AARP, an advocacy group for people age 50 and older, has a roadside assistance program where members can receive 24-hour emergency service for their vehicles throughout much of the United States and Canada. Services include the changing of flat tires, towing, jumping dead batteries and refueling empty car tanks. The vendors who provide these services are known as roadside assistance providers. Becoming an AARP-certified assistance provider requires meeting certain qualifications and undergoing an application submission process.

Email or send a letter to AARP's roadside assistance program to request a copy of the organization's guidelines for becoming a service provider. Ask for an application to provide roadside assistance. The mailing address is: AARP Roadside Assistance, PO Box 4426, Carol Stream, IL 60196-4426. Email can be sent to the organization's Procurement & Contract Management division at [email protected].

Read the guidelines thoroughly to make sure your company meets the requirements. Generally, AARP requires that service providers offer services that provide value to its members, and that they support the social position of the organization. AARP also usually likes its service provider businesses to be national in scope, since the organization's members are spread out across much of North America.

Read the service provider application thoroughly, then fill it out. The AARP requires details about your business and marketing plans, and copies of documentation regarding your business license. There is also a section on the application for telling AARP about your business in your own words, and explain why you wish to become an approved roadside assistance provider.

Submit your paperwork to the organization and wait to hear back. If submitting a paper application through the mail, save a copy for your records. If submitting a digital application via email, save the form to your computer. The AARP doesn't provide a timetable for its application review and approval process. But if you haven't heard back in more than a month, contact them via the method you used to obtain the paperwork, and check on the status of your application submission.