# NEMT in Modesto, California: The City Nonemergency Transport Permit and Council Hearing (2027)

Canonical URL: https://nemtguide.com/states/california/modesto/ · Updated 2026-10-06

To run NEMT in Modesto, California, you need the city's nonemergency transport permit under Municipal Code Title 3, Chapter 9. As of October 2025, you pay a $1,000 filing fee, pass a Police Department background investigation, and win a City Council hearing on public need. The code asks every driver for a DMV ambulance driver certificate and EMT certification, and every van for a CHP certificate.

- Any company running wheelchair or stretcher transport on Modesto streets needs the city permit and a city business license.
- Plan on a $1,000 filing fee, a police background check, a committee review, and a City Council hearing on public need.
- The code asks every driver for a DMV ambulance driver certificate and EMT certification, more than Medi-Cal itself requires.
- The city business license costs $75 a year plus 0.2 percent of gross receipts, as of October 2025.
- A permit cannot be sold or transferred without City Council consent and a full new application.

## Modesto NEMT at a glance

| Fact | Details |
| --- | --- |
| City permit | Nonemergency transport permit, Modesto Municipal Code Sections 3-9.01 to 3-9.20 (adopted 1994), covering ambulances and wheelchair transport |
| Filing fee | $1,000, nonrefundable, in the city's permit reports of March and October 2025 |
| Who reviews it | Police Department background investigation, the Safety and Communities Committee, then a City Council public hearing |
| Yearly city costs | Business license $75 a year, including a $4 state fee, plus a tax of 0.002 times gross receipts (October 2025) |
| Drivers | Right California license class, DMV ambulance driver certificate, and EMT certification Level 1 or higher or a medical license |
| Vehicles | A CHP ambulance certification or safety inspection certificate for each van, and two-way radio with a link to emergency response |
| Driver bars | Reckless driving within 2 years, DUI within 5 years, or a listed sex, violence, theft, or drug offense |
| Permitted companies | 15 in October 2025, up from 14 in March 2025 and 7 in April 2023 |
| Insurance | Amount and form approved by the city's Risk Manager, under limits the City Council sets by resolution |
| Medi-Cal plans | Stanislaus County, August 2026: Health Plan of San Joaquin 157,558 members, Health Net 56,433, Kaiser Permanente 15,138 |

## Who arranges rides here

- [Modesto Police Department](https://www.modestogov.com/223/Police-Department): Takes nonemergency transport permit applications, runs background checks, and issues permits. (209) 572-9500
- [City of Modesto Business Licensing Division](https://www.modestogov.com/235/Business-Licensing): Issues the city business license and collects the yearly gross receipts tax. (209) 577-5389
- [Modesto City Clerk](https://www.modestogov.com/394/City-Clerks-Office): Publishes and mails notice of the City Council permit hearing. (209) 577-5396
- [Health Plan of San Joaquin](https://www.hpsj.com/join-our-network/): Contracts directly with transportation companies for its Medi-Cal rides. (888) 936-7526
- [Modivcare transportation providers](https://www.modivcare.com/transportation-providers-contact-us/): Adds companies for Health Net Medi-Cal rides.

Modesto licenses nonemergency medical transportation itself, and it wrote one permit for ambulances and wheelchair vans together, so its driver and vehicle tests read like ambulance rules. If you run wheelchair or stretcher transport on Modesto streets, you need the city's nonemergency transport permit, a City Council vote, and a city business license before your first trip.

## Who needs the Modesto permit

Modesto Municipal Code Section 3-9.02 bars anyone from running a nonemergency transport business on city streets without the permit and the business license required under Title 6. Section 3-9.01 defines nonemergency transport as any such trip by a privately owned commercial vehicle, including ambulances, other vehicles giving nonemergency service, and wheelchair transfer. A trip is nonemergency when it is routine or scheduled, time is not critical, and the call is not for a sudden need for medical attention.

The chapter dates from 1994 (Ordinance 2928-C.S.), and the only section amended since is the insurance rule, in 2006. The city's staff reports count the companies holding the permit: 7 in April 2023, 14 in March 2025, and 15 in October 2025. Chapter 8 of the same title, from 1957, also licenses ambulances, defined as vehicles equipped or used to carry wounded, injured, or sick people, so if any vehicle you run is an ambulance, ask the Police Department whether Chapter 8 applies too.

## How to apply

The code sends the application to the Finance Director. In the city's permit reports from 2023 to 2025, the Modesto Police Department receives the application, documents, and fee, runs the background investigation, and issues the permit after the council approves it. The Police Department, 600 10th Street, 209-572-9500, is the contact on each of those reports, so call it for where to get the current form.

