How to Start a NEMT Business in Arkansas (2027)

Arkansas Medicaid calls its ride program NET, for Non-Emergency Transportation, and gives each of its seven regions to one broker. Verida runs four regions, two community agencies run two more, and Modivcare has run the Little Rock area since January 2, 2026. Arkansas Medicaid’s Transportation provider manual covers only ambulance services, so the rules below come from the Department of Human Services broker contract, solicitation 710-25-049 (Revision 2, 2025). The June 2026 Region G rebid repeats its vehicle, driver, and insurance terms.

How Medicaid rides work in Arkansas

The Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) runs Medicaid through its Division of Medical Services. NET runs under a federal 1915(b) waiver, approved from April 1, 2023 through March 31, 2028, that allows one broker per region. DHS pays each broker a set amount per member per month, a capitation rate, and the broker books every ride, gives it to its own drivers or a transportation provider, and pays that provider.

DHS bid all seven regions in 2025, each on a one-year contract that can be renewed up to six times. The awards for two regions changed before rides moved. Region G went to Modivcare after a bid protest, covered in Modivcare takes over Region G. In Region B, DHS rescinded its first award, to MediTrans, and named Verida on November 10, 2025, covered in Arkansas awards Region B to Verida.

These are the regions on the DHS map revised in December 2025, with the counties DHS assigns to each:

• Region A, Verida: Baxter, Benton, Boone, Carroll, Madison, Marion, Newton, Searcy, and Washington.
• Region B, Verida: Cleburne, Fulton, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Sharp, Stone, Van Buren, White, and Woodruff.
• Region C, Verida: Clay, Craighead, Crittenden, Cross, Greene, Lawrence, Mississippi, Poinsett, Randolph, and St. Francis.
• Region D, Verida: Conway, Crawford, Franklin, Johnson, Logan, Perry, Polk, Pope, Scott, Sebastian, and Yell.
• Region E, Central Arkansas Development Council (CADC): Calhoun, Clark, Columbia, Dallas, Garland, Hempstead, Hot Spring, Howard, Lafayette, Little River, Miller, Montgomery, Nevada, Ouachita, Pike, Saline, Sevier, and Union.
• Region F, Area Agency on Aging of Southeast Arkansas: Arkansas, Ashley, Bradley, Chicot, Cleveland, Desha, Drew, Grant, Jefferson, Lee, Lincoln, Monroe, Phillips, and Prairie.
• Region G, Modivcare: Faulkner, Lonoke, and Pulaski.

DHS’s databook for state fiscal year 2024 (July 2023 to June 2024) shows where the work is. It counts a trip each time a vehicle goes out and leaves out day treatment rides. Loaded miles per trip is each region’s loaded miles divided by its trips.

Region	Trips	Loaded miles per trip
A	21,567	42
B	14,766	58
C	35,613	43
D	29,824	39
E	68,001	43
F	55,976	30
G	45,061	18

Regions E and F, now run by community agencies, carried about 46 percent of the 270,808 trips. Outside Region G, the average trip runs 30 loaded miles or more, so see rural NEMT for planning.

Who qualifies and how members book

Members on Medicaid or ARKids First-A qualify when they have no other way to a Medicaid-covered service, and traditional Medicaid has no trip or mileage limit. NET does not cover nursing facility or ICF/IID residents, members covered only as QMB, SLMB, or QI-1, ARKids First-B children, retroactive eligibility, or incarcerated people. ARHOME adults in a commercial health plan get 8 one-way legs a calendar year unless they are medically frail or still waiting for their plan, and they can ask AFMC, the state’s NET monitor, for more.

Since January 1, 2026, members book at least 72 hours ahead, not counting weekends and holidays. Urgent appointments, needed within 24 to 48 hours, and hospital discharges after an inpatient stay or a 23-hour emergency room hold are the exceptions. Standing orders must be reconfirmed by the last Wednesday of the month before.

Brokers take reservations Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and run Saturday rides from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for dialysis, chemotherapy, and radiation. For most rides they ask set questions about a working car, transit, and other rides on every call, and keep the recording for five years. Rides go to the nearest qualified provider, or farther for the member’s primary care doctor or a referral, and to Arkansas Medicaid providers up to 50 miles past the border.

Day treatment and ride types

The 2025 contracts fold in rides to Early Intervention Day Treatment (EIDT) and Adult Developmental Day Treatment (ADDT) centers. These riders travel on separate trips from other NET members. EIDT rides with children aged 3 or younger need at least one adult for every three children. The driver counts toward that ratio but can never be the only adult with a child under 3. See adult day care transportation.

