Ohio School Van Certification in 2027: Motor Van Drivers, the T-8 Physical, and Pre-Service Training

An Ohio NEMT or ambulette company may already own vans that fit what Ohio schools can now hire. House Bill 54, in effect since June 30, 2025, lets districts own or contract for vans built for 12 or fewer passengers to carry any student. The school side adds its own driver certificate, a yearly school physical, record checks twice a year, and state training. For how districts buy student rides in general, see special needs student transportation contracts.

Which vans Ohio schools can use

Ohio calls it a motor van: a vehicle originally designed for not more than 12 passengers, not including the driver (OAC 3301-83-04, effective July 1, 2025). R.C. 4511.76 lets a school district run these vans itself or contract with a vendor that supplies them. A vehicle built for more than 12 passengers must meet the school bus construction standards instead (OAC 3301-83-19).

“Originally designed” means as the vehicle left the factory. The Department of Education and Workforce (DEW) says to check the seating capacity on the Tire and Loading Information label, which must read 12 or less. For a van finished in stages, DEW points to the final-stage manufacturer, whose certification label sits by the driver’s door. Only a manufacturer can change a passenger rating, and DEW says removing seats to fit the rule is illegal for anyone else. DEW’s rule counts passengers without the driver, but its label check says the seating capacity must be 12 or less. If a van’s label reads 13, call DEW’s Office of Pupil Transportation before you buy or lease it.

Under OAC 3301-83-19, every motor van carrying students needs:

• A roof sign marked “School Transportation.”
• Your name on the side. The district’s name, or the contractor’s name when a contractor runs the van, clearly marked.
• Safety equipment. A fire extinguisher, first aid kit, body fluid cleanup kit, fuses and spare fuses, and emergency reflectors.
• A mechanic inspection at least twice a year. A qualified mechanic covers the motor van items in OAC 3301-83-11 and finds the van safe, you set regular maintenance intervals, and the proof is kept on file with the district’s transportation department.
• A daily pre-trip inspection. The driver completes and logs it on each day students ride, before the first trip, and you keep the records for 12 months. You may assign another qualified person to the stationary checks. DEW posts a school vehicle pre-trip inspection form on its van page.
• Loads within the maker’s limits, with every rider restrained. R.C. 4511.76 holds the driver and passengers to the seat belt and child restraint laws. Under R.C. 4511.81, a child under 4 or under 40 pounds rides in a child restraint, and a child under 8 and under 4 feet 9 inches rides in a booster seat. DEW asks districts to give you each child’s age, height, and weight so the van carries the right seats. See transporting children in NEMT for car seat basics.

A van has no stop arm or red lights, so R.C. 4511.76 bars the driver from stopping on the roadway to load or unload a student. DEW says to pull completely off the road, into a driveway, or into a designated pickup location. DEW also suggests districts have contractors present each van before it carries students, so expect a look at the sign, lettering, safety equipment, and seating label.

Who certifies the driver

Two certificates make a school van driver legal. Under R.C. 3327.10, no one may drive a contractor’s van for a district without a certificate from the district superintendent, or the educational service center that serves the district, stating the driver is at least 18 and physically and otherwise qualified. Separately, the regional pre-service instructor issues the training certificate once the course, the driving evaluation, and your T-9 form are in and verified.

Everything runs through Drives, DEW’s online database of school transportation drivers. Under R.C. 3327.10, no one may drive students until the employer has reported the driver’s name, license number, date of birth, hire date, physical status, and training status to DEW, and has received the latest criminal records check. Access takes an OH|ID account, a DEW profile, and an organization role tied to a six-digit IRN. DEW warns that when a contractor has no IRN, its drivers have no proper record in Drives. Each driver also creates an OH|ID and links it to your IRN, and you approve the link in the state’s CORE system.

