# How Much Does a Stretcher Van Cost in 2027? The Van, Cot, Mount, and Permits

Canonical URL: https://nemtguide.com/guides/stretcher-van-cost/ · Updated 2026-10-06

This is the price of the vehicle, not of a ride. GSA paid $73,750 to $84,375 in 2026 for full-size lift vans with three wheelchair positions and one cot position. Federal orders for a manual cot ran $5,029.60 to $6,945.69, and Florida transit contracts list cot mounts at $1,995 to $2,958. Then add tax, title, permits, insurance, and a second crew member.

- GSA paid $73,750 to $84,375 in 2026 for full-size lift vans with three wheelchair positions and one cot position.
- In orders from the same converter, adding the cot position raised the price by $3,500 to $10,478, and the order descriptions do not say whether a cot comes with it.
- A manual cot ran about $5,000 to $7,000 in federal orders, while powered cots ran $25,000 or more.
- Buy the cot and mount from one maker: New York requires the retention device to come from the cot's maker.
- Illinois licenses a stretcher van for $25 for four years, so the larger running costs are the second crew member and insurance.

This page prices the vehicle: the van, the stretcher it carries, the mount that holds the stretcher, and the fees that come with them. If you are pricing a ride for a rider or a facility, see [stretcher transport cost](https://nemtguide.com/guides/stretcher-transport-cost/) instead. Government buyers post what they pay for each of these parts, so you can test a dealer's quote line by line.

## What a new stretcher van costs in 2026

GSA buys full-size wheelchair vans for federal agencies, and some come with a cot position. From January to August 2026, GSA placed six orders for a full-size van with three wheelchair positions, one cot position, and a curbside lift. They ran from $73,750 to $84,375:

- $73,750 each on February 18, February 27, and April 13, 2026
- $80,245 on April 30, 2026
- $82,995 on August 19, 2026
- $84,375 on January 7, 2026, from a second converter

The same orders show what the cot position adds. One converter's three-wheelchair van without a cot cost $70,250 on February 10, 2026, and the version with a cot position cost $73,750 on February 18, a difference of $3,500. On April 30, that converter's two versions were $70,250 and $80,245. The second converter's pair, both ordered January 7, 2026, came to $73,897 and $84,375. In these orders the cot position added $3,500 to $10,478. The [wheelchair van cost](https://nemtguide.com/guides/wheelchair-van-cost/) guide compares the August order with wheelchair-only layouts.

Treat these as benchmarks, not your price. They are fleet orders under a federal contract, and their descriptions name a cot position, not a cot, so keep the cot as its own line until a quote shows it. Your own price adds sales tax, title, and registration where your state charges them.

## What the cot, mount, and stair chair cost

Price the cot as its own line. FDA's device records sort ambulance cots into manual models and powered (electrohydraulic) ones, and federal orders show how far apart they are. The federal figures below are single orders, and the Florida figures are contract list prices.

| Item | Price | Buyer and date |
|---|---|---|
| Manual ambulance cot | $5,029.60 to $6,945.69 | Defense Logistics Agency, June 2025 to June 2026 |
| Powered (electrohydraulic) cot | $25,274.37 to $32,136.77 | VA and Defense Logistics Agency, February 2025 to June 2026 |
| Cot mount | $1,995 to $2,903 | Florida TRIPS contracts, January and June 2026 |
| Stretcher mount assembly | $2,952 to $2,958 | Florida TRIPS contract, June 17, 2026 |
| Powered cot loading system | $21,912.80 to $24,912.85 | Defense Logistics Agency, June and August 2025 |
| Stair chair | $1,160.25 to $1,810.91 | Defense Logistics Agency and GSA, May and June 2026 |
| Powered stair chair | $13,112.95 to $15,859.44 | Defense Logistics Agency, March and July 2025 |

The rules ask for a secured wheeled cot, not a powered one. Illinois requires a wheeled litter on a crash-stable quick-release fastener (77 Ill. Adm. Code 515.840), and New York a wheeled cot with the maker's straps, as [stretcher van requirements](https://nemtguide.com/guides/stretcher-van-requirements/) details. A powered cot and loader can add more than $40,000 to a van, so treat them as a choice you make, not a line the rules require.

Plan for stairs too. New York's Medicaid manual expects the crew to move the stretcher over curbs, doorways, and steps, with the people or equipment it takes. A stair chair costs a fraction of a powered one.

