Joint Commission Health Care Staffing Services Certification
The Joint Commission offers a certification for staffing firms called Health Care Staffing Services (HCSS) certification. Hospitals also have their own Joint Commission standards for contracted staff. This guide explains who is eligible, what reviewers look at, the performance measures certified firms report, and why hospitals ask agencies for credential files. It uses only Joint Commission's public pages and guides.
Updated October 3, 2026 · Checked against the official sources listed at the end
What HCSS certification is
The Joint Commission launched its Health Care Staffing Certification Program in 2004. Joint Commission describes it as an independent, comprehensive evaluation of a staffing firm's ability to provide competent staffing services.
A firm chooses to apply. The process starts when the firm submits an application through Joint Commission Connect, Joint Commission's secure extranet. Certification is awarded after an on-site review in which a reviewer, or a team, assesses the firm's compliance with the standards.
Joint Commission lists these benefits: a framework for organizational structure and management, a competitive edge, better staff recruitment and development, recognition by insurers and other third parties, and possible lower liability insurance costs.
- The standards are laid out in Joint Commission's certification manual.
- Joint Commission offers a free 90-day trial of the standards to firms that have not yet applied.
Who is eligible
Joint Commission says a firm is eligible if it meets all of these conditions.
- It places temporary clinical staff in organizations that direct or provide patient care. Joint Commission's examples include physicians, RNs, LPN/LVNs, nursing assistants, pharmacy personnel, radiology technicians, surgical assistants, respiratory therapists, and lab staff. Settings can include health care organizations, schools, and occupational and community settings.
- The staff work under the direct supervision of the other organization's personnel.
- It has 4 months of data for each of the 4 required performance measures by the time of the on-site review.
- It has placed at least 10 clinical staff by the time of the on-site review.
- Not eligible: permanent-placement-only firms, internal registry or float pool programs, contracted management services (such as running an emergency department or pharmacy), non-clinical staff (such as housekeeping or coders), and individual employees.
What the on-site review looks at
Joint Commission's 2026 HCSS Review Process Guide describes each part of the review. Reviews are one day, multi-day, or multi-site. Multi-day reviews include more contracts, files, and staff tracers.
Before the review, the firm uploads documents at least 72 hours ahead. The list includes an organization chart, current customers, currently placed staff by discipline, a code of business ethics, a conflict of interest policy, customer and staff complaint processes, an emergency management plan with a hazard vulnerability analysis, credentialing and competency assessment policies, a staff handbook, performance evaluation tools, and privacy and security policies.
During the review, the reviewer traces contracts from sale to renewal, holds a competence assessment and credentialing session, reviews personnel files, and follows individual clinical staff from first contact through their first performance evaluation.
- Credentialing session topics: application process, employment history checks, credential verification, hiring criteria, tracking regulatory requirements, orientation, placement and matching, supervision, performance evaluation (including customer feedback), and maintaining competency.
- File review: at least 20 clinical staff files, with 3 clinical staff from each discipline, including both per diem and travel staff. Selection criteria include highly specialized areas (such as ICU, NICU, and OR), placements that are not closely supervised, new and long-term staff, and staff who cross state lines to practice.
- File checklist items in the guide: current licensure, certification, or registration from primary sources, extra checks for physicians and advanced practitioners (such as NPDB, DEA, and NPI), education and training, work history and references, initial and ongoing competency evaluation, performance evaluation, criminal background, orientation, CPR, health screenings and immunizations (TB, MMR, flu, health statement, hepatitis B), and drug screen.
Notice, timing, and the two-year cycle
For an initial review, Joint Commission says the firm gets 30 days' notice of the review date. For a recertification review, the firm gets notice 7 business days before the first day of the review.
Joint Commission's guide describes a two-year certification cycle. Near the one-year midpoint, a reviewer holds an intra-cycle conference call. Participation is mandatory. The call covers the firm's monthly measure data, its analysis of that data, and its performance improvement plan.
Joint Commission says it may not certify a firm that does not allow a review. Postponements may be granted for major unforeseen events, such as a natural disaster.
