# NEMT in Tulsa: The City Paratransit Certificate, Chauffeur Licenses, and the $300,000 Policy (2027)

Canonical URL: https://nemtguide.com/states/oklahoma/tulsa/ · Updated 2026-10-06

For NEMT in Tulsa, the city licenses wheelchair vans and rides for frail walking passengers as paratransit under Title 36 of its code. Your company needs a city certificate, each van a windshield permit after a city inspection, and each driver a paratransit chauffeur license. As of October 2026, the certificate application costs $75, each van $102 a year in city fees, and insurance must reach $300,000.

- Tulsa treats a wheelchair van for hire as a paratransit vehicle, so the company, each van, and each driver need their own city license.
- The city chapter covers vans that carry riders within Tulsa. A van that only carries riders into or out of the city is excluded.
- Wheelchair and physically limited transport companies carry at least $300,000 in auto liability on every van, with the City of Tulsa named on the certificate.
- Vans must be no more than eight model years old at each April renewal unless the city signs a waiver, which rules out many used vans.
- A physically limited transport company gives door-through-door help and may not use "medical transport" or "non-emergency vehicle" in its name.

## Tulsa NEMT at a glance

| Fact | Details |
| --- | --- |
| Who licenses | The City of Tulsa, through the License Center in its Finance Department, under Title 36, Chapter 1 of the city code |
| Your two classes | Wheelchair transport, for riders who stay seated in their chairs, and physically limited transport, for frail riders who cannot use a regular taxi |
| Which trips | Rides within Tulsa city limits. A van that only carries riders into or out of the city, never within it, is excluded. |
| Company fees | $75 to apply, a $19 fingerprint fee, $20 for each owner past two, then $36 per van each license year (May 1 to April 30) |
| Van fees | $30 application, $30 inspection, and $6 permit sticker each year, plus $24 for each reinspection after the first |
| Insurance | $300,000 combined single limit on every owned, hired, and non-owned vehicle, with the City of Tulsa named and 15 days' notice before cancellation |
| Van age | Model year no more than eight years before the application or renewal. An older van keeps an existing permit only with a yearly written waiver. |
| Drivers | A city paratransit chauffeur license: written test (60 percent to pass), physician's report, fingerprints, and $60 a year |
| Name rule | A physically limited transport company may not call itself an ambulance, a non-emergency vehicle, or a medical transport |
| Renewal | Due by April 30. Late fees are $100 for the certificate, $20 per van, and $15 per driver, and nothing renews 90 days past due. |

## Who arranges rides here

- [City of Tulsa License Center, Finance Department](https://www.cityoftulsa.org/government/departments/finance/business-licensing/): Issues paratransit certificates, van permits, and chauffeur licenses. (918) 596-7640
- [Oklahoma Corporation Commission, Transportation Division](https://oklahoma.gov/occ/divisions/transportation/passenger-carriers.html): Issues the state intrastate for-hire license for passenger carriers.
- [Modivcare transportation provider network](https://www.modivcare.com/transportation-providers-contact-us/): Adds companies for the SoonerRide and SoonerSelect plan rides it books.

Tulsa licenses wheelchair van companies itself. Title 36, Chapter 1 of the city code counts wheelchair transport and physically limited transport as paratransit vehicles, alongside limousines and horse-drawn carriages. To carry riders for pay on Tulsa streets, your company needs a city certificate, each van a city permit fixed to its windshield, and each driver a paratransit chauffeur license. The rules below follow the chapter as codified through May 13, 2026, and the forms the city posts in October 2026.

## Which Tulsa trips need the city certificate

Section 104 bars anyone from running a paratransit vehicle within the city without a current certificate. The city limits decide it, not Tulsa County. Section 102 leaves out:

- **Vans that only cross the city line.** A vehicle that carries riders only from outside the city limits to a point inside, or only from inside to outside, is excluded.
- **Ambulances**, which fall under the city's separate emergency medical services code.
- **Tulsa Transit vehicles**, run by the Metropolitan Tulsa Transit Authority.
- **Rides arranged through a rideshare app**, school and church buses on their own business, carpools, and rental cars without a driver.
- **Courtesy vehicles** that charge nothing, such as a clinic's own shuttle, if they show a city "NOT FOR HIRE" sign on the dashboard and a no-payment notice inside.

