National RTAP Training in 2027: Free Courses for NEMT Drivers and What Brokers Accept

Driver training costs a new NEMT company time it does not have and money it would rather spend on a second van. The federal rural transit program already pays for a library of driver courses, manuals, and refresher cards that any company can ask to use. This guide shows which National RTAP courses fit NEMT, how to get your drivers into them, and where a free course stops counting.

For the full list of what a new driver must learn before a first ride, start with NEMT driver training. This page is about the free courses that cover part of that list.

What National RTAP is and who pays for it

National RTAP is the National Rural Transit Assistance Program, created in 1987 to train the drivers, dispatchers, and managers of rural transit systems. It runs today under a cooperative agreement between the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Neponset Valley Transportation Management Association.

The money comes from the rural formula grant program. Federal law lets FTA use up to 2 percent of that program’s funds for training and technical assistance in rural areas, with up to 15 percent of that share going to national projects and the rest to the states (49 U.S.C. 5311(b)(3)).

What that means for you, as of October 2026:

• No fees. National RTAP charges nothing for its training materials, eLearning courses, or Resource Library items. Printed copies and shipping are free too.
• Copies are allowed. You may reproduce National RTAP training materials as needed. Materials in its library made by other groups follow their own rules.
• Built for transit agencies. The courses are written for rural and tribal transit systems. Its FAQ says urban and small urban transit providers are welcome, and its request form for a new team lists Other as an organization type and Demand Response as a transit type.

National RTAP answers questions by phone at 888-589-6821, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern.

The free courses that fit NEMT drivers

Six online courses fit a NEMT company best, and each one ends with a certificate of completion. Times are National RTAP’s estimates as of October 2026.

Course	Who takes it	About how long
ADA Driver Training	Drivers	1 hour
START Online	Drivers	6 hours
Problem Passengers	Drivers	1.5 to 2 hours
Substance Abuse Awareness	Drivers	60 minutes timed, 90 on average
Reasonable Suspicion Training for Supervisors	Supervisors	2 hours 40 minutes
Dispatching and Scheduling	Dispatchers	4 hours

Here is what the driver courses cover.

• ADA Driver Training. How to serve riders with disabilities safely and professionally and follow the Americans with Disabilities Act. It comes with a hands-on evaluation form for documenting each driver’s training, which National RTAP notes does not count as federal entry-level driver training.
• START Online. Safety Training and Rural Transit, in three sections: vehicle inspections before, during, and after a trip; driver safety, including fitness for duty, defensive driving, and bad weather; and passenger safety, including loading riders who walk and riders who do not, securing wheelchairs and scooters, and evacuating a vehicle. Each section has its own certificate, and there is one more for finishing the whole course, which ends with a final exam.
• Problem Passengers. Six lessons and a final exam on angry riders, refusals, riders under the influence, weapons, incontinence and body fluids, needle safety, seizures, dementia, and service animals. A driver needs 70 percent to pass, with unlimited tries. See difficult NEMT passengers for how to turn it into a company policy.
• Emergency Procedures for Rural Transit Drivers. How to respond to incidents, accidents, problem passengers, natural events, and other emergencies, in three units: preparedness, hazards and threats, and emergency procedures. It also offers sample pre-trip inspection checklists you can download.
• Wheelchair securement and lift videos. Manufacturer videos on securement equipment and lifts. Only one of them, the Q’Straint and Sure-Lok securement webinar, gives a certificate. National RTAP notes that the videos do not mean it endorses any product.
• 2 the Point cards. Short refresher cards in English and Spanish, each with a lesson on the front, a quiz on the back, and lines for the driver’s and supervisor’s signatures. The nine topics include ADA and sensitivity, bloodborne pathogens, defensive driving, distracted driving, and transporting non-ambulatory passengers. They are a refresher, not training for new hires. You can print them yourself, or, if you cannot download them, ask by email for one set per agency per year.

Courses for dispatchers, supervisors, and transit contracts

Your office staff can use the same portal. Dispatching and Scheduling runs about 4 hours in 11 sections, including the ADA, communication, customer service, and responding to incidents. The customer service folder has two courses, one on customer service basics and one of about 50 minutes for managers.

Two courses matter most if you drive under contract with a transit agency. FTA’s drug and alcohol rules cover every recipient or subrecipient of 5307, 5309, or 5311 funds and any contractor of one (49 CFR 655.3). Under those rules, each covered employee needs at least 60 minutes of training on prohibited drug use, and each supervisor who makes reasonable suspicion calls needs at least 60 minutes on drugs and 60 minutes on alcohol (49 CFR 655.14).

• Substance Abuse Awareness. The drug module is timed and counts only if it takes at least one hour. The certificate shows the driver’s name and a time stamp for that module.
• Reasonable Suspicion Training for Supervisors. Written for supervisors who need FTA’s 60 minutes on drugs and 60 minutes on alcohol, with a certificate at the end.

For how those contracts work, see becoming an ADA paratransit contractor, and for testing itself, NEMT driver drug testing.

