Workplace accommodation for NYPD civilian employees
For Police Communications Technicians, School Safety Agents, Traffic Enforcement Agents, and other civilian titles. The Department form is short. For a request based on disability, NYPD also sets out what your provider's letter should contain.
Start My Intake- $49 flat. Documentation completed and signed by a state-licensed provider
- Usually within 24 hours after we have everything needed
- Kept private and never sent to your agency without your say-so
What has to be in my provider's letter?
For requests based on disability, NYPD spells this out on the form itself. Six things the documentation has to do.
It has to be on the health professional's official letterhead. It has to identify their credentials. It has to be dated and signed by them.
Then the substance. It has to describe the severity of your condition and its limitations in detail, as they currently exist, and only in relationship to your job. It has to say whether the condition is permanent, temporary, or unknown — and if temporary, when the accommodation is expected to no longer be needed. And it has to indicate the extent to which the accommodation will let you perform the essential functions of your job, or enjoy the benefits and privileges of employment.
That phrase "only in relationship to the job" is worth reading twice. The letter is meant to connect what's happening to you with what your job requires of you, rather than describing your condition in general.
What NYPD requires the letter to contain
Tap any requirement to see what it means in practice.
The health professional's own letterhead, or their organization's.
Their credentials have to appear — APRN, FNP-BC, M.D., and so on.
Dated, and signed by the professional who evaluated you.
Your limitations as they exist now, tied to what your job asks of you, rather than your condition described in general.
Whether it's permanent, temporary, or unknown. If temporary, the date the accommodation should no longer be needed.
How far the accommodation would let you perform the essential functions of your job, or enjoy the benefits and privileges of employment.
How do I request an accommodation?
On Department form PD 407-015A, "Reasonable Accommodation Request for Employees."
You complete Section I: your details, the basis for the request, the situation requiring accommodation, whether the condition is permanent, temporary, or unknown, and what accommodation you're asking for and how it would help you do your job. If you're asking for equipment, the form wants the brand, model, and vendor if you know them.
Then you give the form to your immediate supervisor. Not to EEO directly, and not to your union — your supervisor.
What does Certicare do here?
We write the letter.
A state-licensed provider evaluates you, and if the evaluation supports it, writes documentation meeting all six of NYPD's requirements — on letterhead, credentialed, dated, signed, and describing your limitations in relationship to your job. Usually within 24 hours after we have everything needed.
What we can't do is get your accommodation granted. Your agency decides that, weighing what you've asked for against what the job requires and what it would cost to change. What we can do is write documentation that addresses each of the things NYPD's form asks for. If you need a note for a short absence or an FMLA certification instead, both are covered on the NYPD civilian page.
$49 covers your full case: clinical review, the supported forms it needs, and any verification, clarification, or corrections — no additional charges.
For an accommodation request, that means the provider's letter. You complete the Department form yourself.
Secure online intake. Your information is reviewed by Certicare and is not sent to your agency without your authorization.
A provider evaluates you and completes documentation when it's medically appropriate. Payment isn't a purchase of a completed letter: a provider may follow up with questions, or decide the evaluation doesn't support what's being asked. Your agency decides whether to grant the accommodation. If we can't complete your documentation, you get a full refund.
Certicare is not affiliated with or endorsed by the New York City Police Department, the City of New York, or any union. Your agency makes the final decision on sick leave, medical leave, and accommodation requests. This page is general information, not legal advice.
What happens after I submit it?
Your supervisor calls the Equal Employment Opportunity Division, completes Section II, and submits it within three working days. That section asks them to recommend approval or disapproval, and to say whether supporting documentation was included.
Then the original goes to the Deputy Commissioner, Office of Equity and Inclusion, at One Police Plaza. A copy goes to the Reasonable Accommodation Unit.
Your supervisor makes a recommendation, not a decision. And their section records whether documentation was attached. Documentation can also be requested or added later, during the cooperative dialogue.
From there, City-wide rules set the pace. DCAS guidance says the EEO office should start a cooperative dialogue with you within 10 days of being notified, and issue a written decision within 15 days of that dialogue concluding. An older City brochure says 30 days, so treat these as the shape of the process rather than hard deadlines. A cooperative dialogue is a real back-and-forth about what you need and what's workable, not a form you fill in. If your request is denied, you have 30 days to appeal to the agency head, who then has 15 business days to answer.
What counts as an accommodation?
A change to how, when, or where you work. A schedule or tour change, a limit on lifting or standing, different equipment, a change to duties, time off for treatment, a transfer, or leave used as the accommodation itself. Your agency weighs any of these against what the job requires and whether the change would be an undue hardship.
The form asks you to be specific, and to explain how the accommodation would help. "Light duty" on its own doesn't tell anyone much. What you can't do, and what change would let you keep working, does.
Do I need documentation for every kind of request?
No. NYPD recognizes four bases for a request: disability, religious belief or practice, pregnancy or childbirth or a related condition, and status as a victim of domestic violence, sex offenses, or stalking.
The form says you may be required to provide verification by a health professional for requests based on disability. It doesn't single out the other three the same way, though City guidance says documentation should be provided where it's warranted — so a pregnancy-related request, for instance, may still involve a provider.
If your request is based on religion or on status as a victim, a provider may not be involved at all. If you're not sure, your EEO Division can tell you what your request needs.
What if I'm a sworn officer?
The same form and the same process apply to you. PD 407-015A covers all employees, and outside medical documentation is used here in a way it isn't for sick leave.
Whether you end up on restricted or limited duty is a separate Department determination. The accommodation request and the documentation supporting it are what this page is about.
Founded by a licensed nurse practitioner
Rebecca Martel, APRN, FNP-BC, is the founder of Certicare and a family nurse practitioner who has completed hundreds of these forms.