Non-Emergency Medical Transportation in Huntsville, Alabama: The Wheelchair Van Certificate (2027)

Huntsville licenses paid passenger vehicles under Chapter 8, Article IV of its city code, adopted as Ordinance 16-103 on February 11, 2016. The ordinance names eight kinds of livery vehicle, and one of them is built for NEMT work: the dedicated wheelchair accessible vehicle. A company with that kind of van needs three documents from the city: a certificate of public convenience and necessity from the City Council, a vehicle authorization and inspection sticker for each van, and a chauffeur’s license from the police for each driver.

The Department of Parking and Public Transit and the chief of police run the program day to day. The department’s office is at 500 B Church Street, 256-427-6811, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Which Huntsville vehicle class fits a NEMT company

Section 8-151 defines a dedicated wheelchair accessible vehicle as an unmetered, wheelchair accessible motor vehicle with an original seating capacity of 15 or fewer, used only to carry mobility-impaired riders and their attendants, for pay, on a prearranged basis. A prearranged trip, in this code, means a written or electronic reservation made before boarding, for the exclusive use of the vehicle by the riders who set its destination and timing.

Walking riders are harder to place. The other seven classes are the airport shuttle, carriage, limousine, luxury vehicle, pedicab, special shuttle, and taxicab, and none of them describes a plain sedan or minivan running medical trips without a meter:

• Taxicab. Needs a taximeter, a company color scheme, a roof light, and at least three cabs under the certificate.
• Luxury vehicle. A full-size luxury car or SUV that the director of Parking and Public Transit approves as luxury, charging at least $35 an hour.
• Special shuttle. A van or small minibus seating 10 to 21, also at least $35 an hour.

For a vehicle that fits no class, Section 8-182 lets the director issue a temporary certificate for up to nine months, and the director must then propose a code amendment for that kind of vehicle within six months. If the council does not add the class, the temporary certificate ends. Ask the department in writing which class it will use for your vehicles before you buy them.

Who does not need the Huntsville certificate

Section 8-142 leaves several operators out of the article. The two that matter most to a medical ride company:

• Courtesy vehicles. Vehicles run only by, or under contract with, a hospital, business, or other entity for its own patients or clients, with no direct or separate charge to the riders. The definition names vehicles equipped for disabled and chronically ill riders. If you plan to rely on this for a clinic contract, get the department’s answer in writing first.
• Out-of-town drop-offs. A company licensed as a vehicle for hire by another city may drop off in Huntsville a rider it picked up outside the city. Section 8-314 bars it from picking anyone up in Huntsville, so the ride home from a Huntsville appointment needs the Huntsville certificate.

Ambulances and government vehicles are also excluded. A paid trip between Huntsville and a city whose limits or police jurisdiction do not touch Huntsville’s, or one that starts or ends outside every city’s limits and police jurisdiction, also needs passenger authority from the Alabama Public Service Commission, as the Alabama guide explains.

Statewide, Alabama Medicaid runs its NET program without a broker, and riders choose their transporter from the program’s directory. The same guide covers how to get approved and paid.

How to get a Huntsville certificate

1. File the application. Pay the $50 filing fee and submit a sworn application to the City Council. Section 8-183 asks for every owner and their share, unpaid judgments, the misdemeanor and felony convictions of owners and officers, your proposed base of operation, how many vehicles you want, your trade name, insignia, and color scheme, and the services you plan to offer. The form posted on the city’s licensing page, revised August 2016, is written for taxis, limousines, and carriages, needs a notary, and includes a background information sheet for each owner. Ask the Finance Office, on the third floor of City Hall at 305 Fountain Circle, 256-427-5080, whether it is still the form for a wheelchair van.
2. Go through the hearing. The council publishes a notice in a local newspaper at least seven days before a public hearing on your application. Under Section 8-186, it weighs how many certified vehicles already run, whether existing service meets the need, the effect on traffic, and your character, experience, and responsibility. In 2026 every livery hearing came two weeks after the meeting that set it: February 12 and 26 for two luxury vehicle companies, March 26 and April 9 for a limousine company, and August 13 and 27 for a taxi company.
3. Insure the company before the license. Section 8-190 requires the Public Service Commission’s minimum limits, and never less than $100,000 for injury to one person, $300,000 for one accident, and $50,000 for property damage. That floor is above the commission’s own minimums for vans seating 20 or fewer. File a certificate of insurance with the city clerk-treasurer that promises 30 days’ written notice before cancellation, and keep proof in each van. For the coverage types behind those limits, see NEMT insurance requirements.
4. License the company within six months. Section 8-189 gives a non-taxi company six months from the certificate to get its business license, set up a base of operation, and have at least one vehicle authorized and running. Miss that and the certificate is rescinded automatically.
5. Authorize each van. File its make, model, seats, year, plate, VIN, and owner with the city, pass the inspections below, and pay the business license tax. The city assigns a permit number, and your driver keeps a copy in the van.
6. License each driver before their first trip, as described below.

The glossary entry on the certificate of public convenience and necessity explains how need-based permits like this one work. Birmingham also puts each NEMT company before its City Council.

Huntsville fees as of October 2026

These are the city’s own charges under Chapters 8 and 15 of the code.

