Texas SEMARC Replaces the EMR Search: DAHS Survey Date Moves to January 7, 2027

Update, October 6, 2026. HHSC has extended the SEMARC hold-harmless period. A second revision of Provider Letter (PL) 2026-10, issued October 2, 2026, moves the end of the hold-harmless period from October 5, 2026 to January 6, 2027. HHSC will not survey for SEMARC compliance until January 7, 2027. The revision also adds a Frequently Asked Questions section, covered below. The requirement itself has not moved: DAHS providers have been required to use SEMARC since August 3, 2026.

Log into the Texas Unified Licensure Information Portal (TULIP) and open the Other Actions tab. Confirm that Search Engine for Multi-Agency Reportable Conduct (SEMARC) is listed there. If it is not, SEMARC access has not been granted. The request goes through your business entity's Security Authorities, and that takes time. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) starts surveying SEMARC requirements on January 7, 2027.

ElderSuite serves adult day care centers nationwide. This piece is Texas-specific. The adult day care employability check Texas providers now run is a SEMARC search in TULIP, on the state's system.

Update, September 7, 2026. SEMARC has reached full implementation. On September 1, 2026, the SEMARC program announced that HHSC is now live in the system, completing the rollout across all participating agencies (TJJD, TEA, DFPS, and HHSC), and that authorized HHSC users can now conduct reportable-conduct checks in SEMARC for the Long-Term Care Regulation and Child Care Regulation programs. If SEMARC still isn't showing under TULIP's Other Actions tab, the access request is the holdup, not the system. Source: semarc.texas.gov news, "SEMARC Full Implementation Achieved with HHSC Go-Live," September 1, 2026.

What changed

HHSC Long-Term Care Regulation first issued PL 2026-10 for SEMARC and revised it on August 6, 2026. The current version, PL 2026-10 (Revised), was issued October 2, 2026. The letter implements Senate Bill 1849, which created Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 810, the Interagency Reportable Conduct Search Engine. That engine is formally named SEMARC.

SEMARC is a common platform for authorized users to search several state agencies' registries at once for individuals with reportable conduct. PL 2026-10 lists results from HHSC's Employee Misconduct Registry (EMR), the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) Information Management Protecting Adults and Children in Texas (IMPACT) system, the Texas Education Agency Do Not Hire Registry, and the Texas Juvenile Justice Department registry.

The hiring change is that the SEMARC search replaces the EMR search. HHSC writes, "The requirement to search EMR will be replaced with the requirement to search SEMARC." Rule amendments are in process. Until those rules catch up, the revised provider letter is the instruction Long-Term Care Regulation has put in providers' hands.

The EMR itself is not going away. The letter's FAQ says HHSC will continue to manage the EMR, but providers now see EMR results through SEMARC, which displays them alongside the other participating agencies' results. The Nurse Aide Registry (NAR) is not part of SEMARC and must still be searched separately in TULIP.

So Day Activity and Health Services (DAHS) providers run SEMARC in addition to NAR. That is two searches for a NAR and SEMARC employability check, not three. You no longer run a separate EMR search. The effective date on the letter is August 3, 2026.

Does this apply to me

Yes, if you operate a Texas DAHS facility. PL 2026-10 names Day Activity and Health Services (DAHS) and DAHS-Individualized Skills and Socialization (DAHS-ISS) on the Provider Types line. Texas Medicaid & Healthcare Partnership (TMHP) training for the NAR and SEMARC employability status check names the same programs. The DFPS SEMARC FAQ lists day activity health services among HHSC long-term care providers that use SEMARC to determine eligibility for employment.

This is the SEMARC DAHS requirement. It is not limited to nursing facilities. If you hire people into a Texas adult day care program under DAHS or DAHS-ISS, this letter is aimed at you. It covers all staff, contractors and volunteers, licensed and unlicensed. The FAQ says registered nurses and other professionally licensed staff must be verified through SEMARC too. SEMARC joins the Texas DAHS paperwork ElderSuite already documents, like Form 2067, Form 3050, and Form 3055. For the unit rules, the flat $18.59 unit rate, and the claim deadlines those forms feed, see our guide to Texas Medicaid DAHS rates and billing.

What you have to do

Run SEMARC and NAR when you determine a person's employability. SEMARC is the multi-agency search. NAR remains a separate search. SEMARC does not replace criminal background checks or any other required check, such as the HHSC OIG and U.S. exclusion lists. Keep doing everything else your program already requires.

