# Virginia Replaces Its PASS Rule for NEMT Drivers With Broker Driver Training

Canonical URL: https://nemtguide.com/news/virginia-nemt-driver-training-change/ · Updated 2026-09-30

Virginia's Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) posted a new version of its fee-for-service NEMT Driver, Attendant, and Vehicle Requirements, marked "Updated May 26, 2026." It drops the rule that every driver pass the PASS course before carrying a Medicaid member. Every driver, attendant, taxi driver, and volunteer driver must now finish the broker's driver training program instead. The document gives no separate start date. For trips scheduled from October 1, 2026, the fee-for-service broker is MTM Health, and its program still begins with online PASS Basic.

## What changed in the May 26, 2026 version

Three rules changed from the April 1, 2025 version. Apart from small typing fixes, the rest of the driver, vehicle, and insurance rules read the same.

| Rule | April 1, 2025 version | May 26, 2026 version |
|---|---|---|
| Taxi drivers (item b) | All taxi drivers must be PASS certified | All taxi drivers must complete the broker's driver training program |
| All drivers and attendants (item f) | Must complete and pass a PASS trainer and driver course before transporting any member | Must complete the broker's driver training program before transporting any member |
| ID badge (item h) | The broker issues the NEMT Program ID Badge after PASS certification | The broker issues the badge after the driver training certification |

One rule carried over word for word. A company that runs its own driver training needs written approval from the broker that the course meets or exceeds the NEMT Driver Training Requirements. The broker keeps a record of every company it approves.

PASS is the Community Transportation Association of America's (CTAA) Passenger Assistance, Safety and Sensitivity course. See [PASS certification](https://nemtguide.com/glossary/pass-certification/) for how it works and how long a certificate lasts.

## Virginia NEMT driver requirements that did not change

These minimums apply to every driver and attendant on a fee-for-service trip, under the May 26, 2026 document. The broker may add its own, and DMAS points providers to each broker or health plan for its current contract terms.

| Requirement | What the document says |
|---|---|
| Age and license | At least 18, with a valid license for at least two years, for the vehicle assigned |
| Driving record | No more than two chargeable accidents or moving violations in the last three years, and Virginia DMV points no worse than minus 2 |
| Suspensions | No license suspension or revocation for moving violations in the previous five years |
| Criminal history | No barrier crime under Va. Code 37.2-314(B). Background checks from Virginia State Police or national databases, including the Sex Offender Registry, before the first trip |
| Monitoring | The broker uses the DMV Driver Alert driving record monitoring program and repeats credentialing at least once a year |
| On the job | No phone use, texting, or headphones while moving, no smoking or vaping, belts fastened and wheelchairs secured before the van moves, and a uniform shirt or ID badge shown at pickup |
| Attendants | Identified and provided within five business days of approval, and required for riders 12 and under when no family member or escort can ride |
| Volunteer drivers | Same training and credentialing, full auto insurance that covers carrying passengers, and their own NPI and taxonomy code |

Stretcher vans still need a driver and an assistant with DMAS-approved training in first aid, bloodborne pathogens, and stretcher transfers.

## What MTM Health's driver training asks for

MTM Health won the fee-for-service contract, and DMAS's September 15, 2026 bulletin announced the change. MTM's Virginia training page says every provider and driver must finish all of its required training before taking a fee-for-service trip, with no exceptions. It sets out the order:

1. **Online PASS Basic first.** Each driver takes it and uploads the certificate to MTM Link before any class. As of September 2026, CTAA charges $28 for its members and $55 for everyone else.
2. **Six-hour Driver Training in person.** Each driver registers with their own email address, not one shared with a co-worker or family member. The class includes hands-on passenger securement. Bring the wheelchair or stretcher van you will work in, its securement tools or stretcher, and a valid driver's license to check in. Sessions hold 30 people, and missing 30 minutes or more means repeating the whole class.
3. **Stretcher Training** comes after Driver Training for stretcher van drivers.

Three points save time for small companies. A valid, unexpired PASS Basic and Securement certificate is honored, so upload it instead of starting over. A company with no wheelchair trips skips the in-person PASS securement part. An owner who never drives skips Driver Training.

MTM's calendar of September 8, 2026 listed sessions from September 9 to October 3, 2026, at hotels in Richmond, Roanoke, Fairfax, and Newport News, plus Winchester in the last week. Later dates go on the same training page.

MTM's handbook, approved August 10, 2026, is stricter than DMAS in one place: it lists a minimum driver age of 21. It still names PASS among the required courses. It also requires HIPAA and fraud training, disability assistance, wheelchair securement, mandatory reporter, cultural competency, sexual harassment, and safety awareness courses, four parts of MTM Link training, and outside first aid and defensive driving courses. Drivers who miss required training lose trip assignments or are removed from the network. For MTM's offices, trip offers, and claims, see [MTM Health in Virginia](https://nemtguide.com/brokers/mtm-health/virginia/).

## Who the change reaches

The DMAS document covers fee-for-service members, and it tells providers to check with the broker or health plan they join for current contract rules. DMAS's September 15, 2026 bulletin says the broker change does not affect health plan rides:

| Coverage | Ride vendor |
|---|---|
| Fee-for-service members (trips scheduled from October 1, 2026) | MTM Health |
| Anthem HealthKeepers Plus | MTM Health |
| Humana and Sentara | Modivcare |
| Aetna Better Health | MediDrive |
| UnitedHealthcare | SafeRide |

PASS still matters outside fee-for-service. Modivcare's provider page lists a PASS wheelchair certificate among its driver requirements, next to first aid and CPR, defensive driving, a drug screen, a motor vehicle report, and a background check. A company that drives for more than one vendor should keep every driver's PASS certificate current. See [NEMT broker training requirements](https://nemtguide.com/guides/nemt-broker-training-requirements/) for how brokers compare.

## What Virginia NEMT providers should do now

1. **Check each driver's PASS dates.** Upload any unexpired PASS Basic and Securement certificate to MTM Link, and book PASS Basic Online for drivers who have none.
2. **Book Driver Training seats.** Match each driver to a date and city, and plan to take the van out of service that day.
3. **Check driver ages.** MTM's handbook asks for 21, three years above the DMAS floor.
4. **Get written approval before training in-house.** Your own course counts only once the broker approves it in writing.
5. **Update driver files.** Record each course and its expiration date in a [driver training log](https://nemtguide.com/templates/nemt-driver-training-log/), because trips stop when a credential lapses.

For licensing, insurance, and the DMV carrier certificate, see the [Virginia state guide](https://nemtguide.com/states/virginia/). For a full onboarding plan, see [NEMT driver training](https://nemtguide.com/guides/nemt-driver-training/).

## Key dates

| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| April 1, 2025 | Date of the last DMAS requirements version that required PASS for every driver |
| May 26, 2026 | Date of the DMAS requirements version that requires the broker's driver training |
| August 10, 2026 | MTM Health's Virginia provider handbook is approved |
| September 8, 2026 | MTM's Driver Training calendar lists sessions from September 9 to October 3 |
| September 15, 2026 | DMAS bulletin names MTM Health as the fee-for-service broker |
| October 1, 2026 | MTM Health takes fee-for-service trips scheduled from this date |

## Who to contact

- **DMAS transportation questions:** transportation@dmas.virginia.gov
- **MTM Health Virginia provider line:** 866-810-8302
- **Fee-for-service ride reservations for members:** 866-386-8331, unchanged by the switch