DMEPOS accreditation change management is the work of keeping a Medicare DMEPOS supplier's accreditation, enrollment information and evidence in step when the supplier faces its annual resurvey, changes ownership, moves or adds a location, or adds a product line. It is for DMEPOS suppliers and multisite operators that already hold accreditation from a CMS-approved accrediting organization. Integral Healthcare Solutions (IHS) keeps your DMEPOS manual, evidence and change reporting aligned across your accreditor and your Medicare enrollment; you file and deliver.

This page covers accredited suppliers going through change. For first-time accreditation, see DMEPOS supplier accreditation consulting, ACHC DMEPOS accreditation consulting and NABP DMEPOS accreditation for pharmacies. The work sits within IHS's Compliance Services.

What is DMEPOS accreditation change management?

It is the upkeep of one supplier record across two systems: the supplier's accrediting organization (AO) and its Medicare enrollment. CMS states the base rule in its DMEPOS Accreditation Guidance: "DMEPOS suppliers must be accredited by a CMS-approved accrediting organization (AO) to enroll in and bill Medicare. The purpose of accreditation is to confirm that the supplier meets the DMEPOS quality standards."

The governing texts are:

• The Medicare DMEPOS supplier standards at 42 CFR 424.57(c), current eCFR text.
• The change-in-majority-ownership rule at 42 CFR 424.551.
• The DMEPOS quality standards.
• The CY 2026 Home Health PPS Final Rule (90 FR 55342, published December 2, 2025), whose DMEPOS accreditation provisions took effect January 1, 2026, as explained in CMS's DMEPOS Accreditation Guidance and its Q&As.
• The standards of the supplier's own CMS-approved accrediting organization, from the CMS list updated 01/09/2026.

The 2026 change is the survey cycle. CMS writes: "DMEPOS suppliers have long been required to be resurveyed and reaccredited at least every 36 months (3 years). The final rule reduces the survey and reaccreditation period to at least once every 12 months." The regulation now reads: "All accredited DMEPOS suppliers must be surveyed and reaccredited at least once every 12 months" (42 CFR 424.57(c)(24)).

Who needs it and what triggers it

An accredited DMEPOS supplier needs this work when one of the events below happens. Each trigger comes from CMS's guidance or the supplier standards.

• The first annual resurvey. "Your annual resurvey and reaccreditation cycle begins when your current 3-year accreditation period expires (if you were accredited before the final rule effective date)." (CMS guidance, Q3)
• A change in ownership. "You must notify your AO and NPE within 30 days of the effective date of any change in ownership. Accreditation does not automatically transfer after a merger, acquisition, or sale. An accreditation survey is required for all changes in majority ownership." (CMS guidance, Q6)
• A move. "DMEPOS suppliers must notify their AO within 30 days of a change of location/relocation." (CMS guidance)
• A new location. "All suppliers of DMEPOS and other items and services, and all of their locations whether owned or subcontracted, must meet the DMEPOS quality standards and be separately accredited to enroll in and bill Medicare." (42 CFR 424.57(c)(22)(i)) CMS adds that "the final rule removes the 90-day temporary accreditation allowance from § 424.57(c)(23)."
• A new product line. "If a new product line is added after enrollment, the DMEPOS supplier will be responsible for notifying the accrediting body of the new product so that the DMEPOS supplier can be re-surveyed and accredited for these new products." (42 CFR 424.57(c)(25))
• Any change to enrollment information. "The supplier must report to CMS any changes in information supplied on the application within 30 days of the change." (42 CFR 424.57(c)(2))

Surveys also arrive without notice. CMS's guidance states that "all DMEPOS AO surveys of DMEPOS suppliers must be unannounced," and that "AOs must perform on-site accreditation surveys for 100% of all supplier locations if the supplier has less than 25 locations." Evidence has to be current on any given day, at every location.

How IHS helps

IHS runs one process for each supplier, built on the supplier standards and the supplier's own accreditor's standards:

1. Gap assessment. IHS reviews your current manual, policies and evidence against your accreditor's standards and the supplier standards in 42 CFR 424.57(c).
2. Change-reporting crosswalk. IHS maps each change-reporting duty (ownership, location, product lines and application information) across your accreditor and your Medicare enrollment, built against CMS's 2026 annual-reaccreditation guidance, so each duty has a deadline and an owner.
3. Drafted updates. IHS drafts manual updates, evidence files and a change-reporting and annual-survey calendar for your staff to review and approve.
4. Mock unannounced survey. IHS runs a mock survey against the governing text, modeled on an unannounced visit, and gives you a written findings list.
5. Drafted change notices. IHS drafts the change notices; your organization's named contact files them with the accreditor and with Medicare enrollment.

What you supply: your current manual, site and personnel records, the details of any ownership change, and qualified personnel for the products you supply.

The limit: product-specific technical competence is yours. IHS does not file enrollment changes or accreditor notices; your organization files them, and your organization decides what to change in practice.

What to have ready

Each item ties to a governing text named above.

