Author: A. Ant, CADC-II, Licensing & Accreditation Expert
Disclaimer: This content is provided for general informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal, regulatory, or licensing advice. Requirements change frequently. Consult qualified professionals for guidance specific to your situation.
We found no reinstatement process for a Wyoming behavioral health program, partly because the state issues no license for most of them to lose. In our reading of W.S. 35-2-901, a freestanding addiction or mental health program holds no state facility license. What it can lose is the certification the WDH Behavioral Health Division (BHD) issues, and once that is revoked the rules offer no way to restore it. The provider files a new application, and in our reading the revocation counts against it for three years, since Chapter 2, Section 6(a) lists among the grounds to deny “Prior revocation of a certification by the Department within three (3) years previous to the date the renewal application is submitted.”
This guide walks through what a Wyoming program, its clinicians and its building can actually lose, the deadlines for answering BHD and the hospital licensing office, the hearing route, and what it takes to come back. Starting from scratch is covered in Wyoming Drug and Alcohol Inpatient Treatment Licensing and Wyoming Drug and Alcohol Outpatient Treatment Licensing, and the agency map is on Wyoming Behavioral Health Licensing.
What a Wyoming Program Can Lose
The rights and deadlines in this guide were read in WDH’s rule printouts for Chapters 2, 4 and 8, the HLS psychiatric hospital rule and the official Wyoming Statutes PDFs. The grouping in the table, and our account of how a program comes back, are our reading.
| What can be lost | Who acts | How it ends | Coming back |
|---|---|---|---|
| BHD certification (SUD providers serving court-ordered or referred clients, state contracted centers) | WDH Behavioral Health Division | Denial or revocation under Chapter 2, Section 6, decertification after a complaint investigation, expiration, or a change of ownership | New application in BHMS, with a revocation in the past three years as a ground to deny |
| Hospital or psychiatric hospital license | WDH Healthcare Licensing and Surveys (HLS) | Conditions, a monitor or manager, suspended admissions, denial, suspension or revocation under W.S. 35-2-905 | New application only after the conditions behind the revocation are corrected and proven |
| National accreditation | TJC, CARF or NIAHO | The accreditor’s own decision | Through the accreditor, and for a court-referral residence, before BHD will certify again |
| A counselor’s provisional license | Mental Health Professions Licensing Board | Expires 36 months after issuance unless extended (W.S. 33-38-106(d)(v)) | Through the board |
| Wyoming controlled substance registration | Board of Pharmacy | Not renewed by July 1 of the renewal year, then cancelled if still unrenewed after September 30, with DEA notified (W.S. 35-7-1024(e)) | A new registration from the board |
Deadlines That Run Against a Certified Provider
| Event | Deadline | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Resolution plan after BHD’s written offer to correct | Within 10 business days of receiving the offer | Chapter 2, Section 6(c) |
| Correction under an accepted plan | No more than 60 calendar days after the offer is issued | Chapter 2, Section 6(c) |
| Response to a complaint investigation | 20 business days | Chapter 4, Section 3 |
| Resolution plan after a complaint finding | 10 business days when the deficiency involves client health, safety, welfare or rights, 30 business days otherwise | Chapter 4, Section 4 |
| Hearing request after a determination letter | Within 10 calendar days of the letter’s date, in writing, by certified mail | Chapter 8, Section 3 |
| Hearing date | Within 40 calendar days of the request | Chapter 8, Section 5 |
| Renewal application | At least 30 calendar days before expiration | Chapter 2, Section 5(b)(i)(A) |
| Notice of a planned closure | 7 business days before | Chapter 2, Section 7 |
Of these, the hearing request is the tightest. Chapter 8 counts the ten calendar days from the date on the determination letter, so days spent in the mail come out of the provider’s time.
How BHD Moves Toward Revocation
Chapter 2, Section 6(a) of the BHD rules gives seven grounds for denying or revoking a certification. Among them are lacking accreditation where the rules require it, conditions that put clients at serious detriment, failing to carry out a resolution plan, and the three-year prior revocation already mentioned. The accreditation ground matters most for residential programs, because Section 2(b) makes TJC, CARF or NIAHO accreditation a condition for any residence taking court-ordered clients. A residence that loses its accreditation has, in our reading, lost the basis for its certification at the same moment.
