Texas SEMARC Replaces the EMR Search: What DAHS Providers Must Do Before October 6, 2026

Log into the Texas Unified Licensure Information Portal (TULIP) today 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 facility security authority has to request it, and that request takes time. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) starts surveying SEMARC requirements on October 6, 2026.

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.

What changed

HHSC Long-Term Care Regulation issued Provider Letter (PL) 2026-10 (Revised) on August 6, 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 SEMARC replaces EMR. 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.

Day Activity and Health Services (DAHS) providers must use SEMARC in addition to the Nurse Aide Registry (NAR). That is two searches for a NAR and SEMARC employability check, not three. The standalone EMR search is the one that goes away. 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.

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. Do not treat SEMARC as a third registry stacked on top of EMR.

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.

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.

Policy questions, including whether annual re-checks apply, go to LTCRPolicy@hhs.texas.gov. PL 2026-10 lists that inbox for Texas Administrative Code questions on EMR/SEMARC requirements and for questions providers may have about whether they have to check SEMARC annually. Send that question to Long-Term Care Regulation policy.

Check your TULIP access today

The holdup that will still be open on October 6 is access, not awareness. If SEMARC is not visible under Other Actions, the letter says you have not been granted access. Contact the facility security authority and request SEMARC. Do that today. Waiting until survey week to discover a missing option is what this letter is trying to prevent.

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.

October 6 and what happens then

PL 2026-10 sets a Hold Harmless Period from August 3, 2026 through October 5, 2026. During that window HHSC is giving providers time to train and update business processes. Existing rules and regulations still apply throughout.

October 6, 2026 is the date that matters. HHSC writes, "HHSC will not survey for compliance for SEMARC requirements until October 6, 2026." 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

TMHP is running NAR and SEMARC Employability Status Check webinars from August 28, 2026 through October 30, 2026. The TMHP training notice, last updated August 25, 2026, 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 DFPS SEMARC FAQ alongside PL 2026-10. The FAQ explains what SEMARC searches and how results come back. The letter is the DAHS instruction for TULIP access, the two-search requirement, and the October 6 survey date.

Log into TULIP today, confirm SEMARC is under Other Actions, and get the access request moving if it is not. HHSC starts surveying SEMARC on October 6, 2026.