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.