The contract’s vehicle roster lists minibuses, wheelchair vans, and NET vans. Brokers may use taxis or rideshare once DHS approves a rider safety plan. The NET contract does not list stretcher service, and Arkansas Medicaid’s Transportation manual says ground ambulance services must come from a licensed ambulance service, even for a routine or non-emergency transfer.

How to join the broker for your region

You do not sign up with DHS to drive NET trips. Under the waiver, members ride only through their region’s broker, and the broker signs a service agreement with each provider on a model DHS approves. The one exception is day treatment centers. ADDT providers may stay enrolled with Medicaid to carry members to ADDT services (Section I, 105.170), and DHS said in its 2025 bid answers that ADDT and EIDT centers that drive their own clients can keep billing Medicaid directly under procedure code A0120.

Verida, Regions A to D

Verida’s provider pages list four steps:

1. Send the Request for Qualifications with a driver list and a vehicle list. Verida checks whether your region needs providers and calls you for an interview if it does.
2. Send your documents: a current business license, proof of liability insurance, driver credentials, criminal background checks and motor vehicle reports for all drivers, and drug screens for all owners and drivers.
3. Pass inspections and training. Vehicles pass a safety inspection, and drivers complete First Aid, CPR, defensive driving, passenger sensitivity, spill kit, lifting, wheelchair securement, and orientation training.
4. Attend the owner orientation, then sign the contract.

Verida’s Arkansas provider line is 404-698-0643, its claims line is 678-510-4600 (press 2), and its Arkansas state director’s office is 501-954-8906. See our Verida guide.

Modivcare, Region G

Apply through the form on Modivcare’s Become a Transportation Provider page. The page lists what it requires: a hands-on PASS wheelchair certificate, First Aid and CPR, defensive driving, a drug screen, a motor vehicle report, and a background check for each driver, plus general liability, sexual abuse and molestation, auto, and workers’ compensation coverage. See our Modivcare guide.

DHS rebid Region G on June 19, 2026 as solicitation 710-26-069, with bids due July 7, 2026. The solicitation names January 1, 2027 as the anticipated start of the new contract. As of September 2026, DHS had posted no award, and its NET page still lists Modivcare. A new broker would mean new credentialing, so keep the broker transition checklist handy.

CADC and SEAT, Regions E and F

Both are community agencies that run their own transit services: CADC, based in Benton, runs South Central Arkansas Transit (SCAT), and the Area Agency on Aging of Southeast Arkansas, based in Pine Bluff, runs Southeast Arkansas Transportation (SEAT). The DHS contract lets a broker be the sole provider or subcontract. Call CADC at 501-315-1121 or the agency at 870-543-6300 to ask whether it adds outside providers. See our guides to CADC and SEAT.

What the broker must check

The broker checks NET personnel, from office staff to drivers, against the state and federal Medicare and Medicaid exclusion lists (see the OIG exclusion list). It cannot contract with anyone convicted of Medicaid or Medicare fraud, terminated from either program, or excluded from any DHS program. It inspects your vehicles before signing, sends your agreement and driver roster to AFMC, and reports changes within five business days.

Licenses and registrations

Your company

Form an LLC or corporation with the Arkansas Secretary of State. A Certificate of Organization (LL-01) or Articles of Incorporation (DN-01) costs $45 online or $50 on paper as of September 2026. Your registered agent needs an Arkansas street address, not a post office box.

Every LLC pays a $150 franchise tax by May 1 each year, and corporations pay at least $150. A late LLC report adds a $25 penalty plus interest, and there are no extensions. Get your EIN free from the IRS. Verida and the DHS contract both ask for a business license, so check what your city or county issues. If a plan or facility asks for an NPI, see how to get an NPI number.

Arkansas Department of Transportation

ArDOT’s Legal Division issues intrastate operating authority, and all for-hire carriers of passengers within Arkansas must apply. The DHS contract backs this up: brokers attest that every vehicle meets ArDOT’s intrastate renewal requirements and collect proof of each subcontractor’s ArDOT vehicle registration.

If you	You need
Carry riders for pay within Arkansas	ArDOT intrastate authority as a common or contract carrier
Also carry riders across a state line	Interstate authority, which FMCSA issues, plus the ArDOT authority
Drive a vehicle designed for 16 or more people, driver included	A commercial driver’s license

ArDOT’s FAQ exempts carriers that stay inside a city’s commercial zone, but average NET trips run 18 to 58 loaded miles by region, and the broker contract asks for ArDOT registration anyway. Arkansas also applies the federal safety rules in 49 CFR parts 383 to 399 to intrastate carriers (27 CAR 110-1801).

