PBJ File Rejected: Reading the Final File Validation Report

Published October 5, 2026

You submitted your PBJ file and something came back rejected. Before you start changing data, read the Final Validation Report. It tells you which records failed, why, and whether the problem stops the data or just needs a look.

Where to find the report

PBJ moved to iQIES on August 17, 2026. PBJ in the old QIES system went read-only that day and was retired on September 15, 2026, reports included. (Source: CMS: Staffing Data Submission (PBJ), page updated September 11, 2026.) So for anything you submit now, the report is in iQIES:

• Automatic report: the PBJ Final Validation Report is generated within 24 hours of a successful file submission. Go to the Reports section in iQIES to view it. (Source: CMS iQIES PBJ Error Message Reference Guide v1.0 (July 2026).)
• If the automatic report does not appear: some fatal errors in the file or one of its records can stop iQIES from creating it. The person who submitted the file can then request the PBJ Submitter Final Validation Report in iQIES to see the errors. (Source: CMS iQIES PBJ Error Message Reference Guide v1.0 (July 2026).)
• On demand: the 60-day wait for requesting an on-demand Final Validation Report has been removed. (Source: QTSO: What to Expect: PBJ Data Submission and Reporting in iQIES (June 30, 2026).)

Access to reports in iQIES depends on your role, the way it did in CASPER. (Source: QTSO: What to Expect: PBJ Data Submission and Reporting in iQIES (June 30, 2026).)

Fatal vs warning

The report sorts problems into two kinds, and they mean very different things:

• Fatal: "Records with fatal errors will be rejected. All fatal errors in a record must be corrected and resubmitted." (Source: CMS iQIES PBJ Error Message Reference Guide v1.0 (July 2026).)
• Warning: not a rejection, but "All warning errors should be reviewed and corrected if appropriate, to ensure the data uploaded is accurate and complete." (Source: CMS iQIES PBJ Error Message Reference Guide v1.0 (July 2026).)

The CMS guide describes rejection record by record, and a rejected record is not in your data until you correct and resubmit it.

Fatal errors to know

CMS publishes the full list of iQIES PBJ error messages, with severity, likely cause and the action to take. (Source: QTSO: iQIES PBJ manuals and error messages list (July 2026).) CMS does not publish which ones happen most often, so we will not rank them. These fatal errors each have a fix guide on this site:

• Error -4025: more than 22.5 hours for one employee ID on one date.
• Error -1025: more than 22.5 hours across linked employee IDs on one date.
• Error -4016: the employee ID is not found in the PBJ system.
• Error -3676: a code that is not on the CMS list.
• Error -3679: a number outside the allowed range.

How to work through the report

1. Open the Final Validation Report for the file. If it is not there after 24 hours, request the Submitter Final Validation Report.
2. Start with the fatal errors. Those records are not in until they are fixed.
3. For each fatal error, note the error number, the record and the field, and look up the action in the CMS error list.
4. Fix the data at the source (payroll, time clock, employee setup), not just in the exported file, so the next quarter does not repeat it.
5. Export and resubmit the corrected records, then check the new report.
6. Go through the warnings. They do not reject anything, but CMS asks you to review them.

Leave time for at least one round of fixes. Data for July 1 to September 30, 2026 is due by the end of November 14, 2026, 11:59 PM Eastern. (Source: CMS: Staffing Data Submission (PBJ), page updated September 11, 2026.)