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Free CLIA guides and tools
Plain answers to the questions that come up before a survey, each one tied to its paragraph in 42 CFR Part 493 or to the CMS document it comes from. Nothing here needs an account, and the tools run in your browser.
Survey readiness check
Answer about 20 questions drawn from the most-cited requirements. See your gaps, the citation behind each one and what to fix first.
OpenThe most-cited CLIA deficiencies
CMS's own top ten lists, in plain language, with what a surveyor looks for and the record that answers it.
OpenCompetency assessment: who, when and what counts
The six procedures, the first-year timing, who may assess whom, and the questions laboratories ask most.
OpenCompetency due-date calculator
Enter a start date, get the two first-year dates and the annual dates, and add them to your calendar.
OpenCLIA record retention periods
How long to keep each kind of record under 42 CFR 493.1105, in one table.
OpenHow to write a plan of correction
The four points a response to Form CMS-2567 has to cover, with wording that gets accepted and wording that gets sent back.
OpenRegulatory updates
Changes to the federal rules and CMS guidance, in date order, with an RSS feed.
OpenPersonalize tool
Put your laboratory name, CLIA number and logo on every file in a kit. Try it on a free sample.
OpenHow these pages are written
Each guide states the requirement first, names the source, and then says what a laboratory usually keeps on file to show it. Where a requirement is not covered by one of our kits, the page says so.
The guides cover the federal rules. Your state, and your accreditation organization if you have one, may ask for more. More about how we work.