The passenger carrier application, in individual and corporation versions, includes:

• An Application for Permanent Authority describing the service and territory, a vehicle list with VINs and capacity, a balance sheet, an Arkansas agent for service of process, and a notarized oath.
• A Verified Statement with your formation papers, a certificate of good standing, an income statement, and your safety program.
• A $50 filing fee, a separate cashier’s check or money order for the $5 per vehicle insurance filing fee, and an ACORD certificate of insurance.

Recent NEMT applications on ArDOT’s Notice of Filing page, such as docket M-58776 from July 2024, ask for authority as a contract carrier of “passengers and their belongings, under continuing contract(s).” ArDOT publishes a Notice of Filing, protests are due by the tenth day after the official filing date, and under Act 746 of 1995 a protest challenges whether you are fit, willing, and able. A hearing follows at 10324 Interstate 30 in Little Rock, and personal appearance is mandatory.

Renew every year by December 31 with the renewal form, a current ACORD certificate, and $5 per vehicle. ArDOT’s Legal Division lists its motor carrier contact at 501-569-2160. See NEMT license requirements and operating authority.

Vehicle rules

The DHS contract sets four layers of inspection:

• Your driver, with a walk-around checklist before and after each day, including odometer readings and checks of the camera, child alarm, seat belts, brakes, and signals.
• The broker, before it signs your agreement and then at least every 30 days.
• A certified mechanic, once a year, paid for by the broker under the DHS contract.
• AFMC, at least once a year plus random visits. After any accident, AFMC must approve the repaired vehicle before it carries NET riders again.

Every vehicle needs:

• Your company name and contact details, plus the DHS NET Help Line number, on display.
• Heat that warms to 74 degrees and air conditioning that cools to 68, measured at the rear.
• Working seat belts kept off the floor, “No Smoking” and “ALL PASSENGERS MUST USE SEAT BELTS” signs, and no eating or drinking.
• A video camera: at least 720p HD, GPS, an interior view of all passengers, and 45 days of stored video, recording whenever the vehicle runs. A vehicle with a broken camera carries no NET riders. See NEMT dash cameras.
• A fire extinguisher, biohazard kit, first aid kit, reflective triangles, web cutter, flashlight, and reflective safety vest.
• Tires with at least 4/32 inch of tread, and floors covered in commercial anti-skid ribbed rubber or carpet.
• A retractable step or four-legged step stool when the floor is more than 12 inches up, so no step exceeds 7 inches. Never a milk crate.

Children under 6 or under 60 pounds ride in a child seat, which the broker supplies if the family has none. Vehicles designed for more than 7 passengers plus a driver need a child safety alarm that makes the driver walk to the back to switch it off. DHS’s 2026 answers confirm it is required even if the vehicle never carries children. See children in NEMT.

Wheelchair vans must meet the ADA’s lift-equipped vehicle rules, and the driver confirms every wheelchair and seat belt is secured before moving. Use our vehicle inspection checklist before each broker visit, and see NEMT vehicle requirements.

Driver rules and training

The DHS contract sets these minimums for drivers, and attendants face the same background checks:

• At least 21, licensed for the vehicle class in the state where they live.
• A clean driving record at hire. Two moving violations or at-fault accidents in 12 months, in any vehicle, remove a driver from service.
• No suspended or revoked license in the last 5 years.
• No felony or drug-related misdemeanor in the last 5 years, and no sexual offense or crime of violence ever.
• None of the crimes in Ark. Code Ann. 21-15-102(f) unless cleared or waived, and none in 21-15-102(g)(2) at any time.
• Not named in a substantiated child or adult maltreatment registry report, and not excluded under DHS Policy 1088.
• A federal criminal history check and an Arkansas State Police check, plus a prior-state check for anyone in Arkansas less than 5 years.

Drivers need documented training in child passenger safety, defensive driving, lift operation, and wheelchair securement, and DHS says child passenger safety applies even to drivers who never carry children. First Aid and CPR must follow American Heart Association or American Red Cross guidelines with hands-on practice, and online-only certificates are not accepted. See CPR requirements for NEMT drivers. Test drivers for drugs and alcohol before hire and at random, in a USDOT program or one that mirrors it (NEMT driver drug testing).

On the job, drivers wear company ID, never smoke near riders, help riders to and from the main door, and fasten seat belts. After parking, the driver walks the whole vehicle and signs the daily log. A rider left aboard after a missed walk-through, a misused child alarm, a child seat violation, or an unsecured wheelchair means immediate termination for the driver. The contract also warns that staff may be mandated reporters of suspected abuse under state and federal law.

The broker’s file on each driver holds a three-year driving record updated yearly, First Aid and CPR renewed every two years, maltreatment checks every three years, and a criminal background check every five, plus training, complaints, and accidents. Our driver file checklist tracks them, and NEMT driver requirements compares other states.