### Buy the cot and the mount as a set

New York's Medicaid Transportation Policy Manual (effective August 25, 2023) requires a cot retention device that is attached to the vehicle as its maker directs, fits the cot, and is made by the same company as the cot. A cheaper mount from another maker fails that rule, so price the cot and mount together. Florida's TRIPS price lists, revised January 23 and June 17, 2026, sell the mount as an option on Ford Transit minibuses and name it by the cot maker's part number. For the crash test Virginia asks of the mount, see [stretcher van requirements](https://nemtguide.com/guides/stretcher-van-requirements/).

## Permit and inspection fees that come with a stretcher van

Most fees are small next to the van. Illinois is the clearest case of a fee that applies only to stretcher vans. The Department of Public Health licenses stretcher van providers at $25 per vehicle, or $2,500 for 100 vehicles or more (77 Ill. Adm. Code 515.835, amended November 1, 2024). The license lasts four years if each yearly inspection passes. Renew 60 to 90 days before it expires, and do not put an added van into service until you have filed its application and fee and the department has inspected it.

Some counties charge the same for a stretcher van as a wheelchair van. Miami-Dade's application offers wheelchair, stretcher, and combination certificates at one price: $300 to apply for each, plus $25 for each person's background check, and $625 a year to keep each one (fee order effective October 9, 2017). A scheduled county inspection costs $38, and a new vehicle inspection $70. The [Miami-Dade guide](https://nemtguide.com/states/florida/miami-dade-county/) covers the rest, and [Florida NEMT license](https://nemtguide.com/guides/florida-nemt-license/) covers the other counties.

In Ohio, New Jersey, and Maryland, a stretcher rider goes by ambulance (Ohio Rev. Code 4766.01, N.J.A.C. 8:40-5.6, and COMAR 30.09.01.02), so the cost there is an ambulance license and an ambulance, not a stretcher van. Check the state list in [stretcher van requirements](https://nemtguide.com/guides/stretcher-van-requirements/) before you buy.

## Running costs a wheelchair van does not carry

### The second crew member

Plan for a second paid person on every stretcher trip, which Illinois and New York both require. The [stretcher business guide](https://nemtguide.com/guides/start-a-stretcher-transportation-business/) works through that wage against state stretcher rates, so run it before you buy the van.

### Workers' comp on the crew

Workers' comp is priced per $100 of payroll, so a second crew member adds premium on its own, and the class can cost more too. In states on NCCI's codes, door-through-door transport between medical facilities, where the crew takes the rider inside, falls in ambulance code 7705 (item B-1397, effective July 1, 2007). In West Virginia's loss costs, effective January 1, 2026, each $10,000 of payroll carries $148.50 in code 7705, against $126.80 in 7370 and $105.50 in 7382, before your insurer's multiplier. Ask your agent which code your stretcher crews fall in. [Insurance class codes](https://nemtguide.com/glossary/insurance-class-codes/) explains how the codes work.

### Auto insurance and upkeep

Ask your auto insurer to price the stretcher layout with the van's VIN before you sign. See [NEMT insurance cost](https://nemtguide.com/guides/nemt-insurance-cost/). Budget time each shift to check the cot and fastener as well. The [stretcher inspection checklist](https://nemtguide.com/templates/stretcher-inspection-checklist/) gives a shift, after-ride, and monthly routine.

## Buying a used stretcher van or a retired agency van

A retired transit van is one source. An agency that bought it with FTA money needs FTA's written approval to sell it before 4 years or 100,000 miles (Circular 5010.1F, November 1, 2024). If the van you find has no cot position, price in the cot, the mount, and the room Illinois requires for two attendants and a direct view of the rider.

A retired ambulance is another option. Budget to strip what a stretcher van may not carry: Illinois bars red or blue emergency lights and other warning devices. Other states bar ambulance markings, as [stretcher van requirements](https://nemtguide.com/guides/stretcher-van-requirements/) shows.

Inspect the cot fastener before you pay. A maker's service bulletin that the Virginia Department of Health posts lists what to check:

- **The retaining post on the cot.** Replace it if it has pits or divots, because a worn post may not trip the rail release.
- **The floor antler.** Its hooks should not be bent or twisted, and every bolt, knob, and block should be present and tight.
- **The age of the design.** The bulletin says one older fastener model no longer meets federal ambulance specification KKK-A-1822 for new ambulances after Change Notice 8 (July 1, 2015), though units already in service need not be updated.

