Your vendoring regional center
The regional center in whose service area your program is located reviews your application against Title 17 and approves or denies vendorization. Only one regional center can vendor you.
Visit siteBack to provider resources
California provider enrollment
How to Become a Medicaid Waiver Provider in California
What California requires before you can deliver home and community-based waiver services, in the order the state actually requires it. Every claim links to the official page it came from.
Last reviewed July 2026. Provider rules change often — confirm fees and deadlines against the linked sources before you rely on them.
Overview
Becoming a waiver provider in California
California routes everything through 21 regional centers, and the single most important thing to understand is what vendorization is not. Approval certifies that you meet the minimum standards in Title 17 — it does not commit anyone to buy anything from you. The Department of Developmental Services says so directly: vendorization in no way obligates that regional center to purchase service from the vendor. Nor does it set your rate. So the finish line most applicants imagine — approved, therefore in business — is really two more negotiations away: referrals and a rate.
Who certifies you
The agencies that decide
Department of Developmental Services (DDS)
Sets the minimum service provider standards in Title 17 and establishes rates for several service categories.
Visit siteBefore you apply
What has to be true first
Geography picks your regional center, not you
The vendoring regional center is determined by the catchment area where your site-based service or operating office is located. You cannot shop for a friendlier reviewer, and a vendor can only be approved by one regional center.
SourceLicenses first, application second
The 45-day clock starts once you have obtained all necessary licenses and submitted a complete application with all required documentation. Licensure is a prerequisite to the review, not part of it.
SourceFull ownership and control disclosure
Form DS 1891 requires disclosure of everything required by 42 C.F.R. §§ 455.104, 455.105, and 455.106 — including criminal history of people with ownership or control interests. A current disclosure statement is part of every complete application packet and can be demanded again at any time.
SourceEnrollment
How to enroll in California
Vendorization runs through the regional center in your catchment area, on Form DS 1890 with the DS 1891 disclosure statement and the documentation listed in Title 17 § 54310.
Application system: Vendor Application (Form DS 1890)
- Identify your vendoring regional center
Find the regional center whose catchment area covers your service site or operating office. That center — and only that center — can vendor you.
Source - Obtain every license your service requires
Get licensure sorted before applying. The review timeline assumes you already hold the necessary licenses.
Source - Submit Form DS 1890 with Form DS 1891
The Vendor Application and the Applicant/Vendor Disclosure Statement go together, along with the documentation specified in Title 17 § 54310 for your service category. Ask your regional center for the complete vendorization package — contents vary by category.
Source - Respond fast if anything is missing
The regional center must notify you in writing of missing items within 45 days of receiving your application — and then takes no further action until all required information is received. An incomplete packet does not sit in a queue; it stops.
Source - Receive the vendorization decision
Regional centers have 45 days to approve or disapprove vendorization once a complete application and all necessary documentation are in hand.
Source - Negotiate referrals and a rate — separately
Approval is a qualification finding, not a purchase commitment. Rate-setting depends on your service type: community-based day programs and respite agencies get rates set by DDS from submitted cost statements, and new programs are typically given a temporary rate based on the mean of similar programs.
Source
Service types
What you can be approved to deliver
Regional center vendored services
Lanterman Act servicesHCBS Waiver for people with developmental disabilities
Standards are set per service category
General vendorization requirements sit in Title 17 §§ 54300–54390, with additional category-specific standards elsewhere in Title 17. The documentation you owe depends on the vendor category the regional center assigns your service.
SourceApproval travels; the purchase obligation does not
Once vendored, other regional centers — "utilizing" centers — may purchase services from you. But no center, including the one that approved you, is obligated to buy anything.
SourceTimeline & cost
What this actually takes
45 days after complete — not 45 days after you file
The decision clock runs from a complete submission. Because the regional center takes no further action while items are outstanding, a packet with gaps can add months without the review formally being late.
SourceAfter approval
Staying compliant
Keep your disclosure statement current
Every applicant or vendor must submit a current DS 1891 as part of a complete vendorization packet, and again on request of the vendoring regional center. Ownership and control changes are what this is watching for.
SourceConfirm by phone
What the state does not publish
California does not publish these in a form we could verify, so we have not guessed at them. Ask directly — and if an answer here would help other providers, tell us and we will add it with its source.
- Does vendorization transfer if you sell the business, or must the new owner apply fresh?
Ask: Your vendoring regional center's vendorization unit
- What criminal record clearance or fingerprinting applies to your specific service category, beyond the ownership disclosures on DS 1891?
Ask: Your vendoring regional center's vendorization unit
- Is your regional center currently vendoring new providers in your service category, or is there an unmet-need process you should go through first?
Ask: Your vendoring regional center
- What temporary rate would apply to your program, and how long before a permanent rate is set?
Ask: Your vendoring regional center's rates unit
Key contacts
California provider contacts
DDS Vendorization and Rates FAQ
The department's own answers on what vendorization is, who vendors you, and how rates get set.
Visit siteForm DS 1890 — Vendor Application
The application itself.
Visit siteForm DS 1891 — Applicant/Vendor Disclosure Statement
Ownership and control disclosure required with every complete packet.
Visit siteFAQ
California provider questions
If I get vendored, will the regional center send me clients?
No, and this is the most expensive misunderstanding in California. DDS states that approval in no way obligates the regional center to purchase service from that vendor. Vendorization establishes that you meet Title 17 standards. Getting referrals is a separate conversation, and so is your rate.
Can I choose which regional center reviews my application?
No. The vendoring regional center is the one whose catchment area contains your site-based service or operating office. Only one regional center can vendor you — though once approved, other centers may purchase from you.
How long does vendorization take?
The regional center has 45 days to approve or disapprove once it has a complete application and all necessary documentation. The catch is the word complete: if items are missing, the center notifies you within 45 days and then takes no further action until everything is received. Incomplete packets stall rather than queue.
What rate will I be paid?
It depends on your service type, and it is not set by the vendorization decision. Community-based day programs and respite agencies receive rates established by DDS from submitted cost statements within defined limits, and new programs generally start on a temporary rate based on the mean of comparable programs.
Looking for the family-facing guide? Browse state waiver guides