Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Minimum Data Set Frequency

Published by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services | U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | Catalog Last Checked: May 08, 2026 at 07:53 PM | Dataset Last Updated: April 06, 2026
The Minimum Data Set (MDS) Frequency data summarizes health status indicators for active residents currently in nursing homes. The MDS is part of the Federally-mandated process for clinical assessment of all residents in Medicare and Medicaid certified nursing homes. This process provides a comprehensive assessment of each resident's functional capabilities and helps nursing home staff identify health problems. Care Area Assessments (CAAs) are part of this process, and provide the foundation upon which a resident's individual care plan is formulated. MDS assessments are completed for all residents in certified nursing homes, regardless of source of payment for the individual resident. MDS assessments are required for residents on admission to the nursing facility, periodically, and on discharge. All assessments are completed within specific guidelines and time frames. In most cases, participants in the assessment process are licensed health care professionals employed by the nursing home. MDS information is transmitted electronically by nursing homes to the national MDS database at CMS.   When reviewing the MDS 3.0 Frequency files, some common software programs e.g., ‘Microsoft Excel’ might inaccurately strip leading zeros from designated code values (i.e., "01" becomes "1") or misinterpret code ranges as dates (i.e., O0600 ranges such as 02-04 are misread as 04-Feb). As each piece of software is unique, if you encounter an issue when reading the CSV file of Frequency data, please open the file in a plain text editor such as ‘Notepad’ or ‘TextPad’ to review the underlying data, before reaching out to CMS for assistance.