Once a van picks up and drops off a rider inside Tulsa, the chapter applies to it, even if your company is based in another town. A dialysis run from a south Tulsa apartment to a clinic downtown needs the certificate. A run from Sand Springs into Tulsa does not, by itself.

Statewide, carrying riders for pay takes an Oklahoma Corporation Commission intrastate license and a USDOT number. As of October 2026, Modivcare takes ride requests for SoonerRide and the three SoonerSelect health plans. The [Oklahoma guide](https://nemtguide.com/states/oklahoma/) covers the state license, and [Modivcare in Oklahoma](https://nemtguide.com/brokers/modivcare/oklahoma/) covers how the broker adds companies.

## Wheelchair transport or physically limited transport

Your application names the type of paratransit service you will run. Most NEMT companies need one class or both.

### Wheelchair transport

The code defines it as a chauffeur-driven vehicle for hire built or suited for riders who stay seated in their wheelchairs, and it defines a wheelchair as one not built or altered to recline flat. Under Section 143, each van must be designated a van by its manufacturer and carry:

1. An electric or hydraulic lift, or a ramp, with a nonskid surface.
2. A positive way to secure the wheelchair against any sideways, forward, backward, or upward movement.
3. An inside mirror that lets the driver see the riders.
4. Outside mirrors on both sides.
5. One or more emergency exit doors at the rear.

Ask the License Center before you buy a side-entry ramp minivan, since the city's inspection decides whether its maker's designation and rear hatch meet the van and rear-exit rules. See [choosing a wheelchair van for NEMT](https://nemtguide.com/guides/wheelchair-van-for-nemt/) for lift and ramp layouts.

### Physically limited transport

This class is for elderly or physically limited riders who can walk, need no medical help on the way, and cannot use a regular taxi. Section 144 sets rules that change how you run and market the business:

- **No stretcher, ambulance, or emergency calls.** You may not answer a call for a rider who needs a stretcher, must lie flat, needs an ambulance, or needs an emergency transfer to a hospital.
- **Ask every caller.** When a call comes in, ask whether the rider needs emergency care, medical help on the way, or a stretcher. If so, call a city-licensed ambulance at once.
- **Door-through-door help.** Your drivers must escort every rider through the door. SoonerRide rules stop at the curb (OAC 317:30-5-327.8), so in Tulsa the city asks more of you than the broker does.
- **No riders who could take a taxi.** You may not answer a call for someone who could normally use a standard taxicab. A taxicab certificate needs at least ten cabs, so if many of your riders walk without help, ask the License Center which class fits.
- **Your name.** The city must approve your trade name before you use it, and you may not use "ambulance," "non-emergency vehicle," "medical transport," or any term that suggests medical, stretcher, or emergency service.

The naming rule matters before you register the business or wrap a van. Any name with "medical transport" in it would break it, so read [choosing a NEMT business name](https://nemtguide.com/guides/nemt-business-name/) with Section 144 in hand. A physically limited transport company can also carry wheelchair riders, but only in vans permitted under Section 143.

## How to get a Tulsa paratransit certificate

1. **Check the owners.** Each officer or partner counts as a holder and signs the application. A holder who is a person must be at least 18, a U.S. citizen living in Oklahoma or a noncitizen authorized to work, and free of any for-hire license revocation anywhere in the past five years. A felony or a sexual, prostitution, or controlled-substance offense bars a holder for ten years after conviction or release, whichever is later.
2. **Set up in the city.** Section 105 asks for an office inside Tulsa city limits, where you keep your records and a lost and found, a single trade name, and a phone number published in a Tulsa directory.
3. **Buy the insurance.** Sections 143 and 144 require a comprehensive auto liability policy of $300,000 combined single limit covering every owned, hired, and non-owned vehicle. The city's sample certificate names the City of Tulsa as certificate holder and additional insured, lists each van or attaches a schedule, and promises 15 days' notice before cancellation, with "endeavor to" struck out. The Corporation Commission sets its own minimum by seats, which can be higher for a larger van, so buy the higher of the two. See [NEMT insurance requirements](https://nemtguide.com/guides/nemt-insurance-requirements/).
4. **Write your fare schedule.** Every holder files one, and paratransit fares are based on the trip you prearrange with the rider, not on a taxi meter.
5. **File the application.** The city's form is notarized and asks for each holder's statement of qualifications and experience, a copy of an Oklahoma driver's license and Social Security card, fingerprints, the policy and certificate of insurance, the fare schedule, and an Oklahoma sales tax permit if you need one. The Business Licensing page says to mail completed forms to City of Tulsa License and Collections, PO Box 451, Tulsa, OK 74101.
6. **Wait for the background check.** The city sends each holder's fingerprints to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and the Tulsa Police Department. An application expires if no certificate issues within 120 days, unless the city allows more time.
7. **Pay the certificate fee and permit your vans.** The certificate cannot be sold or transferred.