Trip rules and how you get paid

Your service agreement carries the contract’s scheduling rules:

• Pickup. Arrive no later than 15 minutes after the scheduled time. You do not have to wait more than 15 minutes after arriving.
• Drop-off. Arrive at least 15 minutes before the appointment, no more than one hour early, and never before the site opens.
• Ride time. No trip, going or coming home, runs more than one hour longer than the average direct trip.
• Returns. Pick up before the site closes, and log every late arrival or drop-off.
• Daily log. Record each rider’s Medicaid number and addresses, the scheduled and actual pickup and arrival times both ways, the appointment time, and any escort. Our trip log template has the columns.

Arkansas does not set provider rates. The broker negotiates a rate, the contract says it must be fully disclosed in your agreement, and the broker must pay authorized trips in full within 30 calendar days of your invoice. Brokers cannot charge riders copays or set mileage caps. DHS will not step in on payment disputes, and no-show pay, if any, is a term of your agreement.

The broker must report any accident to AFMC and DHS within 30 minutes, so tell your broker at once. When you miss a requirement, the broker notifies you within 24 business hours, sets a corrective action plan within three business days, and ends the agreement if the fix is not done by the deadline, usually 30 days.

Insurance requirements

The DHS contract and Verida’s Arkansas checklist set these, as of September 2026:

Item	What is required
Liability on each vehicle	$1,000,000, with contractual liability coverage protecting the State (DHS contract)
Additional insured	Arkansas DHS, on the liability policies the contract requires
Insurer	Licensed in Arkansas (DHS), rated A- or better (Verida)
General liability	What Verida lists as “$1 M SAM coverage with $2M aggregate”
Auto liability	Every vehicle listed, and all owned, hired, and non-owned vehicles covered (Verida)

Ask your broker to confirm each limit in writing before you buy. See NEMT insurance requirements for other states.

ArDOT’s own minimums in 27 CAR 110-1301 are lower. Bodily injury shows the limit for one person, then for everyone hurt in one accident.

Seats	Bodily injury	Property damage
12 or fewer	$50,000 / $80,000	$30,000
13 to 20	$50,000 / $120,000	$30,000
21 to 30	$50,000 / $160,000	$30,000
31 or more	$50,000 / $200,000	$30,000

Arkansas requires workers’ compensation for most employers with three or more employees, and the Workers’ Compensation Commission warns there are exceptions, so check before going without. Modivcare lists it among its requirements. See workers’ comp for NEMT.

What it costs and how long it takes

These are the fees Arkansas sets as of September 2026. Vehicles, cameras, and premiums depend on your quotes; see what it costs to start a NEMT business.

Item	Cost	Paid to
EIN	Free	IRS
LLC or corporation filing	$45 online, $50 on paper	Secretary of State
Franchise tax	$150 a year for an LLC, due May 1	Secretary of State
Late franchise tax	$25 plus interest	Secretary of State
Intrastate authority	$50, plus $5 per vehicle	ArDOT
Yearly renewal	$5 per vehicle, due December 31	ArDOT
Maltreatment checks	$10 each, plus $1 online	DHS

A workable order, from first call to first trip:

1. Call the broker for your region and ask where it needs providers.
2. Form your company, name an Arkansas registered agent, and get your EIN.
3. Get your city or county business license.
4. Buy insurance that meets the $1,000,000 per vehicle rule, and get an ACORD certificate.
5. File with ArDOT for intrastate authority, then attend your hearing.
6. Equip your vehicles with cameras, child alarms where required, and the safety kit.
7. Hire and screen drivers, with background, registry, and driving record checks, a drug test, and hands-on CPR.
8. Apply to the broker, pass the inspection, train your drivers, and sign the agreement.

Two steps set the pace. ArDOT’s official filing date falls three days after its Notice of Filing, and your verified statement is due 15 days after that, ahead of the hearing. Brokers add providers only where they need them. For the same steps anywhere, see how to start a NEMT business.

Work beyond Medicaid

• Nursing homes and ICF/IID homes. NET does not cover their residents, so these facilities arrange rides outside the broker system and are worth an early call.
• Veterans. The VA pays for special mode transportation, which includes a wheelchair van, when your local VA health facility approves it in advance. Ask the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System or your nearest VA facility how it books these rides. See VA special mode transportation.
• Public transit programs. ArDOT’s Section 5310 program gives about $2.7 million a year toward vehicles for nonprofits and public agencies serving seniors and people with disabilities. Only those groups can apply, and the 2026 cycle is closed.
• Facilities and private pay. Dialysis centers, hospitals, and families paying for themselves add work that does not depend on one broker. See how to get NEMT facility contracts and private pay NEMT.