# Conditional Offer Letter for NEMT Drivers: Driving Record, Checks, Drug Test, and Broker Approval

Canonical URL: https://nemtguide.com/templates/conditional-offer-letter/ · Updated 2026-10-06

A conditional offer letter is a written job offer that becomes final only when the driver clears the conditions you list, such as a driving record within your broker's limits, a background check, a drug test, and broker approval. Send it after the interview and road test. Federal law makes medical questions and alcohol tests wait for it, and several states make criminal record checks wait too.

- Send the letter only after the free steps: the application, the exclusion searches, the interview, and the road test.
- Medical questions and alcohol tests wait for a real offer, and every new driver in the same job gets the same ones.
- The background check notice goes on its own page, never inside the offer letter.
- In New York City even the driving record waits for the offer, and in Washington the offer comes with the attorney general's Fair Chance Act guide.
- Give two dates: a first paid day for paperwork and training, and a first trip only after each broker approves the driver.

A conditional offer letter tells a driver you want them, in writing, while keeping the paid checks and the broker's approval in front of the first ride. It also opens a door the law keeps shut until an offer exists: medical questions, alcohol tests, and in several states any look at a criminal record. This page gives you the letter, the list of conditions that goes with it, and the rules behind each line.

## How to use this template

1. **Make the offer only after the free steps.** Finish the application, the free exclusion searches, the interview, and the road test first. The EEOC treats an offer as real only when you have weighed all the non-medical information you could reasonably get before making it (guidance of October 10, 1995). The full order of steps is in [how to hire NEMT drivers](https://nemtguide.com/guides/hire-nemt-drivers/).
2. **List only the checks you run for every new driver in the job.** Strike out any row in Part 2 you do not use. If one new driver gets a medical questionnaire or exam, every new driver in that job gets the same one.
3. **Hand over the background check notice on its own sheet.** Federal law requires the notice that you may get a screening report to sit in a document that holds only that notice, so it never goes inside this letter. Use Part 2 of the [NEMT driver application](https://nemtguide.com/templates/nemt-driver-application/), and order nothing until the driver signs it.
4. **Add the state papers.** California and New York require a written pay notice at hire. Washington requires a written summary of the law's rules and the attorney general's Fair Chance Act guide when you tell the applicant about the background check. Both are explained below.
5. **Set two dates.** The first paid day covers paperwork and training. The first trip for each broker waits for that broker's approval.
6. **File it in two places.** Keep the signed letter in the [driver qualification file](https://nemtguide.com/templates/nemt-driver-file-checklist/). Answers to medical questions and exam results go in a separate, locked medical file. Track each check to the first solo ride on the [onboarding checklist](https://nemtguide.com/templates/nemt-driver-onboarding-checklist/).
7. **If a check turns something up, do not take the offer back yet.** When a screening company's report is any part of the reason, send the [pre-adverse action notice](https://nemtguide.com/templates/pre-adverse-action-notice/) first and wait out its deadline.

## The template

### Part 1: Offer letter

[Your company letterhead]

Date: ______________

To: ______________________________ (name, and mailing or email address)

Dear ______________:

We are glad to offer you the job of [driver / driver and attendant / ______________] with ______________________________ (company name). This offer depends on the conditions in Part 2. It becomes final when each one is met, and we will confirm that to you in writing.

| Term | Details |
|---|---|
| Job title and the vehicles you will drive | |
| Full time or part time | |
| Pay rate, and how it is figured (by the hour, trip, or shift) | |
| How waiting time between trips is paid | |
| Overtime rate | |
| Payday and pay period | |
| Usual days and start times | |
| Where you report each day | |
| Your supervisor, and how to reach them | |
| Benefits, if any | |
| Probationary period (length, or "none") | |
| First paid day, for paperwork and training | |
| Expected first day driving riders, once each broker approves you | |

Training we require and pay for, at your regular rate: [PASS / first aid and CPR / defensive driving / HIPAA / fraud, waste, and abuse / ______________].

[Where you hire at will, and never in Montana without a lawyer's review:] This letter is not a contract for any set length of employment.