Resources

51 resources available

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2025-04-01

    API
    Visit Page

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2020-04-02

    API
    Visit Page

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2025-07-01

    API
    Visit Page

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2024-12-02

    API
    Visit Page

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2021-04-02

    API
    Visit Page

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2020-07-02

    API
    Visit Page

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2026-01-01

    API
    Visit Page

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2021-07-02

    API
    Visit Page

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2026-01-01

    API
    Visit Page

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2025-01-01

    API
    Visit Page

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2024-04-02

    API
    Visit Page

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2022-07-02

    API
    Visit Page

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2024-07-02

    API
    Visit Page

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2022-01-02

    API
    Visit Page

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2023-01-02

    API
    Visit Page

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2022-04-02

    API
    Visit Page

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2020-01-02

    API
    Visit Page

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2020-12-02

    API
    Visit Page

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2023-07-02

    API
    Visit Page

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2023-12-02

    API
    Visit Page

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2023-04-02

    API
    Visit Page

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2022-12-02

    API
    Visit Page

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2024-01-02

    API
    Visit Page

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2021-01-02

    API
    Visit Page

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2025-10-01

    API
    Visit Page

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2021-12-02

    API
    Visit Page

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2024-01-02

    TEXT/CSV
    Download

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2023-04-02

    TEXT/CSV
    Download

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2021-01-02

    TEXT/CSV
    Download

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2021-04-02

    TEXT/CSV
    Download

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2023-01-02

    TEXT/CSV
    Download

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2022-04-02

    TEXT/CSV
    Download

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2020-04-02

    TEXT/CSV
    Download

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2020-01-02

    TEXT/CSV
    Download

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2024-07-02

    TEXT/CSV
    Download

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2022-12-02

    TEXT/CSV
    Download

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2023-12-02

    TEXT/CSV
    Download

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2021-12-02

    TEXT/CSV
    Download

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2022-01-02

    TEXT/CSV
    Download

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2021-07-02

    TEXT/CSV
    Download

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2022-07-02

    TEXT/CSV
    Download

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2024-04-02

    TEXT/CSV
    Download

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2023-07-02

    TEXT/CSV
    Download

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2024-12-02

    TEXT/CSV
    Download

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2020-07-02

    TEXT/CSV
    Download

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2020-12-02

    TEXT/CSV
    Download

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2025-01-01

    TEXT/CSV
    Download

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2025-04-01

    TEXT/CSV
    Download

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2025-07-01

    TEXT/CSV
    Download

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2025-10-01

    TEXT/CSV
    Download

  • Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2026-01-01

    TEXT/CSV
    Download

Find Related Datasets

Search by Tags

Click any tag below to search for similar datasets

Complete Metadata
@type dcat:Dataset
accessLevel public
accrualPeriodicity R/P3M
bureauCode 
                                            [
  "009:38"
]
contactPoint 
                                            {
  "fn": "Minimum Data Set Frequency - CCSQ",
  "@type": "vcard:Contact",
  "hasEmail": "mailto:iqies@cms.hhs.gov"
}
dataQuality 
                                            true
describedBy https://data.cms.gov/resources/minimum-data-set-frequency-data-dictionary
description The Minimum Data Set (MDS) Frequency data summarizes health status indicators for active residents currently in nursing homes. The MDS is part of the Federally-mandated process for clinical assessment of all residents in Medicare and Medicaid certified nursing homes. This process provides a comprehensive assessment of each resident's functional capabilities and helps nursing home staff identify health problems. Care Area Assessments (CAAs) are part of this process, and provide the foundation upon which a resident's individual care plan is formulated. MDS assessments are completed for all residents in certified nursing homes, regardless of source of payment for the individual resident. MDS assessments are required for residents on admission to the nursing facility, periodically, and on discharge. All assessments are completed within specific guidelines and time frames. In most cases, participants in the assessment process are licensed health care professionals employed by the nursing home. MDS information is transmitted electronically by nursing homes to the national MDS database at CMS.   When reviewing the MDS 3.0 Frequency files, some common software programs e.g., ‘Microsoft Excel’ might inaccurately strip leading zeros from designated code values (i.e., "01" becomes "1") or misinterpret code ranges as dates (i.e., O0600 ranges such as 02-04 are misread as 04-Feb). As each piece of software is unique, if you encounter an issue when reading the CSV file of Frequency data, please open the file in a plain text editor such as ‘Notepad’ or ‘TextPad’ to review the underlying data, before reaching out to CMS for assistance.
