ADMH Office of Provider Certification
Certifies community providers and conducts site reviews. Director of Provider Certification: Fredericka Orange.
334-353-7053Visit siteBack to provider resources
Alabama provider enrollment
How to Become a Medicaid Waiver Provider in Alabama
What Alabama requires before you can deliver home and community-based waiver services, in the order the state actually requires it. Every claim links to the official page it came from.
Last reviewed July 2026. Provider rules change often — confirm fees and deadlines against the linked sources before you rely on them.
Overview
Becoming a waiver provider in Alabama
Alabama is a two-door state, and the order matters more than anything else on this page. ADMH must certify any community program serving people with developmental disabilities, mental illness, or substance use disorders before it delivers a single service — and ADMH says plainly that certification does not guarantee you a contract, referrals, or payment. Certification makes you eligible to be paid; a separate ADMH contract and separate Medicaid enrollment are what actually get you paid. Budget for the gap between those milestones, because providers who assume certification is the finish line get caught carrying payroll with no revenue.
Who certifies you
The agencies that decide
ADMH Division of Developmental Disabilities — Provider Network
Processes prospective provider and specialized-service applications, and runs New Provider Orientation quarterly. Provider Network Manager: Latoya Woods.
334-353-1997Visit siteBefore you apply
What has to be true first
ADMH certification before service delivery
Any community program providing services to people living with developmental disabilities, mental illnesses, or substance use disorders must be certified by ADMH before providing services. This is not a formality you can backfill after opening.
SourceA business license is not certification
ADMH states this explicitly because applicants confuse the two. Registering a business with the state, or holding a local business license, gives you no standing with ADMH. They are separate tracks and you need both.
SourceCertification is not a contract
ADMH warns that completing orientation does not guarantee certification, and that certification does not guarantee a contract will be approved or offered, nor that referrals or ADMH funding will follow. Plan cash flow on the contract date, not the certification date.
SourceMeet the standards for your service category first
Applicants must show they meet the Alabama Administrative Code standards for the specific category of service they intend to provide. ADMH expects you to have reviewed the applicable chapter before you apply, not while under review.
SourceEnrollment
How to enroll in Alabama
Certification runs through ADMH's orientation-then-application sequence. Medicaid billing enrollment is a separate application to the Alabama Medicaid Agency through its provider enrollment web portal.
Application system: Alabama Certification Automation Program (ACAP)
- Complete ADMH orientation through Relias Academy
Prospective providers take an online orientation course, with separate tracks for Developmental Disability services and for Mental Health/Substance Use services. As of January 1, 2026 the formerly separate Phase 1 and Phase 2 were combined into a single self-paced course. You need the certificate of completion to move on — there is no way to skip to the application.
Source - Review the Administrative Code standards for your service
Chapter 580-5-30 governs certification of providers serving people with intellectual disabilities. Read the standards for the exact services you intend to offer and build your policies against them before you submit.
Source - Submit your certification application through ACAP
Since October 31, 2025 ADMH takes certification applications through the Alabama Certification Automation Program rather than on paper. Waiver service provider applicants also work through the DD Provider Network Manager, who processes prospective and specialized-service applications.
Source - Attend New Provider Orientation
The DD Provider Network Manager runs New Provider Orientation Training quarterly. Because it is quarterly rather than on demand, the calendar can add months to your start date — ask for the next date early.
Source - Pass certification site review
The Office of Provider Certification conducts reviews against the applicable standards before certification is issued.
Source - Enroll with the Alabama Medicaid Agency to bill
Certification alone does not let you submit claims. Enroll separately as an Alabama Medicaid provider, then secure an ADMH contract or subcontract for the waiver services you intend to deliver.
Source
Fees, screening, and renewal
$750 for institutional providers (calendar year 2026)
CMS sets this fee annually and it applies to institutional providers initially enrolling or revalidating in Medicaid or CHIP, on applications submitted January 1 through December 31, 2026. Individual practitioners are not charged it. The amount changes each year, so confirm the current figure before you file.
SourceRevalidate Medicaid enrollment at least every 5 years
Federal rule requires state Medicaid programs to revalidate every enrolled provider at least once every five years, and Alabama issues revalidation notices in phases. Miss the response window and your enrollment closes — which stops payment even though your ADMH certification is untouched.
SourceService types
What you can be approved to deliver
Developmental disability waiver services
Intellectual Disabilities (ID) WaiverLiving at Home (LAH) WaiverCommunity Waiver Program (CWP)
ADMH certification in the DD service category
Certification is granted per service category, so the services you are certified to deliver are the only ones you may deliver. Adding a service later means going back for it.
SourceContract or subcontract with ADMH
Entities participating in the Medicaid waiver programs for compensation must be enrolled as a provider of services to individuals with intellectual disabilities, meet ADMH certification requirements, and be under contract or subcontract with ADMH.