### What the application asks for

Section 3-9.03 lists what you file, signed and verified:

- Your name, business and home address, and any business name you use.
- Each vehicle's type, age, condition, patient capacity, make, year, VIN, and special equipment.
- Your color scheme, insignia, name, or monogram, which may not imitate another permit holder's.
- Proof of a current California Highway Patrol ambulance equipment or vehicle certification, or a safety inspection certificate, for each vehicle.
- Proof of two-way radio with a link to emergency response in each vehicle.
- Your experience carrying sick and injured people, including any Stanislaus County EMS certification.
- Proof of insurance, every place a vehicle is kept between calls, and any facts showing the public needs your service.
- The $1,000 nonrefundable filing fee listed in the city's 2025 reports.

### Driver requirements

The same section has you list every person who will drive, with every name they have used, three years of home addresses, and their Social Security number. For each driver you show:

1. A current California driver license in the right class for the vehicle.
2. A current ambulance driver certificate from the DMV.
3. Current emergency medical technician certification, Level 1 or higher (Level 1A or higher for an ambulance), or a medical license.

Section 3-9.07 lets the council deny a permit if any driver lacks one of these, was convicted of reckless driving in the past 2 years or of driving under the influence in the past 5, or has a listed conviction: sex offenses that require registration, felony violence, theft, listed drug offenses, or a crime involving narcotics. The chapter makes no exception for wheelchair vans. Medi-Cal's own rule for wheelchair van drivers, 22 CCR 51231.2, asks for a driver license or ambulance driver certificate, a first aid certificate, and a physical exam, and has no EMT requirement, so ask the Police Department how it applies the EMT line to your drivers before you hire. The [NEMT driver requirements](https://nemtguide.com/guides/nemt-driver-requirements/) guide covers the rest of the hiring checks.

At the January 28, 2025 council meeting, a transportation operator told the council these rules kept him from operating in Modesto and asked the city to review them. The code through May 12, 2026 shows no change to the chapter since the 2006 insurance amendment.

## The committee review and council hearing

In each of the city's reports, the application went to the council's Safety and Communities Committee, which recommended forwarding it to the full council. Section 3-9.05 has the City Clerk set a public hearing, and Section 3-9.06 has the Clerk mail notice to every current permit holder and publish it in a local newspaper at least 10 days before. The city's notice invites all interested people to speak, which includes the existing permit holders who receive it.

Section 3-9.08 has the council grant the permit if it finds that:

- Your vehicles suit nonemergency transport.
- Your colors and markings do not imitate another company's.
- You are fit, willing, and able to run the service, judged on your character, experience, and responsibility.
- The public convenience and necessity require the service. The council weighs how many vehicles already run, whether current service meets the need, and the effect on local traffic.

This is a [public convenience and necessity](https://nemtguide.com/glossary/certificate-of-public-convenience-and-necessity/) test. The council approves by resolution and sets how many vehicles you may run. A denial must state its reasons and is final.

Recent permits took four to seven weeks from committee to council vote: February 13 to April 4, 2023; January 13 to March 4, 2025; and September 15 to October 14, 2025. The code sets no deadline for the background investigation, and it must finish before the council hearing, so start early.

## Costs and rules after you are approved

- **Business license and tax.** The city's October 2025 report puts the business license at $75 a year, including a $4 state disability access fee, plus a tax of 0.002 times your gross receipts in the city. The Business Licensing Division is at 1010 10th Street, Suite 2100, 209-577-5389.
- **Insurance.** Section 3-9.11 has you give the Finance Director proof of insurance in the amount and form the city's Risk Manager approves, under limits the council sets by resolution. Ask for the current figures before you buy a policy, and compare them with what plans and brokers ask in [NEMT insurance requirements](https://nemtguide.com/guides/nemt-insurance-requirements/).
- **Permit on the dash.** Section 3-9.10 requires an authenticated copy of the permit on each vehicle's dashboard, and Section 3-9.17 a vehicle number on the outside in the design the Police Chief sets.
- **Vehicle changes.** Section 3-9.15 gives you 30 days after selling, replacing, adding, or materially changing a vehicle to apply to the Police Department for an amended permit.
- **Yearly renewal.** With each business license renewal, Section 3-9.16 has you file a current CHP certificate for every vehicle, a sworn statement that every driver meets the chapter, and any changes to your original application.
- **Records.** Section 3-9.18 lets the Finance Director audit your books.
- **Transfers.** Section 3-9.12 bars selling or transferring the permit without council consent, through a full new application, which matters if you [buy a NEMT business](https://nemtguide.com/guides/buy-a-nemt-business/).
- **Enforcement.** The council can revoke or suspend a permit after written notice and a hearing (Section 3-9.13), and a violation is a misdemeanor (Section 3-9.20).

