DHS Division of Developmental Disabilities Services (DDS)
Certifies CES Waiver service providers and complex care homes, and runs Quality Assurance monitoring.
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Arkansas provider enrollment
How to Become a Medicaid Waiver Provider in Arkansas
What Arkansas 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 Arkansas
Two things about Arkansas are worth knowing before you start. First, certification is granted per service — a separate DDS certification is required for each type of CES Waiver Service you intend to deliver, so "becoming a provider" is really several applications sized to what you plan to offer. Second, and unusually, certification once issued does not expire. There is no renewal cycle to calendar; it stays in force until it is terminated under the standards. That trades an annual paperwork burden for a continuous compliance burden, and DDS Quality Assurance monitors against the standards on that basis.
Who certifies you
The agencies that decide
DHS Division of Medical Services — Provider Enrollment Unit
Enrolls certified providers in the Arkansas Medicaid Program so they can bill.
Visit siteBefore you apply
What has to be true first
Good standing to do business in Arkansas
A provider must be in good standing to do business under Arkansas law, and must appoint a single manager as the point of contact for all DDS and DMS matters — someone with authority over the organization and its employees.
SourceCertification is required per service type
An individual, entity, or organization must be certified by DDS to provide a CES Waiver Service, and a separate certification is required for each type of service. Deciding your service mix decides how many applications you file.
SourceComplex care homes need their own certification
To operate a complex care home, the residential setting itself must be certified as one, in addition to your certification to provide CES Waiver Supportive Living services.
SourceExclusion from Medicaid is an absolute bar
Anyone on the Medicaid excluded provider list is prohibited from receiving CES Waiver Service certification. Check your owners and management against that list before spending money on an application.
SourceCertification cannot be bought or transferred
A provider cannot transfer CES Waiver Service certification to another person or entity, and cannot complete a change of ownership unless DDS approves the new ownership's application. Acquiring a certified agency does not hand you its certification.
SourceEnrollment
How to enroll in Arkansas
Certification applications go to DDS with full ownership, management, staffing, and screening documentation. Once certified, you contact the DMS Provider Enrollment Unit to enroll in Arkansas Medicaid.
- Decide which services and which counties
Read the Certification Standards and waiver documents, then decide which services you have the capacity and expertise to offer, what counties you will cover, and the maximum number of people you can serve. Your application describes services against the standards, so this scoping comes first.
Source - Assemble ownership and management documentation
A complete application includes documentation of the applicant's entire ownership — governing body and all financial and business interests — plus the management structure and members of the management team.
Source - Document your intended employees and their screening
You must document the employees you intend to use, and the results of all checks, screens, and searches required under section 302(b), before certification is issued.
Source - Demonstrate compliance with the standards
The application also requires documentation demonstrating compliance with the standards themselves, plus anything else DDS asks for. DDS may issue certification once it determines your employees have passed all screening and that you satisfy the standards.
Source - Enroll with the DMS Provider Enrollment Unit
A provider licensed and certified as a DDS CES case management entity or supportive living services provider contacts the DMS Provider Enrollment Unit to enroll in the Arkansas Medicaid Program.
Source
Fees, screening, and renewal
Certification does not expire
Once issued, certification to perform a CES Waiver Service remains in force until it is terminated under the standards. There is no renewal application — which means compliance monitoring, not a renewal deadline, is what puts your certification at risk.
SourceService types
What you can be approved to deliver
CES Waiver services
Continuous open enrollmentCommunity and Employment Supports (CES) Waiver
Any willing and qualified provider may apply
DDS provides continuous open enrollment for waiver service providers, and states that all willing and qualified providers have the opportunity to enroll. There is no application window to wait for.
SourceYou may subcontract, but not entirely
Under the optional Organized Health Care Delivery System election, you may deliver services through subcontractors — but you must deliver at least one HCBS Waiver service using your own employees, must guarantee in writing that every subcontractor complies with Medicaid regulations and the standards, and you assume all liability for subcontractor non-compliance.
SourceConsultation and Environmental Modification need licensed staff
Employees performing these services must be a licensed or certified professional in the appropriate field for the service performed.
SourceScreening
Background checks and staff eligibility
Statutory checks plus a Medicaid exclusion check
Each employee must pass all checks, screens, and searches required under Ark. Code Ann. § 20-48-812, and a Medicaid excluded provider list check. Licensed professionals and a beneficiary's legal guardian are exempt.
SourceAdults in an alternative living home are screened too
Every individual 18 or older residing in an alternative living home who is not a family member of the beneficiary must pass the checks and searches in § 20-48-812(c)(1-4). The household, not just the payroll, is inside the requirement.
SourceTwo maltreatment registries, kept on file
Personnel records must contain all required criminal background checks, Child Maltreatment Central Registry checks, and Adult and Long-term Care Facility Resident Maltreatment Central Registry checks, alongside a detailed current job description.