Fee	Amount	When
Certificate application	$50	With the sworn application
Business license tax	$125 per vehicle a year, plus the issuance fee	Before the first trip, then due each January 1
City vehicle inspection	$25 per vehicle	Each city inspection, at least every 6 months
Chauffeur’s license	$25	With each driver’s application
Replacement chauffeur’s license	$10	When a license is lost or damaged

A renewal paid after January 31 is delinquent under Section 15-45, and Section 8-191 treats a vehicle-for-hire license not renewed by March 1 as abandoned. A certificate lasts up to ten years, cannot be transferred, and lets you add up to four vehicles a calendar year with the director’s approval. More than four in a year needs the council again.

Wheelchair van standards and inspections

Section 8-243 requires a wheelchair accessible vehicle to be designated by its maker as a van or built only for wheelchair access, with:

• an electric or hydraulic lift or ramp with a nonskid surface
• a securement system that stops the wheelchair moving sideways, forward, backward, or up
• an inside mirror that lets the driver see riders, and outside mirrors on both sides
• one or more emergency exit doors at the rear

Riders stay seated in their chair or move to a vehicle seat after loading. If you plan on a converted minivan, ask the department whether it counts before you buy one. Minivan vs full-size wheelchair van compares the two, and wheelchair securement covers the tie-down steps.

Inspections and the sticker

The city inspects the van itself, and the code lets the police chief and the director accept or require a private inspection in its place. Ask Parking and Public Transit which it will use for your vans:

• City inspections happen at least every six months, cost $25 a vehicle, and come with written notice of the date and place.
• Private inspections happen every 12 months, no more than 30 days before your business license expires, by an ASE series A certified mechanic or an inspector who meets the federal motor carrier inspector standard, who does not work for a vehicle-for-hire company. You pay the shop, use the inspection form the director provides, and keep the signed copy in the van.

The lift or ramp, securement, and other wheelchair features need their own check every 12 months by a dealer accredited in the National Mobility Equipment Dealers Association Quality Assurance Program, or a similar national program. Keep that certification sheet in the van too.

A van that passes gets a numbered, dated sticker on the front windshield from Parking and Public Transit. The department issues it only after you show proof of current insurance and current city and county licenses. A van found unsafe or uninsured goes out of service, and one not back in service within 60 days loses its authorization. You may ask the director to review a permanent out-of-service order in writing within 15 days.

Every van must also be no more than ten model years old at each inspection, counted from June 30 of the year after its model year, unless the director grants a waiver that you renew each year.

Chauffeur’s licenses for Huntsville drivers

No one may drive a certified vehicle without a city chauffeur’s license from the chief of police. Each driver files a sworn application with a $25 fee, listing two years of past addresses, five years of employers, every misdemeanor and felony conviction, and any past chauffeur’s license that was suspended or revoked. At the same time the driver:

1. is photographed by the police department
2. shows a valid driver’s license
3. requests their driving record from the Alabama Department of Public Safety and their criminal history from the Alabama Bureau of Investigation, on the state’s forms

As of October 2026, the police records unit does not print fingerprints for taxi and chauffeur applicants. Its records page sends them to the Madison County Sheriff’s Office Annex at 715-A Wheeler Avenue, 256-533-8821, weekdays 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at $10 a card, and the driver supplies the card.

If the police find the driver fit, they issue a temporary license good for up to 45 days, then the full license once the state records arrive. The full license lasts no more than four years and is renewed every third year with fresh records. Drivers must be at least 21, keep the license on them or in the van, and report a new address within five working days. A driver who works for you as an independent contractor may also need a business license of their own. For screening beyond the city’s, see NEMT driver background checks.

Rules on every Huntsville trip

• Proof of booking. A driver must show the reservation, on paper or on screen, when the police or the department ask.
• One booking at a time. A van engaged under one reservation may not carry riders booked separately, and may not pick up more riders on the way to a current rider’s destination. NEMT multiloading explains how shared rides work where they are allowed.
• Rates on file. You may charge a flat fee per trip, by the hour, or both. Apply the same rates to every rider, post them in the van or in your booking app and website, and send them by letter to the director of Parking and Public Transit.
• Short waits. No rider may be kept waiting more than five minutes before the van leaves for their destination unless they agree.
• Trip records. Keep a written or electronic record of every pickup and drop-off with the driver’s name, times, and number of riders, and keep your books at your base for at least one year.
• A staffed base. Keep a base of operation staffed during business hours, a customer service phone number on file with the director, and a registered agent in Alabama.
• Riders’ rights. Adopt a non-discrimination policy, share it with your drivers, and never refuse to load a wheelchair or walker that fits in the vehicle’s storage space.

Report any change to your application facts in writing to the city within 20 days, and tell the city within ten working days when you sell or retire a van, removing its markings and sticker first.

Where Huntsville’s Medicaid riders are approved

Huntsville reaches into three counties, and Alabama Medicaid’s NET coordinators list dated July 9, 2026 splits them between two district offices:

• Madison and Morgan counties: the Decatur District Office, 2119 Westmeade Drive SW, Decatur, 256-584-4109.
• Limestone County: the Florence District Office, listed at the agency’s central office, 501 Dexter Avenue in Montgomery, 334-353-4668.

Call the office for the riders you plan to serve and ask how it approves transporters for the NET directory. Finish the city steps above first, because Huntsville bars paid rides without a certificate, a business license, and a chauffeur’s license.