BHD’s notice has to state the grounds and tell the provider “of its right to an administrative hearing proceeding” under the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act, W.S. 16-3-101 to 16-3-115 (Section 6(b)). Before revoking, the Department may make a written offer to correct. The provider then has “ten (10) business days from the provider’s receipt of the Department’s written offer to correct” to submit a resolution plan, and the correction deadline can fall no later than 60 calendar days after the offer is issued. That offer is the Department’s choice, not the provider’s right. It is not available at all where conditions put clients at serious detriment, and if the Department rescinds the offer, the rescission can’t be appealed (Section 6(c) and (d)).
Complaint Investigations Under Chapter 4
A complaint opens a separate track under Chapter 4, which has been in effect since April 9, 2020. The provider has 20 business days to respond to the investigation. If BHD finds a deficiency, the resolution plan is due in 10 business days when the finding touches client health, safety, welfare or rights, and in 30 business days otherwise. The rule names possible sanctions: “Sanctions may include, but are not limited to, adverse inferences related to any denials made by the provider, the immediate suspension of contract payments to the provider, and decertification.” The adverse inference language means a flat denial with nothing to back it can be held against you, so in our view a response should come with records attached rather than assurances.
Requesting a Hearing
Chapter 8 sets the procedure. “The request must be made in writing ten (10) calendar days after the date of the determination letter,” sent by certified mail to the WDH Behavioral Health Division’s Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Services Section. “A hearing shall be held within forty (40) calendar days from the date of the request for hearing,” and the Office of Administrative Hearings conducts it. A provider expecting a determination letter should have the certified mail address and a draft request ready before the letter lands.
Coming Back After Decertification
Nothing in Chapter 2 describes reinstating a revoked certification. In our reading, a decertified provider files a new application through BHMS exactly as a first-time provider does, using the new provider checklist, and BHD can deny it on the strength of the earlier revocation for three years. The checklist asks accredited applicants for their latest survey report, award letter and “Any reports of major unusual incidents or sentinel events,” so the history behind a revocation will be in front of the reviewer.
Some things do work in a returning provider’s favor. We found no certification fee, BHD must decide within 30 calendar days of a complete application, and a returning applicant, like any new provider, first gets a six-month provisional certification, which gives the Department a short look before a longer term. A provider that lost accreditation along with certification has to rebuild the accreditation first if it plans to take court-ordered residents, and in our experience an accreditation cycle takes longer than anything BHD itself does. Changing owners doesn’t reset the clock either. Certification is non-transferable under Chapter 2, Section 7, and it expires on the date ownership changes, so a new owner applies on its own record.
BHD’s certification staff answer reapplication questions by email at wdh-certification@wyo.gov and by phone at (307) 777-5253.
Hospital and Psychiatric Hospital Licenses
Hospitals and psychiatric hospitals hold real licenses, issued by Healthcare Licensing and Surveys (HLS) in the WDH Aging Division. W.S. 35-2-905 gives HLS a range of actions: conditions on the license, an approved monitor or manager at the owner’s expense, a suspension of admissions, and denial, suspension or revocation, each with notice and an Administrative Procedure Act hearing. When HLS suspends a license summarily, “the licensee shall be afforded an opportunity for a hearing within ten (10) days after the suspension.”
After a revocation the statute is specific about the way back: “an application for a new license may be made to the division only after the conditions upon which revocation was based have been corrected and evidence of this fact has been furnished to the division” (W.S. 35-2-905(f)). HLS uses its State Initial-CHOW License Application for that filing, the fee for a hospital or psychiatric hospital is $1,000 (W.S. 35-2-904(g)), and licenses run for one year from July 1. Accreditation by a federally approved body earns a renewal “without further inspection” under W.S. 35-2-907(a), so a hospital that loses accreditation should expect state inspection at renewal, in our reading. Operating a licensed facility type without a license is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $750, up to six months in jail or both, with each week a separate offense (W.S. 35-2-909).