FDA classes a wheeled stretcher as a Class II medical device (21 CFR 880.6910). Search FDA's recall database for the cot and fastener model, and ask for the service records. For the rest of a used-van inspection, see [buying a used wheelchair van](https://nemtguide.com/guides/used-wheelchair-van/).

## Taxes that lower the real cost

A stretcher van gets the same tax treatment as any van that carries people for pay. IRS Publication 946 (2025) says such a vehicle is not a passenger automobile, so the yearly car depreciation caps do not apply, and the 100 percent special depreciation allowance covers qualified property acquired and placed in service after January 19, 2025. The [wheelchair van cost](https://nemtguide.com/guides/wheelchair-van-cost/) guide covers the 2026 Section 179 limits and the mileage rate trade-off, and [NEMT business taxes](https://nemtguide.com/guides/nemt-business-taxes/) covers the rest. Plan the purchase with your CPA before year-end.

## How to price a stretcher van before you buy

1. **Confirm the service exists where you work.** Check that your state uses stretcher vans and who licenses them, then ask each broker whether it contracts stretcher trips in your area.
2. **Get an itemized quote.** Ask for the base van, conversion, cot position, cot fastener (maker and model), cot (maker and model), straps, oxygen bracket, stair chair, warranty, tax, and delivery as separate lines.
3. **Match the cot and the mount.** Buy both from one maker, as New York requires.
4. **Test each line** against the government prices on this page.
5. **Price insurance first.** Get auto and workers' comp quotes with the VIN and both crew members' pay.
6. **Add the fees.** Include state or county licenses, inspections, and decals.
7. **Run the loan.** Try your rate and term in the [vehicle loan calculator](https://nemtguide.com/tools/nemt-vehicle-loan-calculator/).
8. **Plan the taxes** with your CPA before year-end.

## Frequently asked questions

### How much does a stretcher van cost?

GSA paid $73,750 to $84,375 for full-size lift vans with three wheelchair positions and one cot position in six GSA orders from January to August 2026. Those orders describe a cot position, so price the cot separately unless your quote lists it. Sales tax, title, registration, permits, and insurance come on top.

### How much does a stretcher for a van cost?

A manual ambulance cot came to $5,029.60 to $6,945.69 an order in Defense Logistics Agency purchases from June 2025 to June 2026. Powered cots ran $25,274.37 to $32,136.77 in VA and Defense Logistics Agency orders from February 2025 to June 2026. Illinois and New York ask for a secured wheeled cot, not a powered one.

### How much does a stretcher mount or stretcher lift cost?

Florida's transit vehicle contracts list a cot mount at $1,995 to $2,903 and a stretcher mount assembly at $2,952 to $2,958 (price lists revised January 23 and June 17, 2026). A powered cot loading system ran $21,912.80 to $24,912.85 in 2025 federal orders. In New York the mount must come from the cot's maker.

### What permit fees does a stretcher van add?

In Illinois, the Department of Public Health charges $25 per stretcher van for a license that lasts four years with a yearly inspection, or $2,500 for 100 vehicles or more. Miami-Dade County charges the same for a stretcher certificate as a wheelchair one: $300 to apply and $625 a year to keep each certificate. Ohio, New Jersey, and Maryland send stretcher riders by ambulance instead.

### Is a used ambulance a cheaper way to get a stretcher van?

It can be, but budget to remove what a stretcher van may not carry. Illinois bars red or blue emergency lights and other warning devices on a stretcher van. Inspect the cot fastener before you buy: a worn retaining post or bent hooks mean replacement parts, and in New York the mount must match your cot's maker.

### Does a stretcher van cost more to insure?

Expect workers' comp to rise, because Illinois and New York require two workers on every stretcher trip and workers' comp is priced per $100 of payroll. In states on NCCI's codes, door-through-door transport between medical facilities can fall in code 7705. West Virginia's loss costs per $100 of payroll, effective January 1, 2026, are $1.485 for 7705, against $1.268 for 7370 and $1.055 for 7382. Ask your auto insurer to price the stretcher layout before you buy.

## Official resources

- [USAspending.gov: Search federal purchase orders](https://www.usaspending.gov/search)
- [Florida DOT TRIPS: Current transit vehicle contracts and order forms](https://www.tripsflorida.org/contracts.html)
- [FDA: Medical device recalls database](https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfRES/res.cfm)
- [Illinois General Assembly: 77 Ill. Adm. Code 515.835, stretcher van licensing and fees](https://www.ilga.gov/commission/jcar/admincode/077/077005150F08350R.html)
- [IRS: Publication 946, How To Depreciate Property](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p946)