F-Tag of the Week Reference
CMSCG F-Tag Reference — 42 CFR Part 483
The federal regulations governing skilled nursing facilities are publicly available. What isn't publicly available is the analysis — the surveyor focus areas, the citation patterns, the practical compliance guidance, and the real-world context that helps facilities understand not just what the regulation says, but what it means when a surveyor walks through the door.
That's what CMSCG's Ftag of the Week series provides. Since 2011, CMSCG has published original, practitioner-written analysis of individual F-tags — covering regulatory intent, surveyor expectations, common deficiency patterns, and actionable compliance guidance for each tag across the full 42 CFR Part 483 framework. This page is the reference index for that series, organized by the 23 federal regulatory groups.
Each regulatory group below links to a dedicated CMSCG page covering every F-tag in that group — with links to the corresponding Ftag of the Week analysis for each individual tag. Detailed Ftag content requires a registered CMSCG subscriber account.
483.10 — Resident Rights F550–F586
Resident Rights
The foundational rights of individuals living in skilled nursing facilities — including dignity, privacy, autonomy, self-determination, grievances, personal funds, communication, advance directives, and access to information. Every F-tag in this group is covered with regulatory expectations and surveyor focus areas.
Page Live483.12 — Freedom from Abuse, Neglect & Exploitation F600–F610
Freedom from Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation
Requirements for protecting residents from abuse, neglect, exploitation, and improper restraints — including facility responsibilities for prevention, reporting, investigation, staff screening, and response to alleged violations.
Page Live483.15 — Admission, Transfer & Discharge F620–F628
Admission, Transfer, and Discharge
Requirements for compliant admissions policies, equal treatment regardless of payment source, safeguards against inappropriate discharges, and expectations for a safe, person-centered discharge planning process.
Page Live483.20 — Resident Assessments F635–F646
Resident Assessments
Requirements for comprehensive MDS assessments, timing and accuracy standards, PASARR screening, and coordination of assessment data — including admission orders, quarterly assessments, significant change assessments, and data encoding and transmission requirements.
Coming Soon483.21 — Comprehensive Person-Centered Care Planning F655–F659
Comprehensive Care Planning
Requirements for baseline and comprehensive care plans — including timing, content, resident and family participation, interdisciplinary team involvement, care plan revision, and professional standards for services provided.
Coming Soon483.24 — Quality of Life F675–F680
Quality of Life
Requirements for maintaining and enhancing each resident's quality of life — including activities of daily living, maintenance of abilities, ADL care for dependent residents, CPR, and activities programming that meets each resident's individual interests and needs.
Coming Soon483.25 — Quality of Care F684–F700
Quality of Care
The broadest and most frequently cited regulatory group — covering overall quality of care, pressure ulcer prevention and treatment, accident prevention, bowel and bladder management, nutrition, respiratory and tracheostomy care, pain management, dialysis, trauma-informed care, and more. F684 and F689 consistently rank among the most cited tags nationally.
Coming Soon483.30 — Physician Services F710–F715
Physician Services
Requirements for physician supervision of resident care, visit frequency and timeliness, availability for emergency care, and delegation of tasks to nurse practitioners and other non-physician practitioners — including physician delegation to dietitians and therapists.
Coming Soon483.35 — Nursing Services F725–F732
Nursing Services
Requirements for sufficient and competent nursing staff — including RN coverage, Director of Nursing qualifications, nurse aide registry verification, in-service training requirements, staffing waivers, and posted nurse staffing information. Staffing requirements are among the most consequential for RBS eligibility.
Coming Soon483.40 — Behavioral Health F740–F745
Behavioral Health Services
Requirements for behavioral health services — including sufficient and competent staff to meet behavioral health needs, treatment and services for mental and psychosocial concerns, dementia care, and provision of medically related social services.
Coming Soon483.45 — Pharmacy Services F755–F761
Pharmacy Services
Requirements for pharmacy services, drug regimen review, unnecessary medications, medication error rates, and labeling and storage of drugs and biologicals. F761 (Label/Store Drugs and Biologicals) consistently ranks in the top 3 most cited tags nationally and in every CMS region.
Coming Soon483.50 — Laboratory, Radiology & Diagnostic Services F770–F779
Laboratory, Radiology, and Other Diagnostic Services
Requirements for laboratory services, blood banking, radiology and diagnostic services — including physician orders, notification of results, transport arrangements, and record maintenance for lab and diagnostic reports.
Coming Soon483.55 — Dental Services F790–F791
Dental Services
Requirements for routine and emergency dental services in skilled nursing and nursing facilities — including access to dental care, denture services, and oral health assessments as part of the comprehensive care plan.
Coming Soon483.60 — Food and Nutrition Services F800–F814
Food and Nutrition Services
Requirements for food and nutrition services — including qualified dietary staff, menu planning, nutritive value, food procurement and sanitary preparation and service, therapeutic diets, hydration, assistive devices, and feeding assistant training. F812 (Food Procurement, Store/Prepare/Serve — Sanitary) is the only tag that ranks in the top 3 in every single CMS region nationally.
Coming Soon483.65 — Specialized Rehabilitative Services F825–F826
Specialized Rehabilitative Services
Requirements for providing or obtaining specialized rehabilitative services — including physical, occupational, and speech therapy — with physician orders and delivery by qualified personnel.
Coming Soon483.70 — Administration F835–F851
Administration
Requirements governing facility administration — including licensure, governing body responsibilities, staff qualifications, use of outside resources, medical director responsibilities, medical records, transfer agreements, disclosure of ownership, facility closure, arbitration agreements, hospice services, social worker qualifications, and Payroll-Based Journal staffing data submission.
Coming Soon483.71 — Facility Assessment F838
Facility Assessment
Requirements for conducting and maintaining a facility-wide assessment that identifies the resources necessary to care for residents competently during both day-to-day operations and emergencies — including staffing levels, staff competencies, and the physical environment.
Coming Soon483.75 — Quality Assurance & Performance Improvement F865–F868
Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI)
Requirements for a comprehensive, ongoing QAPI program — including the QAPI plan, performance improvement projects, the Quality Assurance committee, and good faith disclosure protections. QAPI is both a regulatory requirement and the framework for sustained compliance improvement.
Coming Soon483.80 — Infection Control F880–F887
Infection Prevention and Control
Requirements for infection prevention and control — including the infection prevention program, antibiotic stewardship, infection preventionist qualifications, and influenza and pneumococcal immunizations. F880 (Infection Prevention & Control) is the #1 cited tag nationally and in 9 of 10 CMS regions, appearing on more than half of all standard surveys conducted in 2026.
Coming Soon483.85 — Compliance and Ethics Program F895
Compliance and Ethics Program
Requirements for operating and maintaining an effective compliance and ethics program — including written standards, program oversight, staff training, and mechanisms for reporting compliance concerns. Required for facilities with 5 or more locations under common ownership.
Coming Soon483.90 — Physical Environment F906–F926
Physical Environment
Requirements for the physical environment of nursing facilities — including emergency power, space and equipment, resident rooms and bedrooms, call systems, dining and activity rooms, water availability, ventilation, handrails, pest control, and smoking policies. F584 (Safe/Clean/Comfortable/Homelike Environment) is frequently cited and ranks in the top 10 nationally.
Coming Soon483.95 — Training Requirements F940–F949
Training Requirements
Requirements for staff training across all disciplines and roles — including general training requirements, communication training, resident rights training, abuse and neglect training, QAPI training, infection control training, compliance and ethics training, nurse aide in-service requirements, feeding assistant training, and behavioral health training.
Coming SoonNeed Help Navigating These Requirements?
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