FY26 HMIS Data Standards

HUD has announced changes to the current HMIS Data Standards. This article provides information on the release of the data standards and the updates to Clarity HMIS. Additional trainings and office hours related to the release of the new data standards will be forthcoming.

What are the HMIS Data Standards?

Timeline for HMIS Data Standards Release in Clarity HMIS

What to expect?

Changes in the 2026 Data Standards

What are the HMIS Data Standards?

HMIS data standards have been established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to allow for standardized data collection across systems about individuals and families experiencing homelessness. The HMIS Data Dictionary and the HMIS Data Standards Manual are the documentation of requirements for the programming and use of all HMIS and comparable database software.

The HMIS Data Standards Manual supports data collection and reporting efforts of HMIS Leads/System Administrators, Continuums of Care (CoCs), and HMIS End Users to help them understand the data elements that are required in an HMIS to meet participation and reporting requirements established by HUD and the federal partners. The HMIS Data Dictionary is designed for HMIS vendors and HMIS Leads/System Administrators to identify the data elements required in an HMIS and understand the function and specific use of each element by the appropriate federal partner. The Interactive HMIS Data Standards Tool is an interactive, web-based combination of the guidance from both the HMIS Data Manual and the HMIS Data Dictionary.

HUD has not yet released the written manual or data dictionary associated with these updates to the public. When the standards are released, they will be found on the landing page below. The 2026 Data Standards are scheduled to go into effect on October 1, 2025 (FY26).

HUD HMIS Data Standards Landing Page - https://www.hudexchange.info/resource/3824/hmis-data-dictionary/


Timeline for HMIS Data Standards Release in Clarity HMIS


Clarity HMIS Release Schedule:

  • All Training Sites: Monday, September 1, 2025
  • All Production Sites: Wednesday October 1, 2025

For more information directly from Bitfocus on the 2026 Data Standards Releases, view this article: https://help.bitfocus.com/2026-data-standards-updates


What to expect?

Clarity will be updated to include any changes in the data standards. SLO County HMIS Team will configure any necessary changes to data collection screens, including client profile, enrollment, assessments and exit screens. Additional updates for services or other program specific data elements will also be configured. Users will be required to update client records according to the guidance in the published data standards after October 1, 2025.

Changes in the 2026 Data Standards


Note: An interim change in the HUD Data Standards was published in June 2025. This information update was included in the 2024 Data Standards Manual and is below:

The Person Centered Approaches to HMIS Data Collection; Emergency Shelter under 2.0 Project Information; Universal Data Elements table; 3.01 Name; 3.02 Social Security Number; and 3.04 Race and Ethnicity sections are updated to be compliant with the current Administration’s Executive Orders. Added clarification that "Provide additional specificity the client would like the share about their race or ethnicity." is an optional field in 3.04 Race and Ethnicity.

For the following three data elements, the software updates will be required to be completed during the FY2026 HMIS Data Standards implementation. • 3.06 Gender – RETIRE to be compliant with the current Administration’s Executive Orders. • R3 Sexual Orientation – RETIRE to be compliant with the current Administration’s Executive Orders. • V7 HP Targeting Criteria – updated data collection for household size and population type to be compliant with the current Administration’s Executive Orders.

The following data standards are expected to change in the 2026 Data Standards Dictionary and Manual:


2.06 - Funding Sources

New and retired funding sources.

3.04 - Race and Ethnicity The label for the Hispanic/Latina/o list option has been updated from Hispanic/Latina/e/o to Hispanic/Latina/o.

3.06 - Gender

Retired, no longer required by HUD, but will continue to be available on the client profile for data collection. - data element will still be available in Clarity for local data collection and reporting. See notes on new data element 4.21 Sex for additional details.

C4 - Translation Assistance

Retired, no longer required - data element will still be available in Clarity for local data collection and reporting

R3 - Sexual Orientation

Retired, no longer required - data element will still be available in Clarity for local data collection and reporting

4.05 - 4.10 - Disabling Conditions

Change to VA Data Collection Guidance Only- Local VA team has decided to keep these elements available on the screen to collect these details.