distribution 
                                            [
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2025-04-01",
    "format": "API",
    "accessURL": "https://data.cms.gov/data-api/v1/dataset/014c7431-61f8-4c4c-b1d0-cc8857eb30a8/data"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2020-04-02",
    "format": "API",
    "accessURL": "https://data.cms.gov/data-api/v1/dataset/06c355de-5eaf-4ab0-84c5-0be7d3f1af05/data"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2025-07-01",
    "format": "API",
    "accessURL": "https://data.cms.gov/data-api/v1/dataset/184dd1c9-7009-4bac-8370-847cd0e03831/data"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2024-12-02",
    "format": "API",
    "accessURL": "https://data.cms.gov/data-api/v1/dataset/18a36ba8-3781-40b9-8c65-d64ec6a6dee4/data"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2021-04-02",
    "format": "API",
    "accessURL": "https://data.cms.gov/data-api/v1/dataset/33e0d89b-8577-4eec-8236-8d0cc2295a33/data"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2020-07-02",
    "format": "API",
    "accessURL": "https://data.cms.gov/data-api/v1/dataset/3d5d00e5-b6cb-4d5b-9682-94daac1d33c1/data"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2026-01-01",
    "format": "API",
    "accessURL": "https://data.cms.gov/data-api/v1/dataset/4b50bbe6-a496-4eda-b03b-5f835937f81b/data",
    "description": "latest"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2021-07-02",
    "format": "API",
    "accessURL": "https://data.cms.gov/data-api/v1/dataset/569ddb7b-9b59-4abc-b362-0091f0e99e74/data"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2026-01-01",
    "format": "API",
    "accessURL": "https://data.cms.gov/data-api/v1/dataset/57143022-0dc3-46fe-9767-adb7661bb49b/data"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2025-01-01",
    "format": "API",
    "accessURL": "https://data.cms.gov/data-api/v1/dataset/5fdf5704-bef3-417b-a416-7a5e2c38eac5/data"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2024-04-02",
    "format": "API",
    "accessURL": "https://data.cms.gov/data-api/v1/dataset/61677068-ad10-41aa-96fd-0435eeb26b10/data"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2022-07-02",
    "format": "API",
    "accessURL": "https://data.cms.gov/data-api/v1/dataset/63e6c549-2d19-4e4f-af4d-678c52c8433e/data"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2024-07-02",
    "format": "API",
    "accessURL": "https://data.cms.gov/data-api/v1/dataset/7f43bd2c-ae8b-4ab5-b1fb-8ad1c2fb40bf/data"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2022-01-02",
    "format": "API",
    "accessURL": "https://data.cms.gov/data-api/v1/dataset/8b16130d-cbd7-4112-b283-2cdcfce1a985/data"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2023-01-02",
    "format": "API",
    "accessURL": "https://data.cms.gov/data-api/v1/dataset/9021d9dd-4bc4-4877-8460-003c6edabd0e/data"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2022-04-02",
    "format": "API",
    "accessURL": "https://data.cms.gov/data-api/v1/dataset/90a2e7de-7413-4c9a-bc81-d242c483f9f2/data"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2020-01-02",
    "format": "API",
    "accessURL": "https://data.cms.gov/data-api/v1/dataset/a132868e-43e3-4b7e-9089-483f321b13fe/data"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2020-12-02",
    "format": "API",
    "accessURL": "https://data.cms.gov/data-api/v1/dataset/a693fdc3-1cef-4ed9-bf1f-b3424e631aa8/data"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2023-07-02",
    "format": "API",
    "accessURL": "https://data.cms.gov/data-api/v1/dataset/aa1859cc-35ab-4c5b-9de1-997f6b762f29/data"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2023-12-02",
    "format": "API",
    "accessURL": "https://data.cms.gov/data-api/v1/dataset/b8071434-9126-4ae0-ae67-ce2173241216/data"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2023-04-02",
    "format": "API",
    "accessURL": "https://data.cms.gov/data-api/v1/dataset/cc4eaad0-2971-43d1-9f26-68ab48f0d265/data"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2022-12-02",
    "format": "API",
    "accessURL": "https://data.cms.gov/data-api/v1/dataset/d97d1e06-ec7c-47a0-af09-c5e9402cd8e8/data"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2024-01-02",
    "format": "API",
    "accessURL": "https://data.cms.gov/data-api/v1/dataset/dba345c9-997c-4011-9467-62095fd9179e/data"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2021-01-02",
    "format": "API",
    "accessURL": "https://data.cms.gov/data-api/v1/dataset/df1d7fd5-f859-4005-ab08-4513859dfd70/data"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2025-10-01",
    "format": "API",
    "accessURL": "https://data.cms.gov/data-api/v1/dataset/ef4199fc-451c-467d-8dde-226241cca44b/data"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2021-12-02",
    "format": "API",
    "accessURL": "https://data.cms.gov/data-api/v1/dataset/f82b95a2-03ac-4d98-be51-676b90f1dfad/data"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2024-01-02",
    "mediaType": "text/csv",
    "downloadURL": "https://data.cms.gov/sites/default/files/2025-03/007d850b-af83-40e3-80c7-a6e9868a5f37/MDS_Frequency_Q1_2024_revised.csv"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2023-04-02",
    "mediaType": "text/csv",
    "downloadURL": "https://data.cms.gov/sites/default/files/2025-03/21a7efbd-15e7-434f-b26b-f619d9f53dc7/MDS_Frequency_Q2_2023_revised.csv"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2021-01-02",
    "mediaType": "text/csv",
    "downloadURL": "https://data.cms.gov/sites/default/files/2025-03/34b01885-1840-4766-b58a-62c0fe78ab90/MDS_Frequency_Q1_2021_revised.csv"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2021-04-02",
