What is an F-Tag in a nursing home?
In a nursing home, an F-tag (Federal tag) is the CMS code identifying a specific regulatory requirement under 42 CFR Part 483 that facilities must meet to participate in Medicare and Medicaid. Surveyors cite non-compliance under the specific F-tag violated; since CMS's 2017 revision, tags run F550–F947, and harm-level citations can trigger civil money penalties.
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Full name: Federal Tag — Nursing Home Regulatory Deficiency Code
Short explanation
An F-tag (Federal tag) is an alphanumeric code used by CMS to identify specific regulatory requirements under 42 CFR Part 483 that nursing homes and long-term care facilities must meet to participate in Medicare and Medicaid. When a state surveyor finds a facility out of compliance, the finding is cited under the specific F-tag violated. After CMS's 2017 regulatory revision, F-tags run from F550 to F947, reorganized to align with resident rights, facility practices, and quality-of-care standards. Tags are grouped into categories: resident rights, facility operations, quality of care, and others. Deficiencies under tags associated with actual harm or immediate jeopardy can trigger civil money penalties or denial of payment for new admissions.
How it’s used
- CMS Care Compare (nursing homes): F-tag deficiency citations are published on Care Compare, enabling comparison of specific regulatory violations — with scope and severity — across nursing homes.
- Fonteum NH Deficiency & Harm Rate study: Fonteum's research classifies 418,148 deficiency citations by F-tag to identify which regulatory requirements are most frequently cited at actual-harm severity (G+ scope/severity).
- Fonteum NH Penalties Enforcement study: F-tags with G-or-higher scope/severity ratings are cross-referenced with civil money penalty records to identify enforcement patterns by deficiency type.
Frequently asked questions
- What is an F-tag?
- An F-tag is a CMS code that identifies a specific federal regulation under 42 CFR Part 483 that a nursing home must meet. When a surveyor finds non-compliance, they cite the specific F-tag violated.
- How many F-tags are there?
- After CMS's 2017 restructuring, nursing home F-tags run from F550 to F947. The most commonly cited tags relate to infection control, accident prevention, and quality of care.
- What does a G-level deficiency mean?
- An F-tag deficiency classified at scope/severity G means the violation was isolated in scope and caused actual harm to one or more residents — the threshold at which CMS typically mandates civil monetary penalties.