Expect districts to ask for proof, because the state penalizes them. DEW says a district using a van driver who does not meet R.C. 3327.10 is noncompliant. Under R.C. 3327.021, a district counts as out of compliance after such a problem on five school days in a row, or on ten school days in a year. The first finding means a corrective action plan. After that, DEW withholds 25% of the district’s daily state transportation payment for each day it stays out of compliance, and all of it after a fifth finding in one school year.

Driver requirements

As of October 2026, DEW’s motor van checklist and R.C. 3327.10 ask for:

1. Age and experience. At least 18, with two years of driving experience and a current, valid license. No CDL is needed for a motor van.
2. Driving records. You obtain the driver’s complete record before the first drive, then at least every six months, and again before the driver returns after a break of a year or more. OAC 3301-83-06 runs these checks through DEW and has you keep them for six years.
3. Fingerprints. A BCI check using reason code 3327.10, with FBI records, before hire and every six years after. The driver is not qualified until the State Board of Education enrolls them in the Rapback database, which flags later arrests to you.
4. Drug testing. A negative pre-employment drug test. You also set your own drug and alcohol testing program for van drivers and the standards for removing a driver.
5. Insurance. Proof of coverage at no less than the R.C. 3327.09 amounts of $100,000 per person, $300,000 per occurrence, $50,000 property damage, and $3,000 medical payments, or coverage under your policy or the district’s.
6. A bond. R.C. 3327.10 requires a satisfactory bond from every school van driver except a district employee driving a district-owned vehicle. Ask the district how it wants this handled.
7. The physical and training described below.

The record check disqualifies a driver with more than six points in the past two years, an OVI conviction or guilty plea in the past ten years, two or more serious traffic violations in the past two years, or any railroad crossing violation in the past year. A driver convicted of a traffic violation must file written notice with the superintendent, or the superintendent’s designee, before driving students again. See NEMT driver background checks for the checks your Medicaid work asks for.

Convictions that bar a school van driver

OAC 3302-83-23, effective November 10, 2025, sets the criminal record standard that R.C. 3327.10 points to, though the statute still calls it rule 3301-83-23. A provider may not hire a driver, and must release a current one, with a conviction or guilty plea for an offense on its list inside the look-back period shown here:

Offenses (examples)	Look-back period
Rape, sexual battery, gross sexual imposition, murder, manslaughter, vehicular homicide, strangulation, terrorism	No time limit
Felonious or aggravated assault, robbery, aggravated burglary	20 years
Drug trafficking or manufacture, burglary, OVI	10 years
Reckless operation, driving under suspension, physical control while under the influence	6 years
Assault, domestic violence, carrying concealed weapons, controlled substance possession above minor drug possession	5 years
School bus warning light violation, school zone speeding in a school vehicle, railroad crossing violation	1 year

The table shows examples, and the rule lists more offenses in each group. For some other offenses on the state’s list, a provider may decide a driver is rehabilitated, but never when the victim was under 18 or a student, and the employer’s decision cannot be appealed to the State Board of Education. If a driver is arrested, summoned, or indicted for a listed offense, you must suspend the driver from duties that involve the care, custody, or control of a child while the case is open.

The T-8 physical

Every school van driver passes a yearly physical under OAC 3301-83-07, recorded on DEW’s T-8 form. The van owner appoints the medical examiners each year and pays for the exams. Physicals for the next school year may start May 1, and each driver must pass before September 1 and have the result entered and submitted in the state system. A driver hired on or after January 1 is examined before driving, and that exam stays valid through the following school year. Contractors also give the district a copy of each completed physical.

The T-8 is not the federal DOT physical. DEW’s instructions tell examiners the Ohio exam is different and that school drivers are not subject to the federal medical rule, so a driver needs the T-8 even with a current DOT medical card. See the NEMT DOT physical for where the federal card applies. Check these T-8 standards with your driver before the exam:

• Blood pressure. At or below 160/90 passes. A first reading of 161 to 180 systolic or 91 to 104 diastolic can earn a temporary certificate for up to 90 days while it is brought under control, with a follow-up check six months later. A reading above 180 systolic or 104 diastolic fails.
• Diabetes. A driver who needs insulin may drive only with a DEW waiver. Since July 1, 2025, those waivers last six years.
• Vision. At least 20/40 in each eye, with or without glasses, a 70-degree field of vision in each eye, and the ability to tell red, green, and amber.
• Hearing. A screening test that shows no average hearing loss above 40 decibels at 500, 1,000, and 2,000 Hz in the better ear, with or without a hearing aid.