What happens next:

- We will order the checks in Part 2 only after you sign the separate background check notice and permission.
- If anything we learn may lead us to take back this offer, we will tell you before we decide, give you a copy of any report we used, and give you time to respond.
- On your first paid day, bring documents for Form I-9. You choose which documents to show from the lists of acceptable documents on the form.

[Washington, unless an exception in the law applies:] This job is subject to a criminal background check after this conditional offer. Under Washington's Fair Chance Act, we may not ask about or check your criminal record until we have found you otherwise qualified and made this offer. We may not reject you automatically because of a criminal record, or because you did not tell us about one before this offer. We may not act on an arrest record or a juvenile conviction record, except an adult arrest while you are out on bail or released pending trial. We may act on an adult conviction only for a legitimate business reason, after we tell you which record we are relying on and hold this job open at least 2 business days so you can correct or explain it, or tell us about your rehabilitation, good conduct, work experience, education, and training. If we then decide not to hire you, we will give you our decision and reasons in writing. The attorney general's Fair Chance Act guide is enclosed.

To accept, sign Part 3 and return it to ______________ by ______________ (date).

Sincerely,

______________________________ (name, title, and phone)

### Part 2: Conditions of this offer

| Condition | What it takes | Due by |
|---|---|---|
| Driving record | Within the limits of each broker you will drive for: ______ | |
| Criminal background check and sex offender registry search | Reviewed against broker and state rules and the duties of this job, with notice and time to respond before any decision | |
| Drug test [and alcohol test] | A verified negative result on the test every new driver in this job takes | |
| Exclusion lists | Not listed on the federal or state lists of people barred from Medicaid and Medicare work, checked again before your first trip | |
| Medical questions or exam [only if every new driver in this job gets them] | Able to do the essential duties of this job, with or without a reasonable accommodation | |
| Driver's license | Valid, class ______, held at least ______ years | |
| Broker approval | Each broker approves you before your first trip for its riders: ______ | |
| Required training | Completed and passed: ______ | |

**Note to the clinic, if you send drivers for an exam:** Federal law bars us from asking for genetic information. Please do not collect or send us any genetic information about this person, including family medical history, the results of their or a family member's genetic tests, or whether they or a family member sought or received genetic services. Tell us only whether the person can do the duties of the job and any limits we need to know.

### Part 3: Acceptance

I accept this offer on the terms in Part 1. I understand that it depends on the conditions in Part 2, and that I will receive a separate background check notice to sign.

Name: ______________________________

Signature: ______________________________ Date: ______________

Phone and email: ______________________________

Received for the company by: ______________________________ Date: ______________

## What federal law allows once the offer is made

The ADA's hiring rules apply once you have 15 or more employees for each working day in 20 or more calendar weeks this year or last (42 U.S.C. 12111).

- **Medical questions and exams wait for the offer.** After you make a job offer, and before the driver starts work, you may ask medical questions or require an exam, and make the offer depend on the results. Every entering employee in the same job category must get the same questions or exam, whatever their health (42 U.S.C. 12112(d)(3) and 29 CFR 1630.14(b)).
- **The offer has to be real.** The EEOC's 1995 guidance says an offer is real when you have weighed all the non-medical information you could reasonably have gathered first. It gives an example that fits NEMT hiring: if an applicant asks you not to call their current employer until you make an offer, that reference can wait until after it.
- **A medical reason to withdraw needs a job reason.** The exam itself does not have to be job related. But if you screen a driver out because of what it shows, the reason must be job related and consistent with business necessity, and the driver must be unable to do the essential duties even with a reasonable accommodation (29 CFR 1630.14(b)(3)).
- **Drug tests and alcohol tests are not the same.** A test for illegal drugs is not a medical exam under the ADA (42 U.S.C. 12114(d)), so the ADA does not set its timing. The EEOC treats an alcohol test as a medical exam, so it waits for the offer. Which tests to give and who runs them is covered in [NEMT driver drug testing](https://nemtguide.com/guides/nemt-driver-drug-testing/).
- **Medical answers stay apart.** Keep them on separate forms in a separate confidential file. Supervisors may be told about work restrictions and accommodations, and first aid staff about anything that may need emergency care. The EEOC says this confidentiality continues after a person is not hired or leaves.
- **Genetic information stays out of the exam.** Under the federal genetic information law, GINA, you must tell the clinic not to collect genetic information, including family medical history, as part of an exam that decides whether someone can do a job, and take reasonable steps if you learn it is being asked for (29 CFR 1635.8(d)). The note at the end of Part 2 follows the kind of wording the rule offers as a safe harbor. Who pays for a physical, and when a DOT physical is required, is in [the NEMT DOT physical guide](https://nemtguide.com/guides/nemt-dot-physical/).

