Santa Rosa County COPCN for Wheelchair and Stretcher Vans: $500 Application and $1 Million Insurance

Santa Rosa County regulates wheelchair and stretcher vans inside the same ordinance that runs its ambulances. Chapter 12, article III of the county code, adopted as Ordinance 2007-13 on May 31, 2007 and titled the Santa Rosa County Emergency and Non-Medical Services Act, sets five levels of service. Level 1 is alternative transportation: providers who routinely carry people in wheelchairs or on stretchers who do not need, and are not likely to need, immediate medical attention on the way. The code adds that this service is also known as paratransit. Riders who need care on the way go by ambulance: as of October 2026 the county contracts with Lifeguard Ambulance Service for emergency and non-emergency medical transport, staffed at the paramedic level.

The state also funds rides for residents who cannot drive or afford one, through a single community transportation coordinator in each service area, while Medicaid rides run through brokers. The statewide rules are on the Florida guide, and the counties that license vans are compared in the Florida NEMT license guide.

What the Santa Rosa County COPCN covers

Section 12-58(1) says a certificate of public convenience and necessity must be obtained from the county before anyone engages in Level 1 service. Section 12-53 reaches every owner or agent who operates, advertises, or even proposes a non-medical transportation service in the county, and section 12-52 defines the county as all of its incorporated and unincorporated land, so Milton, Gulf Breeze, and Jay are inside it.

The article exempts only a few vehicles from its wheelchair and stretcher rules:

• Public buses and school buses that carry riders in wheelchairs.
• Hospitals using their own vehicles, at no charge, to carry wheelchair or stretcher patients to or from a hospital or medical facility.
• Private vehicles not normally used to carry sick, injured, or helpless people.

The exemption for vehicles based outside the county is written for ambulances, so a wheelchair van company based in Pensacola or Fort Walton Beach that picks up riders in Santa Rosa has no exemption to point to. A state law that lets a vehicle-for-hire license from your home county count in other counties, section 320.0603 of the Florida Statutes, does not apply to wheelchair or stretcher transportation.

Certificate or permit: how the county decides

The article uses two words for your authorization. Section 12-58 calls it a certificate, while sections 12-53, 12-62, and 12-65 speak of a permit for a non-medical transportation service. The difference matters, because the article treats competition differently for each:

• Permits for non-medical service may be denied only for failing the article or chapter 401 of the Florida Statutes, and section 12-65 says they shall not be denied because of duplicated service. The service territory question on the application does not apply to them.
• Certificates may be refused if they would duplicate service already given in the same area, and section 12-66(g) bars new certificates that duplicate the same type of service in the same area.

When you apply, ask the Emergency Management Division to confirm in writing that your wheelchair or stretcher service is handled as a non-medical permit, so the duplication rule cannot be used against you.

How to apply

Section 12-62 sends applications to the county Emergency Management Division, which oversees the county emergency medical services system under section 12-55, on its forms and with the fee the county sets. Section 12-63 sets that fee at $500, not refunded, for a new certificate. Every application must contain:

1. The business. Its name and address, the name you will operate under, and the names and addresses of all officers, directors, and shareholders.
2. The service. The level and nature of service in detail, each place you will operate from, your headquarters, and an address the public can visit during business hours.
3. Experience. Your training and experience in transporting and caring for patients, and three county residents as references.
4. Each vehicle. Make, model, year, mileage, VIN, color scheme and markings, passenger capacity, size, and weight.
5. Insurance and procedures. An agreement to file your insurance and your standard operating procedures before service starts. The commission must approve the procedures.
6. A rate schedule. Section 12-76 makes it part of the application.

The list was written for ambulances as well, and it also asks for a notarized promise to use the county medical director for as long as you hold the certificate. Ask the division which items it requires from a wheelchair or stretcher company. The county then looks into your character, finances, and ability to keep insurance, and if the commission holds a hearing, it gives you and every current certificate holder 15 days’ notice.

Insurance and county-approved rates

Section 12-77 is a per-vehicle rule. Each vehicle must be insured for at least $1,000,000 for injury or death of one person in an accident, $1,000,000 for injury or death of more than one person, and $500,000 for property damage. The insurer must be authorized in Florida, certificates or certified copies go to the commission, and every policy must give the commission 30 days’ notice before it is canceled. See the NEMT insurance requirements guide for how per-person and per-accident limits work.

Section 12-76 also puts your prices on file. Every operator licensed under the article files a rate schedule with the commission, the commission approves it, and it changes only by commission resolution. You may not charge more than the approved rates, and each vehicle carries a rate card saying the commission adopted them. Set your private pay prices with that filing in mind, because raising them later takes another resolution.

Vehicle and driver rules

Section 12-66 has the county inspect each non-medical service at least once a year, including its vehicles, equipment, staff, records, premises, and procedures. Sections 12-72 and 12-73 set the equipment:

Requirement	Wheelchair van	Stretcher van
Securing the rider	Two locking points per chair, no more than 2 inches of travel forward or back and none sideways, plus a rider belt	A quick-release, crash-stable litter fastener, side or center mount, and at least two straps per stretcher
Headroom	50 inches, floor to ceiling	41 inches, floor to ceiling
Fire extinguisher	1A:10B:C	1A:10B:C
Communication	Two-way with the county emergency operations center	Two-way radio with your base and the operations center
Linen	Not required	Clean linen for each patient and an airtight bin for soiled linen

A wheelchair van also needs a ramp or a lift that raises riders smoothly. Both need an inside mirror or an approved alternative, door latches with striker plates, and a smooth floor that stays sanitary, and section 12-73 adds working interior lights and no dents or rust that affect safe driving. See stretcher van requirements and wheelchair securement.

