sitting above the duties. It is the block most applicants read before deciding whether to continue, and in frontline care the decision is made on shift, location, pay and client type — so those four belong in it. Save the duty list, which every experienced caregiver already knows, for further down.
What is the job description for a home care provider?
A home care provider helps clients with bathing, dressing, toileting, meals, medication reminders, light housekeeping, transportation and companionship in the client’s own home, usually working alone and often for several clients a week. The job description should say who employs the provider, the service area and mileage rate, what the provider may and may not do with medication, how visits are recorded, and the hourly rate. The May 2025 national median for home health and personal care aides was $17.21 an hour.
What are companion caregiver duties?
A companion caregiver provides company and supervision: conversation and activities, watching for safety and changes in health or mood, meal preparation, medication reminders, light housekeeping, errands and rides to appointments, and respite for family caregivers. Companion roles usually do not include hands-on help with bathing, toileting or transfers. If the client needs that, post the job as a caregiver or personal care aide and say so in the first lines.
What is a caregiver role description?
It is another name for the caregiver job description: the internal document that sets out what the role does and does not include. It should cover personal care, meals, medication reminders, housekeeping, transportation and companionship; who the caregiver reports to; what they may not do, such as administering medication without a credential your state recognizes; the schedule and pay; and how visits are recorded. It is the document you hire and train against. The job ad is a short extract from it, with pay, shift and location first.
Written the description and started booking people in? Our caregiver interview questions page covers eight questions worth the time and what a strong answer contains.
Other job description templates
- Registered nurse job description
- Physical therapist assistant job description
- Dental hygienist job description
- Personal care aide job description
- Hospice aide job description
See all job description templates — free, editable templates for frontline, trades, healthcare and warehouse roles.
Hiring caregivers?
The job description is the document; the ad is the thing that gets read. We write it, run it where working caregivers are scrolling, and report what each applicant cost — cost per applicant, not cost per hire.
Pay, employment and outlook figures: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook (Home Health and Personal Care Aides) and O*NET OnLine, 2025 wage data. Cost-per-applicant figures: Boostpoint 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark (891 campaigns, 1,334 campaign-months), caregiver / home care role family, and an earlier cut of 24 caregiver and home health aide campaigns, 2025–2026. Last updated August 2026.