## State laws that make the offer the gate

Several states and cities set the conditional offer as the earliest point for a criminal record check, as of October 2026. These four are examples, so look up your own state and city before you order a record check. If a check then turns something up, their steps for saying no are on the [pre-adverse action notice](https://nemtguide.com/templates/pre-adverse-action-notice/) page.

- **California** (Gov. Code 12952). Employers with 5 or more employees may not ask about conviction history or run a background check before a conditional offer, according to the Civil Rights Department's June 2025 fact sheet.
- **Washington** (RCW 49.94.010). No criminal record question or check until you find the applicant otherwise qualified and make an offer conditioned on the record. This covers employers with 15 or more employees since July 1, 2026, and all employers from January 1, 2027. When you tell an applicant the job has a background check after a conditional offer, the law makes you tell them its rules in writing at once and give them the attorney general's Fair Chance Act guide. The Washington paragraph in Part 1 does that. The law does not apply to jobs with unsupervised access to children under 18, vulnerable adults, or vulnerable persons as Washington law defines them, so ask a lawyer whether your driving jobs fall under that exception.
- **New York City** (Fair Chance Act, employers with 4 or more employees). Criminal history may not be sought before a conditional offer. The city's Commission on Human Rights says employers must not review driving abstracts before the offer either, because criminal and non-criminal entries are hard to separate. After the offer, it may be revoked only for three reasons: the background check results, the results of a medical exam the ADA allows, or information you could not reasonably have known before the offer, and that last one only if you can prove you would not have made the offer regardless of the background check.
- **Illinois** (820 ILCS 75/15, employers with 15 or more employees). The gate comes a little earlier: you may ask once the applicant is found qualified and told they are selected for an interview, or after a conditional offer when there is no interview.

Drug testing has its own rule in Minnesota. You may test an applicant only after a job offer, only with the same test for everyone offered that job, and you must tell the applicant the reason if you withdraw the offer (Minnesota Statutes 181.951, subdivision 2). You may not withdraw an offer over a positive screening test that a confirmatory test has not verified (181.953, subdivision 11).

### Pay notices at hire

The offer letter does not replace a state's pay notice.

- **California.** Labor Code 2810.5 requires a written notice to each employee at the time of hiring, and the Labor Commissioner's FAQ (revised March 11, 2016) says it can come no later than the start date. It does not apply to employees exempt from overtime. The Labor Commissioner publishes a template.
- **New York.** Labor Law 195(1) requires a pay notice at the time of hiring, in English and in the language the employee names as their primary language. Get a signed and dated acknowledgment and keep it six years. The Department of Labor's sample notices include LS 54 for drivers paid one hourly rate and LS 55 for drivers paid more than one.

### Probation in Montana

In Montana, once a probationary period ends, a firing without good cause is wrongful (MCA 39-2-904). If you do not set a specific probationary period, or say there is none, before or at the time the driver starts work, the law sets one of 12 months from the first day. You may extend it before it ends, but never past 18 months in total (MCA 39-2-910). Write the length in Part 1.

### Training repayment

Leave a repayment clause out of the letter until you have checked your state. Since October 1, 2026, Connecticut voids any note an employer requires as a condition of employment that makes an employee pay for leaving before a set time, including repayment of training (Public Act 26-12). New York bars requiring such a note, with narrow exceptions, starting December 19, 2026 (Labor Law 1052). What the remaining states allow is in [training repayment agreements](https://nemtguide.com/guides/training-repayment-agreements/).

## Broker approval and the first trip

Broker approval is the one condition you do not control, which is why Part 1 gives the first ride its own date. MTM Health told Wisconsin's NEMT advisory council on March 5, 2026 that it approves or denies a driver within 3 to 5 business days after all credentials are uploaded complete, accurate, and legible. In the same meeting a member said some approvals were taking longer. Each broker sets its own documents and steps, so plan the start around the slowest broker you drive for.

