SEMAP Indicators Explained: How HUD Scores Your Voucher Program
SEMAP is the Section 8 Management Assessment Program: the scorecard HUD uses to rate how well a public housing authority runs its Housing Choice Voucher program. A PHA certifies its own performance once a year on Form HUD-52648, HUD scores each indicator in 24 CFR 985.3, and the total — expressed as a percentage of the points that apply to that agency — decides whether it is rated high performer, standard, or troubled.
The three ratings
Your overall score is a percentage of the points that apply to your agency — not of a fixed total, because several indicators only apply to some PHAs. The bands are set in 24 CFR 985.103.
High performer
90% or above
Standard performer
60% to 89%
Troubled
Below 60%
Every indicator in 24 CFR 985.3
16 indicators, paragraphs (a) through (p). 4 of them apply only to some agencies — metropolitan FMR areas, mandatory FSS slots, or the optional deconcentration bonus — and 5 are verified against your quality control sample rather than the whole caseload.
| Indicator | Citation | Points | Scored as | What it takes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Selection from the waiting listQC sample | 24 CFR 985.3(a) | 15 | Met / not met | Written selection policy + ≥98% of sampled applicants & admissions selected per policy. |
| Reasonable rentQC sample | 24 CFR 985.3(b) | 20 | Percentage — higher is better | % of sampled units with a documented rent-reasonableness determination. |
| Determination of adjusted incomeQC sample | 24 CFR 985.3(c) | 20 | Percentage — higher is better | % of families with correctly verified & calculated adjusted income. |
| Utility allowance schedule | 24 CFR 985.3(d) | 5 | Met / not met | Reviewed utility rate data within 12 months & adjusted on a ≥10% change. |
| HQS quality control inspectionsQC sample | 24 CFR 985.3(e) | 5 | Met / not met | Supervisor reinspected a qualifying cross-section sample within 3 months. |
| HQS enforcementQC sample | 24 CFR 985.3(f) | 10 | Met / not met | Life-threatening fixed in 24h (all) + ≥98% other deficiencies in 30 days, else abate/enforce. |
| Expanding housing opportunitiesnot every PHA | 24 CFR 985.3(g) | 5 | Met / not met | Metro FMR PHAs only: written deconcentration policy, maps, owner lists, portability info. |
| Payment standards | 24 CFR 985.3(i) | 5 | Met / not met | Payment standard schedule set per 24 CFR 982.503 (90–110% of FMR unless HUD-approved). |
| Annual reexaminations | 24 CFR 985.3(j) | 10 | Percentage — lower is better | % of reexaminations more than 2 months overdue (lower is better). |
| Correct tenant rent calculations | 24 CFR 985.3(k) | 5 | Percentage — lower is better | % of tenant-rent / family-share calculations that are incorrect (lower is better). |
| Initial unit inspections | 24 CFR 985.3(l) | 5 | Percentage — higher is better | % of newly leased units that passed HQS inspection within the required time. |
| Periodic HQS inspections | 24 CFR 985.3(m) | 10 | Percentage — lower is better | % of periodic HQS inspections more than 2 months overdue (lower is better). |
| Lease-up | 24 CFR 985.3(n) | 20 | Percentage — higher is better | % of baseline units leased or allocated budget authority expended. |
| FSS enrollment & escrownot every PHA | 24 CFR 985.3(o) | 10 | FSS slots and escrow | Mandatory-FSS PHAs only: % of mandatory slots filled + % of FSS families with escrow. |
| Deconcentration bonusbonusnot every PHA | 24 CFR 985.3(h) | 5 | Met / not met | Optional (metro FMR): families with children increasingly residing in low-poverty tracts. |
| Success rate of voucher holdersnot every PHA | 24 CFR 985.3(p) | 5 | Met / not met | Only PHAs with pre-6/6/2024 success-rate payment standards: voucher lease-up success rate. |
The deadlines that decide your rating
60 days after fiscal year end
Your certification is due on Form HUD-52648 (24 CFR 985.101). Miss that window and you are rated troubled on that basis alone, whatever your indicators would have scored.
45 days to correct a zero
A zero on any indicator is a SEMAP deficiency. 24 CFR 985.106 gives you 45 days from HUD's notice, and HUD may require a corrective action plan. You can be a high performer and still owe one.
Never fewer than 5 files
24 CFR 985.2 sets a minimum quality-control sample size. No universe, however small, is ever allowed fewer than 5 files — a smaller sample fails the regulation for any universe size.
Self-certification is the starting point, not the last word: HUD may run a confirmatory review under 24 CFR 985.105 and change an indicator rating where it finds a certification inaccurate. A troubled rating brings the required actions in 24 CFR 985.107.
Common questions
- What is SEMAP?
- The Section 8 Management Assessment Program. It is how HUD measures a public housing authority's administration of the Housing Choice Voucher program, using the indicators set out in 24 CFR 985.3. Each indicator is scored, and the percentage of applicable points a PHA earns sets its overall rating under 24 CFR 985.103.
- When is the SEMAP certification due?
- Within 60 calendar days of the end of the PHA's fiscal year, on Form HUD-52648 (24 CFR 985.101). A PHA that does not submit within those 60 days is rated troubled on that basis alone, regardless of how it would otherwise have scored.
- What happens if an indicator is scored zero?
- A zero on any indicator is a SEMAP deficiency. Under 24 CFR 985.106 the PHA has 45 days from HUD's notice to correct it, and HUD may require a corrective action plan. A deficiency is possible at any overall rating — an agency can be a high performer and still owe a correction.
- What makes a PHA troubled?
- An overall score below the standard-performer threshold in 24 CFR 985.103, or failing to submit the certification within 60 days of fiscal year end. A troubled rating brings the required actions in 24 CFR 985.107, including HUD oversight of a corrective action plan.
- Can HUD change a score after the PHA certifies it?
- Yes. HUD may run a confirmatory review under 24 CFR 985.105, and where it finds a certification inaccurate it changes the indicator rating accordingly. Self-certification is the starting point, not the last word — which is why the supporting file matters as much as the number.
- Which indicators are scored from a quality control sample?
- Several indicators are verified against the PHA's quality control sample rather than the whole caseload. 24 CFR 985.2 defines that sample and sets a minimum size table; no universe, however small, is ever allowed fewer than five files. A sample below that minimum fails the regulation for any universe size.
- Do all indicators apply to every agency?
- No. Some apply only to PHAs in metropolitan FMR areas, one applies only to agencies with mandatory Family Self-Sufficiency slots, and one is an optional bonus. The overall rating is a percentage of the points that actually apply to that agency, not of a fixed total.
- Does Honestkey™ submit our SEMAP certification to HUD?
- No. Honestkey™ is decision support: it tracks the indicators, shows the arithmetic behind each one, and exports a citation-backed evidence pack for a file review. It does not submit to PIC or TRACS and it is not a substitute for HUD systems or for legal advice.
What this page is
A reference, not legal advice. Every figure above is read from the same dataset the Honestkey™ SEMAP tool scores against, and each one names the paragraph of the CFR it comes from so your staff can check it. Honestkey™ prepares and documents determinations — it does not submit to PIC or TRACS and it is not a substitute for HUD systems or for your own counsel.
Keep every indicator audit-ready
Honestkey™ tracks each indicator against your caseload, shows the arithmetic behind every determination, and exports a citation-backed evidence pack for a file review.