    "mediaType": "text/csv",
    "downloadURL": "https://data.cms.gov/sites/default/files/2025-03/52d145f5-1258-42f2-ac6f-0068deaf76db/MDS_Frequency_Q2_2021_revised.csv"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2023-01-02",
    "mediaType": "text/csv",
    "downloadURL": "https://data.cms.gov/sites/default/files/2025-03/6fb77449-958c-4d69-8799-e26390f295de/MDS_Frequency_Q1_2023_revised.csv"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2022-04-02",
    "mediaType": "text/csv",
    "downloadURL": "https://data.cms.gov/sites/default/files/2025-03/6fbac363-7228-4393-a5ff-b9818191d807/MDS_Frequency_Q2_2022_revised.csv"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2020-04-02",
    "mediaType": "text/csv",
    "downloadURL": "https://data.cms.gov/sites/default/files/2025-03/796b707d-f763-4e4e-a712-d91f7c2462dd/MDS_Frequency_Q2_2020_revised.csv"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2020-01-02",
    "mediaType": "text/csv",
    "downloadURL": "https://data.cms.gov/sites/default/files/2025-03/85fd6541-d782-4707-b5b7-574c2275d808/MDS_Frequency_Q1_2020_revised.csv"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2024-07-02",
    "mediaType": "text/csv",
    "downloadURL": "https://data.cms.gov/sites/default/files/2025-03/8645df8c-4088-43bf-9ab2-30ab1844513d/MDS_Frequency_Q3_2024_revised.csv"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2022-12-02",
    "mediaType": "text/csv",
    "downloadURL": "https://data.cms.gov/sites/default/files/2025-03/9e134309-119a-46f0-ad43-913a4c3b0b4c/MDS_Frequency_Q4_2022_revised.csv"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2023-12-02",
    "mediaType": "text/csv",
    "downloadURL": "https://data.cms.gov/sites/default/files/2025-03/b1145eec-0a9c-4f4e-8af6-de0fdc540b77/MDS_Frequency_Q4_2023_revised.csv"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2021-12-02",
    "mediaType": "text/csv",
    "downloadURL": "https://data.cms.gov/sites/default/files/2025-03/b2fb5d74-b92b-400e-bd0f-32de783180b7/MDS_Frequency_Q4_2021_revised.csv"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2022-01-02",
    "mediaType": "text/csv",
    "downloadURL": "https://data.cms.gov/sites/default/files/2025-03/b3f5f8da-cd1f-495a-ae32-92ef59bcaa2e/MDS_Frequency_Q1_2022_revised.csv"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2021-07-02",
    "mediaType": "text/csv",
    "downloadURL": "https://data.cms.gov/sites/default/files/2025-03/c0d31607-e3e9-4652-8517-7e72276e5013/MDS_Frequency_Q3_2021_revised.csv"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2022-07-02",
    "mediaType": "text/csv",
    "downloadURL": "https://data.cms.gov/sites/default/files/2025-03/c7a75cc1-ebc3-4145-95ab-f161400e650d/MDS_Frequency_Q3_2022_revised.csv"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2024-04-02",
    "mediaType": "text/csv",
    "downloadURL": "https://data.cms.gov/sites/default/files/2025-03/d5c0a9a5-0dac-4e21-8e7d-704de916fec3/MDS_Frequency_Q2_2024_revised.csv"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2023-07-02",
    "mediaType": "text/csv",
    "downloadURL": "https://data.cms.gov/sites/default/files/2025-03/d9f1a015-3164-451f-873f-fc2981993914/MDS_Frequency_Q3_2023_revised.csv"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2024-12-02",
    "mediaType": "text/csv",
    "downloadURL": "https://data.cms.gov/sites/default/files/2025-03/ec21a36a-5e43-4a1b-b223-a39117d3552f/MDS_Frequency_Q4_2024.csv"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2020-07-02",
    "mediaType": "text/csv",
    "downloadURL": "https://data.cms.gov/sites/default/files/2025-03/ed76e4ae-6620-441a-b852-a9dd5b3f2897/MDS_Frequency_Q3_2020_revised.csv"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2020-12-02",
    "mediaType": "text/csv",
    "downloadURL": "https://data.cms.gov/sites/default/files/2025-03/fb385989-e2d9-4cff-b47a-86d0a568671c/MDS_Frequency_Q4_2020_revised.csv"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2025-01-01",
    "mediaType": "text/csv",
    "downloadURL": "https://data.cms.gov/sites/default/files/2025-04/38d0ba25-08e4-4f1a-bd6e-3fd682911524/MDS_Frequency_Q1_2025.csv"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2025-04-01",
    "mediaType": "text/csv",
    "downloadURL": "https://data.cms.gov/sites/default/files/2025-07/311adc5c-b56b-4fb6-bb20-4c8e5009759a/MDS_Frequency_Q2_2025.csv"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2025-07-01",
    "mediaType": "text/csv",
    "downloadURL": "https://data.cms.gov/sites/default/files/2025-11/eba28c0c-2479-4f35-bafb-689aefc2b34f/MDS%203.0%20FREQ%20Data_Q32025.csv"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2025-10-01",
    "mediaType": "text/csv",
    "downloadURL": "https://data.cms.gov/sites/default/files/2026-01/6523f1b0-5599-4b9f-ba41-e6bac5a75781/MDS%203.0%20FREQ%20Data_Q42025.csv"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Minimum Data Set Frequency : 2026-01-01",
    "mediaType": "text/csv",
    "downloadURL": "https://data.cms.gov/sites/default/files/2026-04/6fd19768-541f-4b02-95ce-5d13183cb995/MDS%203.0%20FREQ%20Data_Q12026.csv"
  }
]
identifier https://data.cms.gov/data-api/v1/dataset/4b50bbe6-a496-4eda-b03b-5f835937f81b/data-viewer
issued 2025-12-09
keyword 
                                            [
  "medicaid",
  "medicare"
]
landingPage https://data.cms.gov/quality-of-care/minimum-data-set-frequency
language 
                                            [
  "en-US"
]
license https://www.usa.gov/government-works
modified 2026-04-06
programCode 
                                            [
  "009:000"
]
publisher 
                                            {
  "name": "Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services",
  "@type": "org:Organization"
}
references 
                                            [
  "https://data.cms.gov/resources/minimum-data-set-frequency-methodology"
]
temporal 2020-01-01/2026-03-31
theme 
                                            [
  "Medicaid",
  "Medicare"
]
title Minimum Data Set Frequency

data.gov

An official website of the GSA's Technology Transformation Services

Looking for U.S. government information and services?
Visit USA.gov