### What the Tulsa certificate costs

The chapter sets every city fee, as codified through May 13, 2026. Each license year runs May 1 to April 30.

| Fee | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate application | $75, plus $19 fingerprint fee | With the application |
| Extra background checks | $20 per owner past two | With the application |
| Certificate | $36 per van | Each year, prorated by quarter the first time |
| Van application and inspection | $30 plus $30 | Each year, per van |
| Van permit sticker | $6 | Each year, per van |
| Each extra reinspection | $24 | After one free reinspection |
| Trade name change | $25 | When you change it |

## Van permits and inspections

No van runs for hire without a current city permit on its windshield. The vehicle application comes from you as the holder, and you show the van's Oklahoma certificate of title in the correct owner's name, plus your certificate of incorporation if a corporation owns it. The city's form says vans are inspected by appointment, and a correct certificate of insurance must reach Business Licensing first.

The city inspects each van before it starts, every year after, and whenever it wants. Section 136, as amended September 13, 2017, sets the standard:

- **Age.** The model year can be no more than eight years before the application or renewal date. An older van renews only with a one-year written waiver. Check the model year first when you shop, then use [the used wheelchair van guide](https://nemtguide.com/guides/used-wheelchair-van/) for the rest of the inspection.
- **Climate.** Air conditioning works from April 15 to October 15, and heat from October 16 to April 14.
- **Body and glass.** No dents, rust, or holes, no windshield crack of six inches or more, and no more than three cracks, stars, or chips in all.
- **Inside.** Clean, working seat belts, working interior lights, and the city's complaint notice posted where riders can see it.

Paratransit vans may carry advertising on their sides and top, and window lettering is capped at 5 by 7 inches per window. See [NEMT vehicle signage](https://nemtguide.com/guides/nemt-vehicle-signage/).

## Chauffeur licenses for Tulsa drivers

Every driver needs a Tulsa paratransit chauffeur license, and you may not let anyone drive without one. Under Section 118, a driver:

- is at least 18, lives legally in Oklahoma, and holds an Oklahoma license right for the vehicle
- has no misdemeanor for assault and battery, a sexual or prostitution offense, or drugs in the past five years, no DUI in the past five years, and no felony inside the code's waiting periods, which for a violent felony end ten years after conviction or five after release, whichever is later
- had no more than one at-fault crash in the past year, and no more than three traffic convictions from separate events in any 12 months of the past two years
- is not on the sex offender registry and has no outstanding warrant
- brings a physician's report dated within 60 days, and your written recommendation

The driver passes a written test on traffic law, the chapter, Tulsa geography, communication, and making change, scoring at least 60 percent. A driver who fails waits 30 days and pays $30 to retest. The license costs a $20 processing fee and a $19 fingerprint fee, then $60 each license year. A driver can start on a temporary license while the state background report comes back, for a $60 processing fee plus $15 that counts toward the year's fee. The new-driver form on the city's site asks for a $79 processing fee plus the $15 temporary fee at the counter, so bring both. Each renewal needs a driving record dated within 30 days, and a new physician's report once the one on file is two years old.

On the job, drivers stay on duty no more than 16 hours in any 24, drink no alcohol within 12 hours before a shift, wear a collared shirt, and fill out a manifest for every shift, kept for a year. They report any crash or rider injury to the police at once and to you and the city in writing within 24 hours. For the checks brokers and facilities usually add, see [NEMT driver requirements](https://nemtguide.com/guides/nemt-driver-requirements/).