• The expiry date of your current 3-year accreditation period, which sets the start of your annual cycle (CMS guidance, Q3).
• A dated calendar showing a resurvey and reaccreditation at least once every 12 months (42 CFR 424.57(c)(24)).
• A list of every location, owned or subcontracted, with the accreditation status of each (42 CFR 424.57(c)(22)(i)).
• For any planned new location, a timeline that does not rely on the 90-day temporary accreditation allowance CMS says the final rule removed (CMS guidance).
• Details of any merger, acquisition, sale or change in majority ownership, with its effective date, so the 30-day notice to your AO and NPE can be dated (CMS guidance, Q6).
• Any relocation dates, for the 30-day notice to your AO (CMS guidance).
• A list of product lines added since enrollment, and the date each was added (42 CFR 424.57(c)(25)).
• A log of changes to the information on your enrollment application, with the date of each change, for the 30-day report to CMS (42 CFR 424.57(c)(2)).
• Your accreditor's current standards and your most recent survey report (accrediting organization from the CMS list updated 01/09/2026).
• Evidence files that are survey-ready at each location on any day, since surveys are unannounced (CMS guidance).

How it compares

The CMS list of DMEPOS accrediting organizations, updated 01/09/2026, names the organizations a supplier may hold accreditation from. The approved categories below are as that list shows them, and the table is as of the list's 01/09/2026 date. This page does not report any later change in an accreditor's status, so confirm your accreditor's current status on CMS's list before relying on the table. IHS's process is the same whichever accreditor a supplier uses.

The categories an accreditor is approved for matter when a supplier adds a product line, since the new products must be surveyed and accredited (42 CFR 424.57(c)(25)).

What it costs

CMS does not publish accreditation fees on the pages we reviewed, and accrediting organizations' fee pages were not part of this review; fees depend on scope and on the accreditor. Verify current fees with your accrediting organization.

IHS scopes each engagement after a free introductory call.

What this is not

• It is not legal advice. Questions about a transaction's structure under 42 CFR 424.551 belong with your counsel.
• It is not a guarantee of your accreditor's decision or of Medicare enrollment approval.
• IHS does not file with your accreditor or with Medicare enrollment. IHS drafts the text; your organization's named contact submits it.

Frequently asked questions about DMEPOS accreditation changes

How often do DMEPOS suppliers have to be reaccredited now that CMS moved to annual surveys?

At least once every 12 months. 42 CFR 424.57(c)(24) states that all accredited DMEPOS suppliers must be surveyed and reaccredited at least once every 12 months. CMS's guidance explains that the prior period was at least every 36 months and that the final rule shortened it.

When does our first annual DMEPOS reaccreditation fall due if we were accredited before 2026?

CMS's guidance (Q3) says the annual resurvey and reaccreditation cycle begins when your current 3-year accreditation period expires, if you were accredited before the final rule's effective date. Start from the expiry date on your current accreditation. The DMEPOS accreditation provisions of the CY 2026 Home Health PPS Final Rule took effect January 1, 2026.

What do we have to do when our DMEPOS company changes ownership?

CMS's guidance (Q6) says you must notify your AO and NPE within 30 days of the effective date of any change in ownership. It also says an accreditation survey is required for all changes in majority ownership. IHS drafts the notices and the evidence; your organization files them.

Does DMEPOS accreditation transfer in a merger or acquisition?

No. CMS's guidance (Q6) states that accreditation does not automatically transfer after a merger, acquisition, or sale. A survey is required for all changes in majority ownership. Plan the survey into the transaction timeline.

Can a new DMEPOS location bill Medicare before it is surveyed?

42 CFR 424.57(c)(22)(i) requires every location, owned or subcontracted, to meet the DMEPOS quality standards and be separately accredited to enroll in and bill Medicare. CMS's guidance adds that the final rule removes the 90-day temporary accreditation allowance from 424.57(c)(23). Build accreditation of the new site into the opening plan.

What must we report to CMS and to our accreditor within 30 days?

Under 42 CFR 424.57(c)(2), you report to CMS any changes in information supplied on the application within 30 days of the change. CMS's guidance sets 30-day notices to your AO for a change of location or relocation, and to your AO and NPE for a change in ownership. IHS builds these into one change-reporting calendar.

How do we add a new product line to our DMEPOS accreditation?

42 CFR 424.57(c)(25) makes the supplier responsible for notifying the accrediting body of a new product line added after enrollment, so the supplier can be re-surveyed and accredited for the new products. Check that your accreditor is approved by CMS for the category the new products fall under.

Which accrediting organizations does CMS approve for DMEPOS?

The CMS list updated 01/09/2026 names eight organizations: ACHC, ABC, CHAP, HQAA, Joint Commission, NABP, The Compliance Team and BOC. Their approved categories differ; NABP's Appendix C approval, for example, is limited to external breast prostheses, therapeutic shoes and inserts, and their accessories and supplies. This answer reflects that list as of its date; confirm your accreditor's current status on CMS's list.

Are DMEPOS accreditation surveys announced in advance?

No. CMS's guidance says the final rule reiterates the current practice that all DMEPOS AO surveys of DMEPOS suppliers must be unannounced. Evidence has to be ready at each location on any day.

Does every DMEPOS location get an on-site survey?

CMS's guidance states that AOs must perform on-site accreditation surveys for 100% of all supplier locations if the supplier has less than 25 locations. The passage we quote covers suppliers with fewer than 25 locations. Every location must also be separately accredited under 42 CFR 424.57(c)(22)(i).