Guides
Plain explanations of the data rules our validators check.
PBJ Zero-RN Days: the 4-Day Rule That Kills Your Staffing Star
Four days in a quarter with no RN hours while residents are in the building, and the staffing rating drops to one star. How CMS counts them.
UAD1189, UAD1190, UAD1484: Below-Grade Area Rules Explained
Finished, unfinished and nonstandard finished below grade area: three Fatal rules, and a 0 passes where a blank fails.
UAD1001-UAD1007: Subject Property Address Rules
Seven Fatal rules on the subject address. Five say a part is missing, two say it is in the wrong format. The fix for each.
PBJ File Rejected: Reading the Final File Validation Report
Fatal errors reject the record, warnings do not. Where the report is now that PBJ runs in iQIES, and how to work through it.
How to Fix UCDP Errors Before Resubmission
Read the SSR by severity, fix Fatal first, check the file again, then resubmit. The UCDP rules behind each step.
How to Report Apprentices on the WH-347 (Column by Column)
RA and the level in column 2, the classification in column 3, the ratio rule, and the box 4 apprenticeship statement on page 2.
WH-347 Statement of Compliance: Who Can Sign and What It Certifies
The contractor or the agent who pays or supervises payment signs. Three certifications, and up to five years for a false statement.
7 WH-347 Mistakes That Get Certified Payrolls Rejected
Old form version, overtime on the wrong base, fringe entries, the signature, weekly timing, worker IDs and apprentice ratios.
Davis-Bacon Fringe Annualization: the Formula With Examples
Divide the cost by every hour worked, not just Davis-Bacon hours. A worked example, the per-worker rule, and the narrow exceptions.
Davis-Bacon Weighted-Average Overtime, Worked Example
Two classifications in one week: blend the rates, pay half the blended rate on top for overtime hours, and keep fringe out of it.
PECOS Returned for Corrections: What It Means and How to Resubmit
Returned for corrections, returned, rejected and denied are four different outcomes. The 30-day window and how to get back on track.
NPI Not Active in NPPES: Causes and Fixes Before PECOS
An NPI deactivated in NPPES is not the same as Medicare billing privileges deactivated. How to check, and what has to match.
Why 855I Applications Get Rejected: 7 Reasons and Fixes
Seven reasons from the rejection rule and the form itself, unranked, each with the fix. And the 30 days you have before rejection.
COBRA Election Notice Requirements: the 14-Item Checklist
All 14 required items of the election notice, each explained, plus the 6 items of the general notice.
COBRA Notice Deadlines: the 44-Day, 30+14, 90-Day and 60-Day Rules
The full deadline map, from the qualifying event to the first premium, with the regulation behind each date and a worked timeline.
How Your SPRS Score Is Calculated: the 110-Point Math
Start at 110 and subtract 5, 3 or 1 for each requirement not met. Partial credit, N/A, the SSP, the -203 floor and a worked example.
CMMC POA&M Rules: What Can Wait 180 Days and What Can't
A score of at least 88, only 1-point items plus one exception, six requirements that can never wait, and 180 days to close out.
COBRA Notice Penalties: Up to $110 a Day, Plus Medical Bills
Up to $110 a day, at the court's discretion and never automatic. Medical bills as other relief in some cases, and the excise tax.
Missed Your Medicare Revalidation Due Date? What Happens Next
A stay, deactivation or revocation, the clocks that apply, and why reactivation does not pay for the days you were deactivated.
CPSC eFiling Explained: Certificates, ACE, and the 2027 Deadline
Certificate data filed with the entry in ACE. The seven data elements, Full vs Reference filing, and the two compliance dates.
Hospital Price Transparency File Requirements: The Complete 2026 Guide
What the machine-readable file must contain, the three CMS formats, what changed in 2026, common failure modes, and how to check a file before posting.
UAD 3.6 Requirements: The 2026 Guide
What UAD 3.6 is and what it replaces, the November 2, 2026 deadline, the delivery specification and compliance rules, common failures in appraisal XML, and a checklist.
Clinical Trial Data Quality Checks: A Practical Guide
Why extracted trial tables break, the NCT number format, the checks that matter before analysis, and the orphan-outcome and duplicate patterns that do the most damage.
UAD 3.6 Fatal Findings Explained: What Stops a Report in UCDP
592 of the 728 URAR rules are Fatal. What that means, where they cluster, and where to start fixing.
UCDP Not Successful: What It Means and How to Fix It
Step by step: what happened to the report, who sees the result, and how a corrected file gets to Successful.
UAD 3.6 Warning vs Fatal Findings: Which Ones Stop a Report
Fatal stops the report. Warning does not, but it is not a free pass either. Examples of each.
UAD 3.6 Basement Fields: Fixing the Below Grade Hard Stop
UAD 3.6 wants every below grade area reported, even when it is 0. Leaving one blank is a fatal finding.
UAD 3.6 View and Location Codes: Why UCDP Flags Them
View and site influence are picked from a published list, and "Other" needs a description. Here is what UCDP checks.
UAD 3.6 Sales Concessions: What UCDP Checks and What It Cannot
UCDP checks that concessions are reported. It cannot see the contract, so the amount matching is on you.
UAD 3.6 Subject Address Errors in UCDP: What Gets Flagged
Seven fatal address rules, a strict ZIP format, and what UCDP does with the address you send.
UCDP Not Successful vs Rejected: What Each Status Means
Not Successful means fatal findings to fix. Rejected means the package never got in. The difference matters.
PBJ Error -1025: The 22.5-Hour Limit Across Linked Employee IDs
New with PBJ in iQIES. Hours for linked employee IDs are added together, and one date cannot pass 22.5.
PBJ Error -4025: More Than 22.5 Hours for One Employee on One Date
All job titles for one employee ID on one date add up to more than 22.5 hours. The record is rejected.
PBJ Error -3679: A Number Outside the Allowed Range
A number the specifications do not allow, most often hours above 22.5, below 0, or with more than two decimals.
PBJ Error -3676: A Code That Is Not on the CMS List
A code the specifications do not list: the spec version, state, quarter, process type, job title or pay type.
PBJ Error -4016: Employee ID Not Found in the PBJ System
Hours are reported for an employee ID that the PBJ system has no record of.