Rule 5122-25-03 | Certification procedure - update application.
(A) This rule specifies the procedure a provider is to follow when the provider seeks to update its certification of certifiable services or supports with the department at any time before renewal (i.e., in the midst of a certification term). Reasons for submitting an update application could include a provider seeking to add a certifiable service or support to, or remove a certifiable service or support from, the menu of services or supports the provider provides; changing locations; adding locations; or changing its executive director, chief executive officer, or similar title. In this circumstance, the provider is to submit an "update application" through the department's licensure and certification tracking system. An update application will be an abbreviated version of the application for initial certification described in rule 5122-25-02 of the Administrative Code.
(B) Upon receipt of an update application, the department will review the application to determine whether it is complete and compliant. If the application is incomplete or not compliant, the department will notify the provider of the corrections or additions that are needed and may return the application to the provider. Return of the application or failure to issue certification is not a refusal to certify.
A provider that fails to respond to a request to submit corrections or additions to an update application within forty-five days is automatically considered to have withdrawn the application. If the provider desires to attempt the update again, the provider is to file a new update application.
A provider that seeks to add a certifiable service or support to the menu of services or supports the provider provides by submitting an update application to the department is to have attained provisional, preliminary, inaugural, conditional, or full accreditation for that service or support not later than the date of application if the department determines that the service or support is one for which national accreditation is mandated under division (B)(1) of section 5119.36 of the Revised Code and rules adopted under that section. The department may then determine whether the provider qualifies for interim certification under the circumstances described in paragraph (A)(2)(a) of rule 5122-25-06 of the Administrative Code or full certification under the circumstances described in paragraph (B)(2)(a) of rule 5122-25-07 of the Administrative Code.
For a provider that solely operates or seeks to operate opioid treatment programs exclusively serving clients who are enrolled as opioid treatment program participants (meaning the provider does not operate or seek to operate any site that serves clients who are not enrolled as opioid treatment program participants), the department will accept opioid treatment program national accreditation as sufficient evidence of national accreditation for purposes of compliance with division (B) of section 5119.36 of the Revised Code for the following certifiable services and supports needing to be certified under rule 5122-40-04 of the Administrative Code: general services as described in rule 5122-29-03 of the Administrative Code, substance use disorder (SUD) case management services as described in rule 5122-29-13 of the Administrative Code, and crisis intervention service as described in rule 5122-29-10 of the Administrative Code.
(C) On-site reviews
(1) The director may conduct an on-site review of a provider submitting an update application if the director needs additional information to determine whether the standards specified in section 5119.36 of the Revised Code and any rules adopted under that section are satisfied with respect to the reason or reasons for which the provider is submitting the update application. Otherwise, if the director determines that the standards specified in section 5119.36 of the Revised Code and any rules adopted under that section are satisfied without the need for additional information, the director may issue the certification without further evaluation of the services and supports.
If the director chooses to conduct an on-site review under these circumstances, the director may conduct the on-site review in cooperation with a board of alcohol, drug addiction, and mental health services that seeks to contract or has a contract with a provider under section 340.036 of the Revised Code. It is up to the department's discretion as to whether the department will notify a provider in advance of such an on-site review.
(2) If the provider is seeking to add one or more services or supports to the menu of services or supports the provider provides and the director has determined that national accreditation does not exist for at least one of the services or supports the provider is seeking to add, an on-site review is mandatory. Under these circumstances, it is the director's obligation to conduct an on-site review of the provider for certifiable services or supports for which national accreditation does not exist.
(3) In addition to an on-site review conducted under paragraph (C)(1) or (C)(2) of this rule, the department may, as authorized by division (H) of section 5119.36 of the Revised Code, conduct an on-site review or otherwise evaluate a provider at any time based on cause, including complaints made by or on behalf of individuals receiving certifiable services or supports and confirmed or alleged deficiencies brought to the director's attention. The department has the discretion to determine whether it will notify a provider in advance of such an on-site review. In conducting an on-site review under these circumstances, the department may do so in cooperation with a board of alcohol, drug addiction, and mental health services that seeks to contract or has a contract with the provider under section 340.036 of the Revised Code.
(4) Regardless of whether the department is conducting an on-site review under paragraph (C)(1), (C)(2), or (C)(3) of this rule, the department is to have access to all of the provider's records, regardless of format, to verify compliance with certification standards. In addition, the department may conduct interviews with members of the provider's governing body, staff, and others and, with client permission, the client.
Last updated August 3, 2026 at 8:26 AM
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