Survey deficiencies come first in most cases. Under Chapter 15, the psychiatric hospital rule, the survey agency has 10 working days after the survey ends to send its cited deficiencies, and the plan of correction sets a correction date “not to exceed sixty (60) days after the last day of survey.” Licensing a psychiatric hospital from the start is explained in Wyoming Mental Health Inpatient Licensing.
Clinician Credentials and Drug Registrations
Individual credentials sit with the Mental Health Professions Licensing Board. The statute we read sets one hard limit that programs trip over: a provisional license, including a provisional LAT, “shall expire thirty-six (36) months after issuance” unless extended (W.S. 33-38-106(d)(v)). A program that relies on provisionally licensed staff should track those dates the way it tracks its own certification. We did not review the board’s rules on discipline or reinstatement of a lapsed or revoked credential, so ask the board directly before advising a staff member.
The controlled substance side has its own calendar. A Wyoming controlled substance registration comes up for renewal on July 1 every second year, with a separate registration for each location, and a registration still unrenewed after September 30 is cancelled, with DEA notified of the cancellation (W.S. 35-7-1024). For a program with a prescriber dispensing on site, a missed renewal can, in our reading, stop medication services until a new registration issues.
What Chapter 2 Says a Resolution Plan Must Contain
Chapter 2, Section 6(c)(ii) spells out the contents. The plan has to be in writing and has to say who will correct each deficiency named in the offer, what will be done about it, how the fix becomes part of the provider’s quality management program, who will monitor so the problem does not come back, and the date each correction will be finished, no later than 60 calendar days after the offer. BHD may reject a plan that misses any of those points, and a rejected plan rescinds the offer (Section 6(c)(iii) and (iv)). In our view the plan reads best when each deficiency gets its own short block covering those five points, with the supporting document filed right behind it. Accredited providers should remember that BHD can ask for the next accreditor survey report, which is due to BHD within 30 days after it goes to the accreditor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a revoked Wyoming BHD certification be reinstated?
We found no reinstatement process in the BHD rules. A decertified provider files a new certification application, and in our reading Chapter 2, Section 6(a) lets BHD deny it if the Department revoked a certification within the previous three years.
How long do I have to request a hearing after a BHD determination?
Ten calendar days from the date of the determination letter. Chapter 8 requires the request in writing by certified mail, and the hearing must be held within 40 calendar days of the request.
When can a Wyoming hospital reapply after HLS revokes its license?
Only after the conditions that led to revocation have been corrected and evidence of that has been given to the division, under W.S. 35-2-905(f). The new application carries the $1,000 hospital or psychiatric hospital fee.
Holding a BHD determination letter with the ten-day clock running? Get in touch.
Sources
- WDH Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Services Rules, Chapter 2: Behavioral Health Service Provider Certification (PDF) (checked October 20, 2026)
- WDH Behavioral Health Division: Rules and Regulations (checked October 20, 2026)
- WDH Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Services Rules, Chapter 4: Complaints (PDF) (checked October 20, 2026)
- WDH Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Services Rules, Chapter 8: Administrative Hearings (PDF) (checked October 20, 2026)
- WDH Behavioral Health Division: Provider Certification (checked October 20, 2026)
- WDH Behavioral Health Division: New Provider Certification Application Checklist, 08.2026 (PDF) (checked October 20, 2026)
- WDH Behavioral Health Division: MHSA Certification Program Handbook, March 2026 (PDF) (checked October 20, 2026)
- Wyoming Statutes, Title 35 (35-2-901, 35-2-904, 35-2-905, 35-2-907, 35-2-909, 35-7-1024): Title 35, Public Health and Safety (PDF) (checked October 20, 2026)
- Wyoming Statutes, Title 33 (33-38-106): Title 33, Professions and Occupations (PDF) (checked October 20, 2026)
- WDH Health Quality, Chapter 15: Rules and Regulations for Licensure of Psychiatric Hospitals (PDF) (checked October 20, 2026)
- WDH Aging Division: Healthcare Licensing and Surveys (checked October 20, 2026)
- WDH Healthcare Licensing and Surveys: Psychiatric hospital licensure information (checked October 20, 2026)
- Wyoming Mental Health Professions Licensing Board: Board home page (checked October 20, 2026)
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