An unapproved driver costs money if they drive anyway. WellTrans, an Indiana broker, pays nothing for trips performed by a driver it has not pre-approved, and it charges $100 for each day a driver who does not meet its agreement is allowed to drive, up to $2,500 a month per occurrence (agreement revised October 16, 2025).

Use the wait for paid work:

1. **Form I-9.** The driver completes Section 1 no later than the first day of employment, and you may not ask anyone who has not accepted an offer to complete it. You complete Section 2 within 3 business days, so a Monday start means Thursday. Let the driver choose which documents to show, and never ask for a specific document with a Social Security number on it (USCIS Handbook M-274, sections updated April 2, 2025 and July 15, 2025).
2. **Training.** For an employee, required training is work time. Federal rules let you leave training unpaid only when it is outside regular hours, truly voluntary, not directly related to the job, and involves no productive work, and training you require is not voluntary (29 CFR 785.27 and 785.28). The courses brokers ask for are in [NEMT driver training](https://nemtguide.com/guides/nemt-driver-training/).
3. **Practice in an empty van.** Have a trainer drive the usual routes with the new driver and practice wheelchair securement, so the first broker trip is not the first time.

When every condition in Part 2 is met, confirm the job in writing and note the date on the [onboarding checklist](https://nemtguide.com/templates/nemt-driver-onboarding-checklist/).

## Frequently asked questions

### Can I take back a conditional job offer?

Yes, when a condition in the letter is not met, but follow the steps for that condition. If a screening company's report is any part of the reason, send a pre-adverse action notice first and wait. If the reason is medical, it must be job related, and the driver must be unable to do the essential duties even with a reasonable accommodation. In New York City, only the background check, an allowed medical exam, or information you could not reasonably have known before the offer can undo it.

### Should the drug test come before or after the job offer?

Federal disability law does not treat a test for illegal drugs as a medical exam, so it allows a drug test before the offer. An alcohol test is a medical exam and must wait for it. Minnesota allows testing of applicants only after an offer, with the same test for everyone offered that job. Testing after the offer also means you pay only for people you plan to hire.

### Can a new driver start before the broker approves them?

They can start paid paperwork and training, but not broker trips. MTM Health told Wisconsin's NEMT advisory council on March 5, 2026 that it approves or denies a driver within 3 to 5 business days after a complete, legible upload, and a member said some approvals had taken longer. WellTrans in Indiana charges $100 for each day a driver who does not meet its agreement is allowed to drive, up to $2,500 a month per occurrence (agreement revised October 16, 2025).

### Should the offer letter say the job is at will?

You can add a line saying the letter is not a contract for a set length of employment. Montana is different. Once a probationary period ends, a firing without good cause is wrongful there, and if you set no probationary period by the first day of work, the law sets one of 12 months. Have a lawyer in your state check the wording.

### Can the offer letter make a driver repay training if they quit?

Check your state first. Since October 1, 2026, Connecticut voids any note an employer requires as a condition of employment that makes an employee pay for leaving before a set time, including training repayment. New York bars requiring such a note, with narrow exceptions, starting December 19, 2026. Other states set their own limits, so read the training repayment guide before you add a clause.

### Can I ask a new driver to bring their Social Security card?

Not for Form I-9. The employee chooses which documents to show from the form's lists of acceptable documents, and USCIS says you cannot name the documents or ask for a specific document with a Social Security number on it. Ask the driver to bring documents from the lists. Section 1 is due by the first day of work, and you finish Section 2 within 3 business days.

## Official resources

- [EEOC: Pre-employment inquiries and disability](https://www.eeoc.gov/pre-employment-inquiries-and-disability)
- [USCIS: Form I-9 acceptable documents](https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents)
- [Washington Attorney General: Fair Chance Act, with the guide to hand applicants](https://www.atg.wa.gov/fair-chance-act)
- [New York City Commission on Human Rights: Fair Chance Act](https://www.nyc.gov/site/cchr/law/fair-chance-act.page)
- [California Labor Commissioner: Labor Code 2810.5 notice to employee template](https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/LC_2810.5_Notice.pdf)
- [New York State Department of Labor: pay notice forms](https://dol.ny.gov/notice-pay-rate)