Frequently Asked Questions
How do I register for an initial EMS certification test?
Please see your instructor or program coordinator to obtain information on the process for registering for an EMS examination. You are required to sign up for an account and register for your examination through the National Register of Emergency Medical Services at www.nremt.org .
What is the NREMT assessment examination?
The assessment examination is an examination developed by the National Registry of Emergency Medical Services. The assessment examination is currently used for the reinstatement of an expired certification, in lieu of continuing education, and EMS instructor knowledge examinations.
How do I register for an assessment examination certification test?
You are required to sign up for an account and register for your examination through the National Register of Emergency Medical Services at www.nremt.org . If you have any questions please contact Saunnie Rookstool ( srook@dps.state.oh.us ) at (800) 233-0785 or (614) 752-3946.
How do I register for an initial fire certification examination?
Please see your instructor or program director to obtain information on the process for registering for a fire examination. The Division of EMS has developed a web based testing system that allows our approved fire charters to administer the fire examinations. If you have any questions please contact Saunnie Rookstool ( srook@dps.state.oh.us ) at (800) 233-0785 or (614) 752-3946.
How will I get my test score?
Test scores for all initial EMT certifications will be mailed to you from the National Registry. All Fire test scores will be reported by the training institution.
What is firefighter equivalency?
There is a process called “equivalency” for transferring your out of state or military training to Ohio. The information and complete downloadable packets for firefighters is located under "Fire Instructor and Fire Charters" at www.ems.ohio.gov . If you have questions regarding this process please contact Doug Orahood (dorahood@dps.state.oh.us ) at 800-233-0785 or 9614)752-3946.
How do I apply for Firefighter equivalency?
To apply for Firefighter equivalency you must submit a completed application along with a verification of training form. Please send the verification of training form to the state agency where you are currently certified as a firefighter or to the training base for the branch of the military where you received training. When you receive the verification of training form back from the verifying agency please submit it along with your application, copies of your certificate of training, copies of completion of NIMS 100 & 700, and the appropriate Declaration of Material Assistance form to our office. It will be determined from this information where you qualify and you will be permitted at that time to test for certification in Ohio. You may submit the completed forms to:
Ohio Department of Public Safety
Division of EMS
1970 West Broad Street
P.O. Box 182073
Columbus, Ohio 43218-2073
Attn: Doug Orahood
If you have questions regarding this process please contact Doug Orahood (dorahood@dps.state.oh.us ) at 800-233-0785 or 9614)752-3946.
How do I register for a certification test?
Each fire and/or
How will I get my test score?
Test scores for all initial EMT
certifications will be mailed to you from the National Registry. All Fire test scores will be reported by the training institution.
Has my card been sent yet?
An initial firefighter certification card
will be mailed to you three to five weeks from the time you receive your
passing test results. An initial EMT certification card will be mailed within
three to five weeks from the time we receive your complete application and test
results. You will be notified by letter regarding any problems with your
certification application. Once test scores are entered into our database
system, cards are then printed and mailed. If you need to check on the status
of your certification card, please contact John Kennington
(jkennington@dps.state.oh.us) at (800) 233-0785 or (614) 466-9455.
How do I renew my certification?
All EMT'S are
sent a reminder postcard regarding certification renewal 180 days prior to the
expiration date of the certificate to practice . Please follow the instructions
for renewal when you receive this postcard. Remember that we send all
correspondence to the most recent address we have on file. If your address has
changed , please fill out the change of address form posted on our website
under forms and return to our office for processing. If you should need a
replacement card, please fill out the replacement card form posted on our
website under forms and return to our office for processing.
John Kennington, Certification Coordinator ( jkennington@dps.state.oh.us ) at 800 -233-0785 or
(614) 466-9455
How do I transfer
my current EMT card to Ohio?
There is a process called 'reciprocity,' and
the information and complete downloadable packets for each level of
How many hours do I
need to renew my card?
Please access the "Training, Testing
and Certification" portion of our web site. Under there, you can choose
"Certification and Continuing Education Requirement Brochures," and
download a copy of the appropriate renewal brochure. If you have any questions,
please contact our EMS Education Section at 1-800-233-0785 1-614-387-0449.
How do 'we' become
a CE training site?
In order to provide continuing education
within your facility, you may our EMS Education Section at 1-800-233-0785
1-614-387-0449. The initial application is under "Forms" on our web
site, however, there is additional paperwork that is needed in order for our
EMS Board to approve your location to provide CE.
Visit our Web Site @ www.ems.ohio.gov
How do I submit a change of address
and name change?
Please go to the forms section and complete the form
for address change. All information must be included. Incomplete forms will NOT
be processed. If you are submitting a
name change a copy of the legal document that changed your name will be
required, (ie...marriage certificate, divorce decree). You may submit the
completed in form in one of the following ways:
Fax it to:
614-466-9461 attn: John Kennington
or
Mail it to:
Division of
Attn: John Kennington
or
Attach to an email and email to: jkennington@dps.state.oh.us
How do I request a duplicate card if I have lost my certification card?