Providers access SEMARC through TULIP, using the same TULIP credentials they already have. Log in, open Other Actions, and select SEMARC. The DFPS FAQ describes SEMARC as the place authorized users search for a history of reportable conduct used to determine eligibility for employment, volunteer positions, certification, contracts, or licensure. Search results come back as Found, Not Found, Potential Match, Pending, or Error.

How often

The new FAQ settles the annual question. Staff must be checked upon hire and annually after that. Staff hired before August 2026 do not need to be rechecked until their next annual check. You may search more often, even monthly, as long as no more than 365 days pass between required searches.

For DAHS-ISS, the FAQ spells out the full list. Before offering employment, DAHS-ISS providers must complete a criminal history check and search SEMARC, NAR, the Medication Aide Registry (MAR), the U.S. exclusion list (USLEIE), and the HHSC OIG exclusion list (LEIE). At least once every 12 months, they must search NAR, MAR, and SEMARC to confirm employees remain employable.

Documenting the search

SEMARC does not yet show a date and time stamp on its results, and HHSC says SEMARC documentation must include one. Until SEMARC adds it, screenshot the results page with the computer's date visible. For a bulk search, keep one copy of the bulk search. Paper or electronic copies are fine, as long as HHSC can see them on request. NAR results can be downloaded from the yellow results bar.

Completed SEMARC results stay viewable for up to seven calendar days. After that, use Search History to see the determination and reporting agency details.

Pending results and mismatches

If a DFPS result shows Pending, click Refresh in SEMARC once every 24 hours until the search completes. While SEMARC results are pending, you can start hiring and orientation only if the person has no access to the people you serve, for example an off-site or virtual orientation. The person may not enter any building where participants are served, even escorted, until the results are back and the person is found employable. If a person is listed in SEMARC, they are unemployable.

If a search comes back with a mismatched name or Social Security number (SSN) that does not give a clear employability answer, HHSC tells long-term care facilities to email SEMARC-EMR@hhs.texas.gov. Texas Administrative Code and other policy questions go to LTCRPolicy@hhs.texas.gov.

Check your TULIP access

The holdup is access, not awareness. If SEMARC is not visible under Other Actions, the letter says you have not been granted access. In TULIP, select Other Actions, then Request Access to SEMARC (For Hiring Managers Only). Your business entity's Security Authorities review the request, and the user gets an email when it is processed. Each business entity can have up to 10 TULIP/SEMARC user accounts, regardless of location, and the business entity decides who gets them.

TULIP technical access and permissions are a TULIP Help Desk matter: 512-438-2584. SEMARC data, search, and display issues go to the SEMARC Help Desk: 877-798-1077. The TULIP login page posts the same TULIP Help Desk number, with hours of operation 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central, Monday through Friday, excluding state and federal holidays.

ElderSuite includes a TULIP link in the Provider Center, so staff can get to the TULIP login from inside ElderSuite rather than hunting for it. The employability searches themselves happen in TULIP, on the state's system. The rest of the day-to-day work, from attendance records to claims, stays in ElderSuite's adult day care billing software. Questions about ElderSuite itself, as opposed to TULIP or SEMARC, go to the ElderSuite Support page.

January 7, 2027 and what happens then

The hold-harmless period has been in effect since August 3, 2026. The October 2 revision of PL 2026-10 extends its end date to January 6, 2027. During that window HHSC is giving providers time to train and update business processes. Existing rules and regulations still apply throughout.

January 7, 2027 is now the date that matters. HHSC writes, "HHSC will not survey for compliance for SEMARC requirements until January 7, 2027." That is when survey for SEMARC starts. It is not a reason to wait. The requirement to use SEMARC in addition to NAR is already in the letter, effective August 3, 2026. The hold-harmless language is about when surveyors will look for SEMARC compliance, not about when the work starts.

Where to get trained

HHSC Long-Term Care Regulation is running NAR and SEMARC Employability Status Check webinars through October 30, 2026. The TMHP training notice is written for Long-Term Care Regulation staff and program providers, including DAHS and DAHS-ISS. Register there. If you register and cannot attend, TMHP asks you to cancel so the seat can be used.

Read the FAQ at the end of PL 2026-10 and the DFPS SEMARC FAQ together. The DFPS FAQ explains what SEMARC searches and how results come back. The letter is the DAHS instruction for TULIP access, the two-search requirement, annual checks, and the January 7, 2027 survey date.

Log into TULIP, confirm SEMARC is under Other Actions, and get the access request moving if it is not. HHSC starts surveying SEMARC on January 7, 2027.