4.13 - Date of Engagement (No change to existing Street Outreach programs)

Added to additional Street Outreach funding sources as a requirement

4.21 - Sex

This required data element is intended to collect the sex of clients served. Choose from “Female,” “Male,” “Client Doesn’t Know,” “Client Prefers Not to Answer,” and “Data Not Collected.” The data element is available on both the Client Profile and the Client Enrollment screens in Clarity. New client data entered in this field on the enrollment will cascade to the enrollment. Existing clients will need to have enrollments created prior to 10/1/2025 updated on the program enrollment screen.

Note: We recognize that a binary selection for a client's "sex" may not reflect the understanding or lived experience of transgender and non-binary community members. This field stems from a federal executive order that HUD must comply to and our role, as HMIS Lead, is to implement this requirement. We believe data collection is trust building and if collecting this data element causes or advances harm, providers should prioritize rapport, safety, and authentic engagement in the client relationship. 


V2 - Services Provided SSVF (New Data Element for VA- SSVF Programs)

A new service type, 10 / Healthcare Navigation, has been added to the allowable SSVF Type of Service.

The VA Data Guide has provided this guidance on the new service:

SSVF grantees must provide Healthcare Navigation at the beginning of SSVF enrollment. The initial Healthcare Navigation event must be recorded in HMIS as “V2 Services Provided” in Field 2, Response 10: “Healthcare Navigation.” The Date of Service in Field 1 should be on or after Project Start Date. Additionally, SSVF staff must also record, when applicable, the type(s) of Healthcare Navigation events occurring with the Veteran(s) or family member(s) and should be entered into HMIS in Field 2, Response 3: “Assistance obtaining VA benefits” and Dependent Field A, Response 4: “Health care services” OR in Field 2, Response 4: “Assistance obtaining/coordinating other public benefits” and Dependent Field B, Response 1: “Health care services.” The “V2 Services Provided” as VA Data Guide – FY 2025-2026 (revised June 2025) Page | 15 described in this section should be recorded each time Healthcare Navigation events occur and the Date of Service in Field 1 should be recorded on the date the event occurred. The expectation is that every Veteran family is receiving Healthcare Navigation services from the start of their enrollment in SSVF (as recorded in Response 10), and that when the Healthcare Navigation results in a connection to either VA healthcare benefits or other public healthcare benefits, this result is recorded in Responses 3 OR 4 OR both. The expectation is also that these events are being correctly recorded in HMIS for monthly repository uploads.

V3 - Financial Assistance SSVF (New Data Element for VA- SSVF Programs)

HUD has added an additional date field, Information Date, to be collected when collecting services mapped to SSVF  Financial Assistance. 

The VA Data Guide has provided this guidance on the new fields for financial assistance:

Financial Assistance should be recorded completely and accurately in HMIS and

uploaded to the VA Repository. Grantees can use the “FA Start Date” and “FA End

Date” as indicated below to inform the VA about the amount of days covered by

the dollar amount of assistance. The “Date Provided” field can be used

separately to indicate the date the check was cut, or can be entered as the

same date as FA Start Date and FA End Date for a financial assistance record

that is a one-time, arrears, or one-day only amount.

V7 - HP Targeting Criteria (Edit for VA - SSVF Programs)

Two dependent questions (Dependencies P & Q) of the V7 / HP Targeting Criteria element have had text updates.

V10 - Mental Health Consultation (New Data Element for VA - SSVF Programs)

The VA Data Guide has provided this guidance on the new field:

Enter whether the required mental health consultation is completed, is being coordinated/arranged with the VA provider, is being coordinated/arranged with another provider, or was declined. This is required of every Veteran and is required by all funded VA components


R13 - Family Critical Issues (RHY Programs only - does not impact SLO CoC at this time)


Reporting Impact


HUD Reporting specifications will be updated in accordance with the new data standards. Report impacts will vary based on funding source.


SLO County Clarity Reporting impacts will be discussed in HMIS Data and Performance HSOC Committee meetings and will be announced in future newsletters and knowledgebase articles.


For more information - View the full Bitfocus Release Notes here: October 2025 Clarity Release Notes

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