Try for free

MBTA TAP CharlieCard Health Care Professional Form

The Transportation Access Pass (TAP) CharlieCard gives riders with disabilities reduced fares on MBTA buses, subway, Commuter Rail and ferry. The Health Care Professional Certification is one accepted proof of disability. A clinician meets it when a patient finds it moderately or severely difficult to use public transit because of a physical, psychiatric, intellectual or sensory disability.

Who completes it

A licensed or certified health care professional completes the whole one-page form, recording licensure title, specialty, license number and issuing state, then signs. The applicant's own details go in the online or in-person TAP application.

Submitting and payment

How to submit it
The applicant uploads the signed form with an online MyCharlie TAP application or brings it to the Charlie Service Center. The MBTA must receive it within 60 days of the professional's signature.
Who pays
The form does not address payment for the professional's certification.

Good to know

  • Question 1 uses category numbers from the page 2 guidelines, ranging from wheeled mobility and pulmonary conditions to immunocompromise, dialysis, autism and psychiatric disabilities, plus a specific diagnosis.
  • Question 3 asks for short-term disability (potential to improve within one year) or long-term disability (no expectation of improvement). TAP is never based on income.
  • An RMV disability placard, Medicare or One Care card, VA benefits letter, or DMH, MassAbility or DDS letter can replace this form as proof of disability.
  • The MBTA reserves the right to see the professional's original signature. Legally blind applicants with a Commission for the Blind certificate qualify for a Blind Access CharlieCard instead.

Get the official form

Download the current version from the source each time; forms change without notice.

TAP CharlieCard - Health Care Professional Certification

Official pagePDFVersión en español

Fill it with Vero

If your copy of the form is a fillable PDF, upload it once and Vero Documents fills it from the visit note and the chart, ready for you to review and sign. Download, print, or email the finished form, with the patient’s consent.

See how Vero Documents works

How this list is checked

A form is listed only after its name and number were confirmed on the issuing agency’s or insurer’s own website, or in the form itself. Each entry links to that source. The list was last checked in October 2026. Forms and their requirements change without notice, so check the official page for the current version before you complete one.

Vero is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the agencies and insurers listed here. Read our editorial policy.

Frequently asked questions

Is the MBTA TAP health care form available in other languages?

Yes. The MBTA publishes the Health Care Professional Certification in English, Spanish, French, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and Vietnamese. All versions ask for the same disability category, diagnosis, travel difficulty and expected duration.

How long is the MBTA TAP certification valid?

The signed form must reach the MBTA within 60 days of the professional's signature. Once approved, reduced fare benefits based on documentation last up to five years depending on the document used, while benefits based on an existing RIDE ID last one year.

What should the provider write about travel difficulty for TAP?

Question 2 asks how the disability makes MBTA travel difficult, such as waiting for a bus, hearing announcements, reading signs, following directions, maintaining stamina, handling crowds or walking between transit modes. The MBTA issues TAP based on that level of difficulty.