The four required performance measures
Certified firms, and firms seeking initial certification, must adopt standardized measures for per diem and travel clinical staff. Joint Commission says firms collect data monthly and submit it quarterly through its Certification Measure Information Process (CMIP). The measures manual says quarterly reporting is due no later than 45 days after the quarter ends, and that this is required to keep certification.
The measure set was revised in January 2022. The current four measures are below.
- HCSS-4: Do Not Return, Per Diem.
- HCSS-5: Do Not Return, Travel.
- HCSS-6: Completeness of Personnel File, Per Diem.
- HCSS-7: Completeness of Personnel File, Travel.
- For the personnel file measures, a complete file must have job-appropriate credentials, evidence of current competency, and a background check.
- Firms report by size group, based on clinical placements in 12 months: under 40, 40 to 99, 100 to 349, and 350 or more.
Why hospitals ask agencies for credential files
Joint Commission-accredited hospitals have their own standards. Joint Commission's standards FAQ says its Human Resources and National Performance Goals chapters apply to contracted staff who provide patient care. It says organizations must manage contracted staff just as they manage employees. The contract should say the firm will provide only staff qualified by education, training, licensure, and competence as the organization defines them.
Joint Commission's hospital requirements call for verifying staff licenses, certifications, or registrations with the primary source at hire and at renewal when law requires the credential (HR.11.01.03). They also say staff competence is first assessed and documented during orientation and then once every three years, or more often if hospital policy or law requires (HR.11.04.01).
Federal Medicare rules say the same thing in their own way. Under 42 CFR 482.23(b)(6), the hospital's director of nursing must supervise and evaluate the clinical work of all nursing personnel, whether they are employees, contract staff, or others.
- Joint Commission's National Performance Goal #12 lists verification that staff complete all employment requirements, and education, training, and competence evaluation, among its staffing requirements.
- The Joint Commission pages we reviewed do not say a hospital must use a certified staffing firm. Ask each client what it requires.
Cost
Joint Commission's public HCSS pages that we reviewed do not list certification fees. Its certification process page says the process starts when you submit your application and any needed fees. Ask a Joint Commission account executive for a quote.
Plan for staff time too. Collecting 4 months of measure data before the review is an eligibility requirement, so start tracking early.
Common questions
Is Joint Commission staffing certification required?
Firms apply for it by choice. We did not find a federal rule requiring it, and the Joint Commission pages we reviewed do not say hospitals must use certified firms. Some clients may require it by contract.
How many placements do we need before we can apply?
Joint Commission says a firm must have placed at least 10 clinical staff, and have 4 months of data for each of the 4 measures, by the time of the on-site review.
Can a permanent placement firm get certified?
No. Joint Commission lists permanent placement firms that do not provide temporary staffing as not eligible.
How long does certification last?
Joint Commission's review process guide describes a two-year certification cycle, with a mandatory intra-cycle conference call near the one-year midpoint.
What does a complete personnel file mean for the measures?
For HCSS-6 and HCSS-7, the file must include job-appropriate credentials, evidence of current competency, and a background check.
Do hospitals have to verify agency nurses' licenses themselves?
Joint Commission says its Human Resources standards apply to contracted staff, and its hospital requirements call for primary source verification of required licenses at hire and at renewal. Hospitals often ask agencies for that proof.
Sources
- Joint Commission: Health Care Staffing Services Certification
- Joint Commission: Health Care Staffing Services Certification Review Process Guide 2026 (PDF)
- Joint Commission: Certification Process
- Joint Commission: HCSS Measures Manual, Introduction (v2026B)
- Joint Commission: HCSS-7 Measure Information Form (v2027A)
- Joint Commission: Human Resource Standards, Applicability to Contracted and Volunteer Personnel (Standards FAQ)
- Joint Commission: Requirements for Hospital Programs (PDF)
- Joint Commission: National Performance Goal #12, Health Professional Resource Management
- eCFR: 42 CFR 482.23, Nursing services (hospitals)