NEMT Recredentialing in 2027: The Renewal Calendar That Keeps Broker Trips Coming

Getting credentialed with a broker is a one-time project. Staying credentialed is a monthly habit. Every license, check, certificate, and inspection in your files has an expiration date, and brokers track those dates whether you do or not. When one lapses, trips stop, pay stops, or both.

What recredentialing is and why brokers do it

Recredentialing is the broker’s ongoing re-check of the same three files it reviewed before your first trip: your company, each driver, and each vehicle. It is not one yearly review. Each item runs on its own cycle, and the broker watches each expiration date.

The duty starts with the broker’s own contract. Federal rule 42 CFR 440.170(a)(4) requires a Medicaid NEMT broker to have oversight procedures that make sure rides are timely and transport personnel are licensed, qualified, competent, and courteous. When a Medicaid health plan runs the benefit, 42 CFR 438.214(b) requires it to follow a documented process for credentialing and recredentialing its network providers.

Brokers write this into their agreements. MTM Health’s standard provider agreement, in the January 1, 2023 version Pennsylvania posts, has a section called “Credentialing and Re-credentialing” and says changes to those requirements are posted online. As of September 2026, MTM Health says it monitors licenses, background checks, certifications, insurance, and vehicle inspections, and its system will not assign trips to providers whose credentials are not current.

Each broker keeps its own file on you. If you work with two brokers, you renew with both, on each one’s schedule. For the first round of paperwork, see NEMT broker credentialing.

What happens when a document expires

Most brokers do not wait for an audit. The consequence usually starts on the expiration date.

Broker or program	What an expired credential costs
MTM Health, Rhode Island (handbook updated July 1, 2026)	Upload renewals at least 10 business days before they expire. If a credential is not in at least 5 days before, trips tied to that company, driver, or vehicle may be removed from the manifest on the expiration date. Late approvals go through a sanction review before reinstatement.
MTM Health, Virginia (handbook approved August 10, 2026)	2 infraction points for each expired driver or vehicle credential used, so one trip can cost 4 points. At 3 points, marketplace access is suspended. Trips by drivers with expired documents can go unpaid.
MTM Health standard agreement (January 1, 2023)	No payment for trips by uncredentialed drivers or attendants, or in uncredentialed vehicles, and liquidated damages may apply
CareOregon (manual version 1.3, February 2024)	If insurance lapses, the brokerage may stop assigning trips and remove trips already assigned until coverage is shown again
MediTrans, Louisiana (provider page, September 2026)	Providers out of compliance lose their standing orders, and trips resume only after a corrective action plan restores compliance
Texas Medicaid health plans (UMCM 16.4, version 2.0.1, August 1, 2021)	Drivers whose required checks are past due may not give rides, and rides by ineligible drivers are subject to recoupment

In Virginia, points last one year from the date they are assessed. Five points bring a 5-day suspension, 8 points a 10-day suspension and the loss of recurring trips, and 10 points termination from MTM’s network. One trip by a driver with an expired license, in a van with an expired inspection, costs 4 points. That is already past the 3-point marketplace suspension. See NEMT broker penalties for the rest of the schedule.

CareOregon’s manual requires its brokerages to warn providers in advance about missing or outdated documents, and to withhold payment only when items are not sent by the requested date. Not every broker promises a warning. Build your own calendar and never rely on the broker’s reminder.

Your recredentialing calendar: the driver file

Most renewals live in the driver file. This table combines the cycles brokers and states publish, as of September 2026. Where two sources differ, follow the stricter one for the broker you drive for.

Item	How often	Where the rule comes from
Exclusion checks: the OIG list and SAM.gov	Every month	States must check the OIG list and the federal excluded parties list at least monthly (42 CFR 455.436). Texas requires monthly checks of both for NEMT drivers, plus a yearly check of its state exclusion list. WellTrans asks Indiana providers to send a monthly OIG verification for the company and each driver.
Sex offender registry search	Before hire, then every year	Texas requires state and national registry checks each year from the date of hire. WellTrans’s Indiana manual (February 17, 2023) requires checks of the Indiana and national registries, with driver records refreshed every year.
Criminal background check	Before hire, then every year	MTM Health’s standard agreement. MTM’s Rhode Island handbook requires a state BCI check yearly. WellTrans repeats a national check yearly.
Driving record	Every year	MTM Health wants a record covering three years, pulled yearly. WellTrans wants a five-year record, updated yearly.
Driver’s license	At each renewal	WellTrans wants the copy updated whenever the license is renewed. MAS, New York’s statewide broker, monitors driver licenses through the state DMV (manual of October 1, 2023).
Drug and alcohol tests	Before hire, after an accident, on reasonable suspicion, and at random	MTM Health’s standard agreement. MTM’s Rhode Island handbook requires random tests covering more than 25 percent of drivers each year.
First aid and CPR	Every 2 years for Red Cross certificates	The Red Cross says its adult first aid, CPR, and AED certificate is valid for two years
PASS	Every 2 years for CTAA driver certificates	CTAA’s PASS handbook (January 30, 2024). Oregon requires a passenger service and safety course at least every three years, and Texas requires passenger assistance training every three years.
Defensive driving	Every 2 or 3 years, by state	Texas: every 2 years. Oregon: at least every 3 years.
Fraud, waste, and abuse and HIPAA training	Every year	MTM Health requires both yearly for every employee. Modivcare collects a signed compliance attestation each year.

Hire-date windows and mid-year changes

Some courses are due soon after hire, and then on a cycle. Oregon’s rule for Medicaid health plans, OAR 410-141-3925 (effective January 1, 2022), requires defensive driving and the passenger service and safety course within three months of hire and at least every three years after. First aid and CPR must be current before a driver carries any member. Texas requires most driver courses within 30 days of hire, and fraud, waste, and abuse training within 90 days.