Please go to the forms section and complete the form
for Request for a Duplicate card. All information must be completed. Incomplete
forms will NOT be processed. After completing the
form you may submit it in one of the following ways:
Fax it to:
614-466-9461 attn: John Kennington
or
Mail it to:
Division of
Attn: John Kennington
or
Attach to an email and email to: jkennington@dps.state.oh.us
How do I
apply for Firefighter equivalency?
To apply for Firefighter equivalency you
must submit a completed application along with a verification of training form.
Please send the verification of training form to the state agency where you are
currently certified as a firefighter or to the training base for the branch of
the military where you received training. When you receive the verification of
training form back from the verifying agency please submit it along with your
application to our office. It will be determined from this information where
you qualify and you will be permitted at that time to test for certification in
FAQ’s for Reciprocity
Please look over these
frequently asked questions as they pertain to reciprocity. One or more of these questions may be the
same one that you have, and can be answered immediately and cause you not to
contact the Division of EMS. However, if
you do have a question that is not similar to those most frequently asked,
please feel free to contact the division with your question. Thank you.
Q: What if I do not already have registration
with the National Registry?
A:
other states at the present
time. It will be necessary for you to
obtain current registration
in order for you to file for reciprocity.
You may go to the National
Registry’s web site: www.nremt.org
and download a copy of the
appropriate level of application in
which you are applying for
reciprocity in
this application, you will
find that page 1 will be information
pertaining to yourself. Page 2 will then be information that your
‘original’ training school will have to
verify. If for some reason your
original training school
will not verify this information for you, and
requires you to come back to
obtain proper validation, then that is
strictly between you and the
training school. That is clearly beyond
Q: What if I ‘used’ to be registered with the
National Registry, but my registration has
Lapsed?
A: You must go through the NREMT’s reinstatement
process. They can be
reached at 1-614-888-4484.
Q: I’m filing for reciprocity at the EMT-Basic
level and I need the 12-hour
Advanced
Airway Curriculum course of instruction.
Where do I obtain this training?
A: You can access our web site – under
“Training,” you may then access
the “Training Facility
Information” section. You may then
access
all of the ‘accredited’
training facilities (by county) and contact the
EMS Program Coordinator who
operates the training school. Please
be sure to advise them that
you are filing for reciprocity, and advise them
that you are in need of the
12-hour Advanced Airway Curriculum for
the basic level.
Q: When are the 12-hour Advanced Airway classes
given?
A: The Division of EMS does not receive
information as to when and what
courses are being offered by
any of the training facilities.
Therefore,
it will be entirely up to
the reciprocity candidate to contact the closest
training school and speak
with the EMS Program Coordinator to obtain
specific dates/times to
attend for this course.
Q: How long is the reciprocity process?
A: In short, as soon as our office is in receipt
of the necessary paperwork and
documentation, it is looked
over to ensure validity and educational
curriculum and education
matches
all documentation has been
sufficed, the information is forwarded to
Certifications, who will
then take 7-10 working days to enter the data
into the computer
system. Once the information is entered,
the Division
of
patient care with a
department. However, please keep in mind
that the
department in which you are
going to be employed has the ultimate
decision – and may require
you to physically provide them with a copy of
your Ohio Certificate to
Practice prior to you providing patient care.
In
that case, you must wait for
your card to arrive.
Certificates to Practice are
NOT printed at this location,
and will be
forwarded to you as soon as
the printing service has them completed.
Q: I’m coming from the military, and they
trained me well above the EMT-Basic level
that
A: As
you can appreciate that the military has their own standards of training
and “job titles,” each state also has a
standard to uphold.
different.
In
EMS Board is governed by the Ohio Revised
Code. In turn, the
Board has written specific Administrative
Codes that coincide with the
ORC, and all training is written within those
two separate codes. The
military is only approved (through the NREMT)
to train the EMT-Basic.
The military has authority to pay for an
enlisted serviceman to attend a
Paramedic course – however, that course is
operated by a contracted state
organization.
The only way that one could apply for a Paramedic level of
certification is for that serviceman to
provide a current NREMT
registration as well as a current state certification
from the state where the
‘original’ Paramedic training was obtained.
Q: When I took the EMT-Basic training at my
training school, we were taught about the ET tube – do I still have to take the
advanced airway class?
A: Unfortunately, the only ‘initial’ curriculum
that mirrors
to the advanced airway is
states as well as the
military MUST take the advanced airway course at
an accredited training
facility in
Q: Who do I send all of these forms to?
A: Please follow the directions sheet to know
which forms and requested
information are forwarded to
which appropriate agency. This will
expedite the process, and
lessen frustration on the reciprocity candidate’s
part.