Section 12-79 says no one may drive for you unless they are 18 or older, swear they are not addicted to alcohol or drugs and have no condition that impairs driving, have had no reckless driving or DUI conviction or license suspension in three years, and hold a first aid card, a Red Cross or American Heart Association CPR card, and a completed emergency vehicle operation course. The section still asks for a Florida chauffeur’s license, so ask the division which license class it accepts. Section 12-80 also requires a clean uniform that identifies your company and a receipt for any money taken.

Keeping the certificate

Certificates and permits run one year from issue under section 12-66. The commission reviews certificates within 45 days of expiration and may renew without a hearing, and if it decides not to renew, it must tell you in writing within 30 days of the expiration date. Keep a central place of business with a listed phone number, as section 12-74 requires.

Selling the business is a transfer. Under section 12-67, no certificate moves without commission approval, handled like a new application, and selling a majority of the shares counts as a transfer. Plan for that step in selling a NEMT business. Section 12-82 makes running without approval, or breaking any rule in the article, a second-degree misdemeanor, and each day counts as a separate offense.

The county ride program and its gaps

Santa Rosa has had four coordinators. The Council on Aging held the role from the program’s start until June 30, 1999, Intelitran/ATC followed, and Pensacola Bay Transportation took over on an emergency basis in December 2003 and left on December 31, 2014. Tri-County Community Council, a Bonifay nonprofit, stepped in on an emergency basis on January 1, 2015, beat MV Transportation in that year’s request for proposals, won again in 2019, and was the only respondent to the 2024 request for qualifications. Its current term runs July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2030.

Tri-County drives every trip itself, as Santa Rosa Transportation, with no operators and no coordination contracts. Its service plan, adopted May 26, 2026, says the costs of insurance requirements, standards, training, and safety features keep private providers out of the coordinated system, and its operator contracts would require $1,000,000 per person and per incident, five times the state minimum of $200,000 per person. The plan notes no fixed-route bus in the county outside a small part of Gulf Breeze, and the county system reported no ADA paratransit trips in FY 2024-25. The plan’s rates per passenger mile show the stretcher line disappearing:

Service	2024-25	2025-26	2026-27
Ambulatory	$2.61	$2.57	$2.62
Wheelchair	$4.47	$4.41	$4.49
Stretcher	$9.31	$9.20	No rate

The system carried 18,762 trips in FY 2024-25 for 271 riders on 8 vehicles and 10 drivers, at $40.09 a trip, and more were for work (7,852) than for medical care (6,783). It counted 17 unmet trip requests that year and none in FY 2025-26, when trips fell to 16,501 with 98% on time. Its April to June 2026 report shows no stretcher trips at all.

Riders with no agency paying for the trip qualify at age 60 or older or 17 or younger, below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines, or with a verified disability. Out-of-county trips are decided case by case. The Commission’s draft trip and equipment grant for the county in FY 2026-27, published in June 2026, is $540,310 plus a $60,034 local match.

In 2026, RideITL Cares, now the Escambia County coordinator, asked the state for $1,500,000 to run Sunday rides in Escambia and Santa Rosa and cross-county rides among those two counties and Okaloosa. Commission staff did not recommend it in the June 11, 2026 materials, and the Commission put off its decision on that year’s service development grants until its budget was final.

The coordinating board’s seat for the private transportation industry has been vacant through its August 2026 roster. Its next meeting is December 1, 2026 at 3:00 p.m.; call the Emerald Coast Regional Council at 850-332-7976 for the place and the seat.

Medicaid rides in Santa Rosa County

Section 409.966 of the Florida Statutes puts Santa Rosa in Medicaid Region A, where Modivcare arranges rides for members with no plan under the state’s waiver for July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2027. Its 2025 capacity table counted 28 vehicles in the county: 17 ambulatory, 10 wheelchair, and 1 stretcher. Humana is the largest plan here, as in only two other Florida counties, Escambia and Walton:

Health plan	Members, August 31, 2026	Broker for its rides
Humana	8,518	Modivcare
Sunshine Health	4,499	Alivi
Simply Healthcare	4,270	Ride2MD
Florida Community Care	579	Ride2MD

The Modivcare in Florida page covers its network rules. Because Modivcare books both the Humana members and the members outside a plan, one network reaches the largest group of Medicaid riders in the county.

What to do first in Santa Rosa County

1. Call the Emergency Management Division at 850-983-5360. Ask for the Level 1 application, the forms, and whether it issues your authorization as a non-medical permit.
2. Quote the insurance per vehicle at $1,000,000, $1,000,000, and $500,000, with 30 days’ cancellation notice to the county.
3. Write your rate schedule before you apply, since the commission must approve it and you cannot charge above it.
4. Fit the vans to section 12-72 and line up each driver’s first aid, CPR, and emergency vehicle operation course.
5. Enroll with Florida Medicaid once the county approves you, because the state’s February 2026 enrollment policy lists a local license among a transportation company’s required papers. Then join Modivcare first, followed by Alivi and Ride2MD.
6. Offer what the county program lacks: stretcher rides, now that its stretcher rate is gone, and rides across the county line, which it books only case by case.

The coordinators next door work differently: see Escambia County, where RideITL Cares took over in July 2026, and Okaloosa County.