## Who sends rides in Modesto

Medi-Cal members get rides through their health plan, and a company enrolls in Medi-Cal through PAVE first, as the [California guide](https://nemtguide.com/states/california/) explains. In August 2026, Stanislaus County had 157,558 members in [Health Plan of San Joaquin](https://nemtguide.com/brokers/health-plan-of-san-joaquin/), which books rides with its own network, 56,433 in [Health Net](https://nemtguide.com/health-plans/health-net-medi-cal/), which uses Modivcare for members assigned to its direct network or to shared-risk medical groups, and 15,138 in [Kaiser Permanente](https://nemtguide.com/health-plans/kaiser-permanente-medi-cal/), which schedules wheelchair and gurney van rides with contracted companies.

## What to do first

1. **Call the Police Department** at 209-572-9500 for the application, and ask how it applies the EMT and ambulance driver certificate rules to wheelchair vans.
2. **Line up drivers** who hold both certificates, or plan the training before you file.
3. **Get each vehicle's CHP certificate** and put a two-way radio in every van.
4. **Ask Risk Management for the insurance limits** and get a quote.
5. **File with the $1,000 fee**, then attend the committee meeting and the council hearing.
6. **Get the business license**, and enroll in Medi-Cal through PAVE.

For other California cities and counties that license NEMT, see [Long Beach](https://nemtguide.com/states/california/long-beach/) and [Los Angeles County](https://nemtguide.com/states/california/los-angeles-county/).

## Frequently asked questions

### Do I need a city permit to run a wheelchair van in Modesto?

Yes. Modesto Municipal Code Section 3-9.02 bars anyone from running a nonemergency transport business on city streets without the permit and a city business license. Section 3-9.01 defines nonemergency transport to include wheelchair transfer and routine or scheduled trips by ambulance or other vehicle when time is not critical. The Modesto Police Department, 209-572-9500, takes applications.

### How much does the Modesto nonemergency transport permit cost?

The city's permit reports of March and October 2025 list a $1,000 filing fee, which covers the background investigation and is not refunded. Once approved, you hold a city business license that costs $75 a year, including a $4 state fee, and pay a tax of 0.002 times your gross receipts in the city. A company with $300,000 in receipts pays $600 in that tax.

### Do wheelchair van drivers need EMT certification in Modesto?

The code asks for it. Section 3-9.03 has the application list every driver with a current DMV ambulance driver certificate and EMT certification Level 1 or higher, or a medical license, and Section 3-9.07 lets the council deny a permit if a driver lacks either. It makes no exception for wheelchair vans. Medi-Cal asks for a driver license or ambulance driver certificate, first aid, and a physical exam, with no EMT requirement, so ask the Police Department how it applies the rule to your vans.

### How long does it take to get a Modesto NEMT permit?

The code sets no deadline, and the Police Department finishes its background investigation before the council hearing. From the Safety and Communities Committee to the council vote, recent permits took four to seven weeks: in 2025, one application went to committee on January 13 and won its council vote on March 4, and another went to committee on September 15 and won on October 14. The City Clerk gives at least 10 days' notice of each hearing.

### Can I buy a Modesto NEMT company and keep its permit?

Only with City Council consent. Section 3-9.12 bars selling, assigning, mortgaging, or transferring a nonemergency transport permit without it, and a transfer goes through the same terms, fees, and requirements as a new application. That means the filing fee, a background investigation, and a council hearing before closing.

### Who books Medi-Cal rides in Modesto?

The member's health plan. In August 2026, Health Plan of San Joaquin had 157,558 Medi-Cal members in Stanislaus County and books rides with companies in its own network, Health Net had 56,433 and uses Modivcare for members assigned to its direct network or to shared-risk medical groups, and Kaiser Permanente had 15,138. A company enrolls in Medi-Cal through DHCS's PAVE portal first, because Health Plan of San Joaquin checks that enrollment before it sends a credentialing application.

## Official resources

- [Modesto Municipal Code: Chapter 9, Nonemergency Transport](https://library.municode.com/ca/modesto/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT3PUSA_CH9LIRENOTR)
- [City of Modesto: Business Licensing](https://www.modestogov.com/235/Business-Licensing)
- [City of Modesto: Council agendas and documents](https://agenda.modestogov.com/OnBaseAgendaOnlineCouncil/)
- [DHCS: PAVE provider enrollment](https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/provgovpart/Pages/PAVE.aspx)