About Our Ambulance Licenses / Office of Emergency Medical Services (OEMS)

About Our Licenses

Ambulance services in Minnesota are licensed at four different levels that determine the level of care they provide. Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulances offer basic emergency care, while Part-time Advanced Life Support (PTALS) provides advanced treatment when available. Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulances provide advanced level interventions around-the-clock, and Specialized Life Support ambulances are equipped for patients with unique or complex medical needs. No matter the situation or license level, there’s a dedicated ambulance ready to respond. Learn more about each license type by clicking below!

*For details on the $24,000,000 one-time Emergency Ambulance Service Aid allocation scheduled for 2024, please visit the Minnesota Department of Revenue's information page linked here.

Basic Life Support

    A basic life support (BLS) ambulance must be staffed by at least: (1) Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and (1) Emergency Medical Responder (EMR) or if a staffing hardship variance has been approved (1) EMT and (1) Driver who has been approved by the Office of EMS.

    Basic life support personnel must provide a level of care to ensure that: life-threatening situations and potentially serious injuries are recognized; patients are protected from additional hazards; basic treatment to reduce the seriousness of emergency situations is administered; and patients are transported to an appropriate medical facility for treatment.

    A BLS service shall provide basic airway management, which includes: resuscitation by mouth-to-mouth, mouth-to-mask, bag valve mask or oxygen-powered ventilators; or insertion of an oropharyngeal, nasal pharyngeal or esophageal tracheal airway.

    A BLS Service shall provide automatic defibrillation.

    A BLS service licensee's medical director may authorize ambulance service personnel to perform intravenous infusion and use equipment that is within the licensure level of the ambulance service. Ambulance service personnel must be properly trained. Documentation of authorization for use, guidelines for use, continuing education, and skill verification must be maintained in the licensee's files.
Part-time Advanced Life Support

A part-time advanced life support service must meet the staffing requirements for an ALS ambulance and the requirements specified in the Equipment/General Requirements section. It may, however, provide ALS service for less than 24 hours every day.

A part-time ALS service must have a written agreement with its medical director to ensure medical control for patient care during the time the service offers advanced life support. The terms of the agreement shall include a written policy on the administration of medical control for the service and address the items specified in the Advanced Life Support section.
Advanced Life Support

    An advanced life support (ALS) ambulance must be staffed by at least: one EMT or one AEMT and one Paramedic; or if a staffing hardship variance has been approved by the Office EMS, one Paramedic and one Emergency Medical Responder driver for all emergency calls and interfacility transfers; or one EMT or one AEMT and one registered nurse or physician assistant who is an EMT, and has been approved by the medical director to provide advanced level care or one registered nurse who holds a Certified Emergency Nurse, or Certified Flight Nurse credential and has been approved by the Office of EMS.

    An ALS service shall provide basic life support (as described in the Basic Life Support section), advanced airway management, manual defibrillation, and administration of intravenous fluids and pharmaceuticals. In addition to providing advanced life support, an ALS service may staff additional ambulances to provide basic life support.

    An ambulance service providing advanced life support shall have a written agreement with its medical director to ensure medical control for patient care 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The terms of the agreement shall include a written policy on the administration of medical control for the service. The policy must address the following issues: two-way communication for physician direction of ambulance service personnel, patient triage, treatment and transport, use of standing orders and the means by which medical control will be provided 24 hours a day. The agreement must be signed by the licensees medical director and the licensee (or the licensees designee) and maintained in the files of the licensee.

    When an ambulance service provides advanced life support, the authority of a Paramedic, a Minnesota-registered nurse-EMT/CEN/CFN, or a Minnesota-registered physician assistant-EMT prevails over the authority of an EMT in determining the delivery of patient care.
Specialized Life Support
A specialized life support service provides basic or advanced life support, and is restricted by the Office of EMS to:
- Operation less than 24 hours of every day;
- designated segments of the population;
- certain types of medical conditions; or
- air ambulance service (fixed or rotor-wing)
A specialized ground life support service providing advanced life support must be staffed by at least one EMT and one Paramedic, Registered Nurse-EMT, or Physician Assistant-EMT.