SourceCommunity Waiver Program services
Community Waiver Program (CWP)
Eleven counties only
CWP operates in Baldwin, Elmore, Houston, Jefferson, Limestone, Madison, Mobile, Montgomery, Morgan, Tuscaloosa, and Walker counties. If you intend to serve CWP participants, your service area has to be inside that footprint.
SourceSign the New Provider HCBS Compliance Agreement
ADMH publishes a compliance agreement for new CWP providers alongside its Scopes of Service document, which defines what each service actually covers.
SourceScreening
Background checks and staff eligibility
Minimum age 18 and a pre-employment drug screen
Direct service personnel must be at least 18 years old and must pass a pre-employment drug screen. A TB skin test is also required where the Alabama Medicaid Agency mandates one.
SourceCriminal history checks are required by statute
Alabama law requires criminal history background checks for people responsible for children, the elderly, and people with disabilities, including suitability determinations and checks on subsequent activity. Build the screening cost and turnaround into your hiring timeline.
SourceTraining
What your staff must complete
12 hours before a DSP touches direct support
The first training section, "Before Serving People," is twelve hours and must be completed before you assign staff to provide direct supports. This is the requirement most likely to bite a new provider — it sits between hiring and billable work, so staff you have started paying cannot yet generate revenue.
SourceAll remaining courses within 90 days
The rest of the required curriculum must be finished within 90 days, including Incident Prevention & Management System (IPMS) training for identifying and reporting reportable events, Infection Control, and training specific to each service the direct service professional will deliver.
SourceThe training itself is free
ADMH's Division of Developmental Disabilities provides a competency-based, on-demand online course for direct service personnel in the Community Waiver Program at no charge to providers. Your cost is staff time, not tuition.
SourceProvider orientation carries a fee
The prospective-provider orientation runs through ADMH Relias Academy. ADMH has offered a $25 discount to applicants who had already completed the former Phase 1 before the courses were merged.
SourceTimeline & cost
What this actually takes
Quarterly orientation sets the floor
Because New Provider Orientation is held quarterly rather than on demand, your earliest possible start date is governed by the training calendar, not by how fast you can assemble paperwork. Ask for the next scheduled date before you plan anything else.
SourceAfter approval
Staying compliant
Continuous compliance, not just an entry test
Certification is issued for a defined period and providers must maintain compliance with the standards throughout the term, with ADMH conducting reviews against those standards.
SourceMedicaid revalidation on the state's schedule
Alabama issues revalidation notices in phases and requires a timely response. Providers who do not revalidate have their enrollment closed.
SourceConfirm by phone
What the state does not publish
Alabama does not publish these in a form we could verify, so we have not guessed at them. Ask directly — and if an answer here would help other providers, tell us and we will add it with its source.
- What does ADMH charge for certification, and is there an application fee separate from the Relias orientation cost?
Ask: ADMH Office of Provider Certification, 334-353-7053
- How long does certification take from ACAP submission to certificate issued, and how long is a certification valid before renewal?
Ask: ADMH Office of Provider Certification, 334-353-7053
- Is ADMH currently accepting new DD waiver providers in your county, and is any service type closed or under moratorium?
Ask: ADMH DD Provider Network Manager, 334-353-1997
- Which specific criminal offenses disqualify a direct service employee, and who pays for the fingerprint check?
Ask: ADMH Office of Provider Certification, 334-353-7053
Key contacts
Alabama provider contacts
ADMH Staff Development
Handles prospective-provider orientation and Relias Academy access.
334-242-3177Visit siteAlabama Department of Mental Health — general inquiries
alabama.dmh@mh.alabama.gov for questions that do not fit certification or provider network.
Visit siteCommunity Waiver Program
CWP program direction. Director: Teresa M. Brazile.
251-283-6219Visit siteFAQ
Alabama provider questions
Do I need ADMH certification and Medicaid enrollment, or just one?
Both, in that order. ADMH certification makes it legal for you to deliver the service; Medicaid enrollment is what lets you bill for it; and an ADMH contract or subcontract is what actually routes waiver work to you. Providers who stop after certification end up certified, idle, and unpaid.
Can I start hiring once I finish orientation?
You can, but be careful about payroll timing. Completing orientation does not guarantee certification, and every direct service employee needs twelve hours of "Before Serving People" training before you may assign them to direct supports. Staff can be on your payroll for a while before they can generate a billable hour.
Does certification guarantee ADMH will send me clients?
No, and ADMH says so directly: certification does not ensure client referrals or ADMH funding and payment. Certification is permission to operate, not a book of business.
I only want to serve the Community Waiver Program. Does that change anything?
It restricts where you can operate. CWP runs in eleven counties — Baldwin, Elmore, Houston, Jefferson, Limestone, Madison, Mobile, Montgomery, Morgan, Tuscaloosa, and Walker. Outside that footprint, the ID and Living at Home waivers are the statewide programs to look at instead.
Looking for the family-facing guide? Browse state waiver guides