Keep each physical for six years, and keep them confidential with the driver’s criminal record, BMV reports, and drug test results.

Training and the T-9

Before the training certificate is issued, OAC 3301-83-10 and DEW’s training manual require:

1. The online course. A four-hour minimum Ohio pre-service curriculum, moved to the Ohio Learn platform on July 1, 2026. You register each driver through your regional pre-service instructor’s office with the driver’s full legal name, OH|ID number, and email. The course is paid for before the regional office assigns it, there are no refunds, and a driver who cannot finish online attends an in-person class for an extra fee. A current school bus driver certificate covers this step.
2. A pre-trip inspection and driving evaluation. A certified on-the-bus instructor, or another person employed and designated by an educational service center, school, or district, confirms the driver is accustomed to the van. DEW posts a van driver driving evaluation form on its van page.
3. The T-9 form. A superintendent or designee for the employer affirms the course, evaluation, background checks, semiannual driving record, T-8, age and experience, insurance, drug screen, and in-service training, and the employing district or contractor submits it in Drives.

Before a driver carries preschool or special needs students, you also train them in behavior management, physical handling, communication, adaptive equipment, the students’ conditions, and health care within their qualifications. After certification, every driver completes in-service training each year, and you keep the record on file.

Records you keep and how often checks repeat

OAC 3301-83-14 has you keep maintenance and repair records, the pre-trip logs, and each driver’s training records, pre-service certificate, drug and alcohol training and bloodborne pathogens certificates, twice-yearly BMV reports, in-service records, criminal record check, physical, and local certificate. The State Highway Patrol or DEW can ask to see them.

After any crash with injury or property damage, notify the State Highway Patrol within 48 hours. When a crash causes a death, an injury, or more than $1,000 in damage, you also file a T-10 accident report with DEW within 15 days and email a copy to the Highway Patrol at adlcs@dps.ohio.gov.

Most checks repeat on a schedule, from every day to every six years, and each falls to a different person:

Check	How often	Who does it
Driving record	Before the first drive, then every six months	The van owner, through DEW
Criminal records check	Before hire, then every six years	The employer, through BCI
T-8 physical	Every year, passed before September 1	An examiner the owner appoints
Van inspection	At least twice a year	A qualified mechanic
Pre-trip inspection	Each day students ride	The driver or a designee
In-service training	Every year	The employer

How to add school van work, step by step

1. Get an IRN and Drives access, and have each driver create an OH|ID and link it to your IRN.
2. Check every van’s seating label for 12 or fewer passengers, not counting the driver.
3. Fit the roof sign, side lettering, and safety kit, then book the first mechanic inspection.
4. Fingerprint drivers for BCI and FBI checks under code 3327.10, compare each result with the conviction list above, and wait for Rapback enrollment.
5. Pull driving records and set six-month reminders.
6. Book T-8 physicals from May 1 for the coming school year.
7. Register drivers for the online course through the regional pre-service office and schedule their driving evaluations.
8. Run the drug test, confirm insurance at the R.C. 3327.09 amounts, and arrange the driver bond.
9. File the T-9 in Drives and get the superintendent’s certificate for each driver.
10. Find the work. Ask the school districts, community schools, and chartered nonpublic schools near you how they contract van service. County job and family services agencies buy Medicaid rides, covered in NET transportation in Ohio, and the Ohio state guide covers your ambulette license and Medicaid work.

DEW’s Office of Pupil Transportation answers questions at 614-466-4230 or 877-644-6338.