Texas counts its yearly checks “from date of hire.” That means each driver has a personal renewal date. Put each one on the calendar instead of running all drivers in January.

Changes between renewals must be reported too. WellTrans’s Indiana manual gives you three business days to report an event that could affect a driver’s credential, such as a new conviction or charge. MTM Health’s standard agreement requires immediate notice of any criminal charge against a driver.

CTAA lets a PASS holder recertify up to 90 days after the certificate expires. That grace period only protects the right to renew. Until the driver recertifies, the broker’s file shows an expired certificate, so renew before the date and send the broker the new copy.

If your vans are commercial motor vehicles under federal rules, two more cycles apply. 49 CFR 391.25 requires a driving record pull and review at least every 12 months, and 49 CFR 391.45 a medical certificate at least every 24 months. See DOT numbers for NEMT to check whether federal rules reach your fleet.

Vehicle inspections and insurance renewals

Every van has its own renewal dates: registration, state inspection where your state requires one, the broker’s inspection, and its place on your auto policy.

Program	Broker inspection cycle
MTM Health, Virginia (August 2026)	Before carrying members, then twice a year. MTM can email you when an inspection is coming due.
Georgia (DCH NEMT policies, July 1, 2026)	The broker inspects every vehicle every six months. The first inspection may be no more than 60 days before the van enters service.
WellTrans, Indiana (manual, February 17, 2023)	Before service, then at least once a year, plus spot inspections. The manual’s vehicle attachment says initial and monthly inspections, so ask which applies. A van that fails and is not fixed is barred, and its trips are not paid.
MediTrans, Louisiana (September 2026)	Annual inspections
CareOregon (February 2024)	A safety inspection by an ASE-certified mechanic within the last year, and ADA compliance certification within the last year for wheelchair vans
MAS, New York (October 2023)	A documented driver inspection before every shift, which MAS may audit at any time

Run each van through the vehicle inspection checklist a week before the broker’s inspector comes. A van that fails can be pulled from service until it is fixed.

Insurance certificates

Insurance renews on the policy’s schedule, but the broker needs proof each time. MTM Health’s standard agreement requires certificates at signing and at every renewal, plus copies of the endorsement that gives MTM notice if a policy is canceled. It also requires immediate notice when you add or remove a vehicle on a scheduled auto policy. WellTrans’s agreement (October 16, 2025) requires new certificates immediately after any renewal or change, and policies that give WellTrans written notice at least 30 days before coverage ends or changes.

Ask your agent to send each broker a new certificate of insurance on the renewal date, worded the way that broker requires. Then confirm the broker accepted it. See NEMT insurance requirements for the coverage itself.

Company renewals: licenses, contracts, and Medicaid

The company file renews too, on longer cycles that are easy to forget.

Item	When it renews	Example
Business license, permits, and operating authority	At each expiration	MTM’s Virginia handbook collects your business license and your state and federal operating authority with their expiration dates, plus any EMS permit
Broker compliance attestation	Every year	Modivcare asks owners and drivers to review its training within 30 days of the request and to return the signed attestation within 90 days
Broker site visit	Every year	CareOregon’s manual calls for yearly site visits to review records, facilities, and equipment
NPI record in NPPES	Within 30 days of any change	Required by 45 CFR 162.410
Medicaid enrollment	At least every 5 years	Required by 42 CFR 455.414. See Medicaid revalidation.
The broker agreement itself	At the end of its term	MTM Health’s standard agreement runs three years and renews only by mutual written agreement. WellTrans’s renews each year unless either side gives notice 45 days before the term ends.

Modivcare’s attestation (2025 version) also has you certify that new employees finish the required training within 30 days of hire, and that you keep training records for at least 10 years. Keep every certificate and signed roster, not only the latest one.

How to build a recredentialing calendar

1. List every credential with its expiration date. Make one row per driver, per vehicle, and one for the company. Use the driver file checklist so no item is missing.
2. Pull each broker’s rules. MTM Health lists its required credentials in Appendix B of its service agreement. Read that and the provider handbook for every state you serve.
3. Set reminders 30 days early. MTM’s Rhode Island program wants uploads 10 business days before expiration, and training and background checks take time to schedule. Thirty days covers both.
4. Run exclusion checks on one day each month. OIG says it generally updates its list by the middle of each month, so pick a date after the 15th. Save each result as a PDF, as WellTrans asks, and date it. Log it in the exclusion screening log.
5. Spread yearly checks across the year. Tie each driver’s background check, registry search, and driving record to his or her hire date.
6. Line up the insurance agent before renewal. Give the agent every broker’s certificate wording and a current vehicle list.
7. Pull a driver or van off broker trips the day a credential expires. Reassign the trips or turn them back within the broker’s deadline. Running the trip anyway risks points and an unpaid claim.
8. Report changes the week they happen. New charges, accidents, license suspensions, added vans, and new owners all have reporting deadlines. See reporting changes to Medicaid for the state side.
9. Check your calendar against every manual update. Brokers change their lists. MTM says its credentialing changes are posted online, and its Virginia handbook says training requirements may be updated.
10. Keep the proof. MTM Health’s standard agreement and WellTrans’s agreement both require records kept for 10 years.

The NEMT compliance calendar puts these cycles on one printable page.

When your broker or state changes

A new broker means a new file, even if nothing about your company changed. Every document gets checked again against the new broker’s list, and its renewal rules replace the old one’s. Start the new file as soon as the change is announced, and keep the old broker’s file current until its last trip. See the broker transition guide for the steps.