F851: Electronically submit to CMS complete and accurate direct care staffing information, based on payroll and other verifiable and auditable data
F851 is one of the federal requirements every Medicare and Medicaid certified nursing home must meet. CMS describes it as: Electronically submit to CMS complete and accurate direct care staffing information, based on payroll and other verifiable and auditable data.
It sits in CMS's administration category.
CMS Health Deficiencies file, data as of September 1, 2026. The files hold each home's last three standard inspections and three years of complaint visits.
How seriously inspectors rate it
Every citation gets a letter for how much harm inspectors found and how many residents it touched (how to read the letters). 13.6% of F851 citations came from a complaint visit rather than a routine inspection.
By letter: B 23, C 139, D 96, E 53, F 610.
What inspectors wrote
Three recent F851 citations from different states, quoted from the inspectors' statements of deficiencies (CMS form 2567). Names are removed by CMS.
Inspectors wrote, July 24, 2026, scope and severity FBased on interview and record review the facility failed to submit complete and accurate direct care staffing information to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS- a federal agency managing healthcare programs and health insurance standards) for Quarter 4 (Q4, October 2025, November 2025, December 2025) reviewed for Payroll Based Journal (PBJ-mandatory reporting of staffing information based on payroll data) submission. This failure affected the accuracy of Nursing Home (NH) staffing level data collected by CMS and had the potential to impact provisions of resident care and services.
Auburn Post Acute, Auburn, WA
Inspectors wrote, July 24, 2026, scope and severity FBased on review of facility documents, it was determined that the facility failed to submit direct care staffing information in the Payroll-Based Journal system for one of one quarter reviewed (Quarter 2). Findings Included:Review of the Payroll-Based Journal staffing data reports revealed that the facility failed to submit data for Quarter 2 (January 1, 2026, thru March 31, 2026). Interview with Administer E1 on July 23, 206 at 02:00 p.m. confirmed no further documented evidence of submission.28Pa Code 201.14(a) Responsibility of licensee
Edgehill Nursing and Rehab Cen, Glenside, PA
Inspectors wrote, July 23, 2026, scope and severity FBased on interview record review, the facility failed to ensure their Payroll Based Journal (PBJ - information of the provider's daily staffing hours for the appropriate care of the residents) data had been submitted to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for one of four required quarters (third quarter from 4/1/25 to 6/30/25) in 2025. This deficient practice had the potential to cause delays in care, treatment, and services necessary to maintain physical and emotional wellbeing for all facility residents.
Grand Park Convalescent Hospital, Los Angeles, CA
Most recent F851 citations
F851 citations by state
Counts depend on how many homes a state has and how often its inspectors visit, so a larger number is not by itself a worse record.
By inspection year: 2019 1, 2022 13, 2023 180, 2024 355, 2025 235, 2026 137.
Common questions
- What is F851 in a nursing home inspection?
- F851 is the federal requirement to "electronically submit to cms complete and accurate direct care staffing information, based on payroll and other verifiable and auditable data". CMS files it under administration. A home cited under F851 did not meet that requirement at the inspection.
- How often is F851 cited?
- The CMS files as of September 1, 2026 list 921 F851 citations at 828 nursing homes, 176 of them in the 12 months to that date. 0.0% were rated as actual harm or immediate jeopardy.
- Is a F851 citation serious?
- It depends on the letter. Most F851 citations (82.4%) were rated as potential for more than minimal harm, D to F. None in the current files is at the immediate jeopardy level.
The interpretive guidance inspectors use for each F-tag is CMS's State Operations Manual, Appendix PP. NursingHomeClear reports the citations as CMS records them and is not affiliated with CMS. All F-tags · Methodology