The portal also has Entry Level Driver Training (ELDT) for Passenger Endorsement, six modules for drivers working toward a CDL with a passenger endorsement. It covers only the theory portion, so the driver still needs the hands-on part from another provider. A first-time passenger endorsement requires training from a provider listed on FMCSA’s Training Provider Registry (49 CFR 380.609), and that provider reports the completion through the registry by midnight of the second business day (49 CFR 380.717). Look up the provider on the registry before you count the course. A CDL is needed only for a vehicle designed for 16 or more people, driver included, or one rated at 26,001 pounds or more; see do NEMT drivers need a CDL.

How to sign up and track your drivers

You can download the manuals or order printed copies by phone or email. The online courses need a team account for your company, which lets you see each driver’s progress.

1. Ask for a team. Fill out the Agency Request Form with your company name and address, the number of learners, your service area, your transit type (Demand Response fits NEMT), your fleet size, and your yearly trips. National RTAP says it replies in about 2 business days with your account and a team access code.
2. Wait for the code before anyone registers. National RTAP asks that no one create an account until the team access code arrives, because each driver needs it to join your team.
3. Have each driver register with the code. Then have them enroll in the courses on your list, and follow their progress from your manager account.
4. Save every certificate in the driver file. Add the course, date, and hours to your driver training log, and set a reminder for any refresher your state or broker requires.
5. Order print copies for classroom use. Order from the Resource Library, by phone at 888-589-6821, or by email at info@nationalrtap.org. Items in stock arrive in about five business days.
6. Pay for the time. Training you require counts as work time for employees under federal wage rules, as explained in NEMT driver training.

National RTAP does not send trainers to your site. Its Directory of Trainers lists outside trainers for hire, which you can filter by FTA region.

In-person classes from your state RTAP

Every state and territory has its own RTAP manager, also paid for through the rural formula program. National RTAP says state programs often use the money for training rural and tribal transit staff and for scholarships to conferences and courses. Find yours in the Directory of State RTAP Managers.

Who may sit in those classes depends on the state.

• Nebraska. As of October 2026, the state’s driver courses are for drivers at Nebraska transit agencies that receive 5310 or 5311 funding through the Nebraska Department of Transportation. Its core courses are 8 hours of defensive driving and 8 hours of Passenger Service and Safety (PASS), both within 2 months of hire, and training costs are reimbursed in full to those transit systems.
• Massachusetts. As of spring 2026, MassDOT’s MArtap offers free driver training to regional transit authorities, Councils on Aging, town transportation programs, rural nonprofits, and recipients of vehicles or grants from its Community Transit Grant Program. Other providers may be able to join when funding allows. Courses include accessible lift use and passenger securement, defensive driving, disability awareness, and CPR and first aid.

Call your state RTAP manager and ask two questions: can a private NEMT company take open seats, and does the program run PASS, defensive driving, or CPR classes nearby. If you hold a contract with a transit agency, ask the agency too, since its drivers may already be in those classes. For long-distance rural work in general, see rural NEMT.

What the certificates prove

The Transportation Department’s ADA rules require every public or private company that runs demand-response service to train its staff to proficiency, so they run vehicles and equipment safely and treat riders with disabilities respectfully and courteously (49 CFR 37.173). The rule names no course. An ADA Driver Training certificate, a START Online certificate, and a signed hands-on evaluation on your own van together show that each driver was trained and then checked.

The same certificates help at a broker audit, as long as they sit in the driver file with dates. They show what a driver learned. They do not stand in for a credential your contract names.

What a free course does not replace

A free course counts only where your rules leave room for it.

• PASS, where a broker names it. Medical Answering Services in New York requires CTAA’s PASS within 3 months of a provider’s start in its network. Its manual (version 2023-1, October 1, 2023) allows another safety program only if its content is equal to or more extensive than PASS and MAS approves it before you use it. Drivers who miss the deadline cannot drive in the network. See PASS certification.
• A broker’s own course. Virginia’s fee-for-service Medicaid NEMT requirements (updated May 26, 2026) require every driver and attendant to finish the broker’s driver training program before transporting a member. A company that runs its own program needs the broker’s written approval that it meets or exceeds the state’s NEMT driver training requirements. See NEMT broker training requirements.
• CPR and first aid cards. As of October 2026, the National RTAP eLearning catalog has no CPR or first aid certification course. Get those cards from a class with a hands-on skills session; see CPR requirements for NEMT drivers.
• Bloodborne pathogens training under OSHA. The 2 the Point cards cover cleanup and gloves, but OSHA’s standard, where it applies to your drivers, requires training at assignment and every year, during work hours and at no cost to the employee, with a chance to ask questions of the person giving it (29 CFR 1910.1030). Use the cards as a refresher after a live session.

Before you count a free course toward any broker requirement, email the broker’s credentialing team the course outline and a sample certificate, and ask whether it accepts the course for that item. Keep the written answer in your compliance file.

If you are also training someone to send claims, the same approach works for billing staff: see NEMT billing training.