## Renewals and penalties

Certificates, van permits, and chauffeur licenses all renew by April 30, and you may renew up to two months early. Late renewals cost $100 for the certificate, $20 per van, and $15 per driver, and nothing renews more than 90 days past due. The city can suspend a certificate for up to 30 days, for causes such as letting an unlicensed driver work or not telling the city within 48 hours about a driver's violation, and may revoke it when a third cause follows two suspensions within 12 months. Each violation is a misdemeanor punishable by up to $500, 90 days in jail, or both, and every day counts as a new offense. If you also plan work in another city that licenses wheelchair vans, compare [Nashville's Metro certificate](https://nemtguide.com/states/tennessee/nashville/).

## Frequently asked questions

### Do I need a city license to run NEMT in Tulsa?

Yes, if you carry wheelchair or walking riders for pay on trips within the city. Title 36, Chapter 1 of the Tulsa code makes it unlawful to run a paratransit vehicle in the city without a certificate, and it lists wheelchair transport and physically limited transport as paratransit. Each van also needs a city permit on its windshield, and each driver a paratransit chauffeur license.

### Does a ride from Tulsa to Broken Arrow need the Tulsa certificate?

Not by itself. Section 102 of the chapter leaves out vehicles that carry riders only from a point outside the city limits to a point inside, or only from inside to outside. A van that also picks up and drops off riders within Tulsa needs the certificate, the van permit, and a licensed chauffeur. Your state license and broker contract apply on every trip either way.

### How much does a Tulsa paratransit certificate cost?

As of October 2026, the code sets a $75 processing fee, a $19 fingerprint fee, and $20 for each background check past two owners. Once approved, you pay $36 per van for each license year, May 1 to April 30, prorated by quarter the first time. Each van then costs $30 to apply, $30 to inspect, and $6 for the permit sticker every year.

### Can I call my Tulsa company a medical transport?

Not if you hold a physically limited transport certificate. Section 144 bars those companies from using "ambulance," "non-emergency vehicle," "medical transport," or any name that suggests medical, stretcher, or emergency service, and the city must approve the trade name before you use it. The wheelchair transport section has no such line, so ask the License Center before you print anything.

### How old can a wheelchair van be in Tulsa?

The model year can be no more than eight years before the date you apply or renew. A van that is older can renew an existing permit only with a written waiver, which lasts one licensing year and needs a new application, inspection, and approval each year. Check the model year before you buy a used van for Tulsa work.

### Does the Tulsa certificate replace the Corporation Commission license?

No. The Oklahoma Corporation Commission exempts a city-licensed taxicab that runs wholly within one city, and a city-licensed bus that does not run between towns. A Tulsa paratransit certificate is neither. Plan on holding both, and ask the Commission in writing if you think an exemption fits your vans.

### Can I run stretcher trips in Tulsa?

Not under either paratransit class. Wheelchair transport is for riders who stay seated, and a physically limited transport company may not answer stretcher calls and must send them to a city-licensed ambulance. Tulsa's emergency medical services code also gives emergency and non-emergency ambulance calls in its service area to EMSA and its contractors. Stretcher vans need a State Department of Health license.

## Official resources

- [City of Tulsa: Business Licensing forms](https://www.cityoftulsa.org/government/departments/finance/business-licensing/)
- [City of Tulsa: Taxi and Paratransit Service Application](https://www.cityoftulsa.org/media/1393/taxiparatransitserviceapplication.pdf)
- [City of Tulsa: Paratransit Chauffeur New Application](https://www.cityoftulsa.org/media/1374/chauffeur-newapplication.pdf)
- [City of Tulsa: Sample Insurance Certificate for taxi and paratransit](https://www.cityoftulsa.org/media/1392/taxiparatransitsampleinsurancecertificate.pdf)
- [Tulsa Revised Ordinances Title 36, Chapter 1](https://library.municode.com/ok/tulsa/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COOR_TIT36TAPAVEUTVEHIRE_CH1TAPAVEUTVEHIRE)
- [Oklahoma Corporation Commission: Passenger Carriers](https://oklahoma.gov/occ/divisions/transportation/passenger-carriers.html)