SourceOngoing duty to re-verify
You must verify an employee still meets every requirement whenever DDS asks, or whenever you receive information after hiring that would create a reasonable belief they no longer qualify.
SourceTraining
What your staff must complete
Eight topics before any unsupervised contact
Before an employee has any beneficiary contact unsupervised by another employee, they must be trained on HIPAA and records protection, mandated reporter requirements, incident and accident reporting, basic health and safety, infection control, trauma informed care, verbal intervention, and de-escalation techniques.
SourceBeneficiary-specific training, also before unsupervised contact
Separately, each employee needs training specific to the people they will support: the non-clinical treatment plan, diagnosis and medical needs, medication management plan, positive behavioral support plan, behavioral prevention and intervention plan, permitted interventions, and emergency and evacuation procedures. It scales per beneficiary, so it recurs with every new placement.
SourceRefresher at least every other calendar year
Both the general and beneficiary-specific training topics require appropriate refresher training on that cycle.
SourceCPR and first aid, from one of three named bodies
All employees must obtain and maintain CPR and first aid certification through the American Heart Association, Medic First Aid, or the American Red Cross. Licensed professionals are exempt from the section 303 trainings and certifications.
SourceEmployees must be 18 with a diploma or GED
The floor for any employee is age 18 and a high school diploma, GED, or equivalent.
SourceManaged care
Contracting with health plans
Most CES Waiver beneficiaries receive services through a PASSE — a Provider-led Arkansas Shared Savings Entity — which is the managed care model connecting Medicaid recipients with complex behavioral health needs and developmental disabilities to HCBS. DDS certification and Medicaid enrollment make you eligible; PASSE contracts are what route members to you.
SourceTimeline & cost
What this actually takes
Thirty days to challenge an adverse action
A written request for reconsideration of an adverse regulatory action must be received by DDS within 30 calendar days of the written notice, and DDS issues its determination within 30 days.
SourceAfter approval
Staying compliant
Report ownership and control changes within seven days
Changes affecting how the provider conducts business in Arkansas must be reported to DDS Quality Assurance within seven days, and any change in control of a provider must be reported as well.
SourceDDS can demand proof you are still a going concern
If DDS receives information that would reasonably cause it to doubt your ability to continue operating, it can demand evidence that you can still safely provide services in full compliance. IRS liens, threats to non-profit status, and inability to pay employees or subcontractors are named examples.
SourceMonthly fire drills in residential settings
Emergency fire drills are required at least monthly for all provider owned, leased, or controlled CES Waiver residential settings, with other emergency drills on their own schedule and written emergency plans reviewed at least annually.
SourceThe standards are explicitly not the whole rulebook
DDS states that the Certification Standards do not list every law you must comply with, and that Quality Assurance can sanction non-compliance with laws and regulations not found in the standards. Reading only the standards is not a defense.
SourceConfirm by phone
What the state does not publish
Arkansas 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.
- Is there a fee to apply for CES Waiver certification, and how long does DDS review take?
Ask: DHS Division of Developmental Disabilities Services
- Which PASSEs are contracting with new providers in your counties, and what are their credentialing timelines?
Ask: Each PASSE directly — DDS certification does not include a PASSE contract
Key contacts
Arkansas provider contacts
DHS Division of Developmental Disabilities Services
CES Waiver certification and Quality Assurance monitoring.
Visit siteBecome a CES Waiver Service Provider
The state's own starting point, including which documents to read before applying.
Visit siteFAQ
Arkansas provider questions
Do I have to renew my Arkansas certification?
No. Certification to perform a CES Waiver Service does not expire once issued — it stays in force until terminated under the standards. That is genuinely unusual, and it shifts the risk: nothing lapses on a date, but ongoing Quality Assurance monitoring is what can end it.
Can I get certified once and then add services later?
You would need a separate DDS certification for each additional type of CES Waiver Service. Scope your initial application to what you can actually staff and deliver, rather than applying broadly and hoping to grow into it.
Can I buy an existing certified agency and take over its certification?
Not directly. Certification cannot be transferred to another person or entity, and a change of ownership cannot be completed unless DDS approves the new ownership's application — including screening for all employees and owners.
Is Arkansas accepting new providers right now?
Yes. DDS runs continuous open enrollment for waiver service providers and states that all willing and qualified providers have the opportunity to enroll. There is no window to wait for — the constraint is meeting the standards, not timing.
If I'm certified and enrolled, will clients follow?
Not automatically. Most beneficiaries are served through a PASSE, so a PASSE contract is usually what actually connects you to members. Budget time for that step separately from certification and Medicaid enrollment.
Looking for the family-facing guide? Browse state waiver guides