2026 Standards Version Advancement Process (SVAP) Fact Sheet

This fact sheet describes the voluntary Standards Version Advancement Process (SVAP) available to Health IT developers participating in the ONC Health IT Certification Program (Certification Program). This resource assists Certified Health IT developers in understanding SVAP and their responsibilities if they choose to leverage this flexibility.

What is SVAP?

The ONC Cures Act Final Rule (Final Rule) established the voluntary Standards Version Advancement Process (SVAP) flexibility as part of the Real World Testing Condition and Maintenance of Certification (45 CFR 170.405). SVAP allows Certified Health IT developers participating in the ONC Health IT Certification Program (Certification Program) to voluntarily update their Certified Health IT Modules and to provide newer versions of standards to their customers prior to their adoption in regulation so long as certain conditions are met.

SVAP allows for advanced versions of standards to be approved for use under the Certification Program in a more timely and flexible manner than is possible for new versions of standards that are adopted through ONC rule making. It also gives Certified Health IT developers the ability to incorporate these new and more advanced standard versions into their Certified Health IT, which is essential to supporting real world interoperability.

The process to identify, approve, and make available newer versions of standards takes place on an annual cycle to keep pace with the industry’s standards development efforts. Working with stakeholders and providing ample notice, ONC’s collaborative public comment process seeks feedback each year on newer versions of eligible standards that are also ready for adoption in the Certification Program through the SVAP. For more information on the SVAP public comment process, please visit https://isp.healthit.gov/standards-version-advancement-process.

Approved SVAP versions are announced in June each year and become effective for Certification Program use after a 60-day period in August of that year.

Approved Standards for 2026

The SVAP flexibility is limited to the standards adopted in the certification criteria that meet the Real World Testing Condition and Maintenance of Certification requirement. As part of ONC’s review and assessment of the 2026 SVAP Cycle public comments, the newer versions of adopted standards listed in the table below have been approved for use in the Certification Program.

Certified Health IT developers can begin voluntarily incorporating these standard versions on August 29, 2026.

To SVAP to a newer version of USCDI, a developer must conform to either the HL7^® FHIR^® US Core Implementation Guide (IG) or the HL7^® CDA^® R2 Implementation Guide: C-CDA^® Templates for Clinical Notes R2.1 Companion Guide.

ONC will update all of the associated test data and tools, including the Cypress Testing Tool, the Edge Test Tool’s (ETT), C-CDA^® validators, and the Inferno Framework’s “g.10 Standardized API Test Kit” by December 31, 2026.

How to Use SVAP

For the approved SVAP versions, Certified Health IT developers choosing to leverage the SVAP flexibility can do so on initial certification of their Health IT Module or to maintain certification for their Module. To take advantage of the flexibility to update to newer approved versions, a Certified Health IT developer will need to:

• For existing certifications only, provide advance notice to all affected customers and their ONC-Authorized Certification Body (ONC-ACB), expressing
  • intent to update to the more advanced version of the standard;
  • expectations for how the update will affect interoperability of each affected Health IT Module; and
  • whether they intend to continue to support the certificate(s) for the existing Certified Health IT Module(s) version.
• Successfully demonstrate conformance with approved more recent versions of the standard(s) included in each updated certification criterion to confirm they meet the updated requirements.
• Maintain the updated Certified Health IT Module(s) in full conformance with all applicable Certification Program requirements, which includes ensuring their Real World Testing plans and results address the updated standards.

Unless ONC specifically excludes the use of additional data elements or electronic standards in rulemaking, there is nothing that prevents a health IT developer from supporting additional data elements, functionalities, or electronic standards in its health IT modules. This could include the partial support of any of the SVAP versions of standards or individual data classes or elements from an SVAP version of USCDI. However, health IT developers may not indicate that those modules are certified to such standards or data elements unless the health IT module provides full support for the entire SVAP version of the standard and the developer has taken all of the steps listed above. Only when all of the above steps have been completed will a health IT module be considered certified to an SVAP version of a standard and then subsequently updated on the Certified Health IT Product List (CHPL).

For more information on how to use SVAP in the Certification Program, please contact your ONC-ACB.

Previously Approved SVAP Standards

SVAP-approved standard versions will remain available across SVAP cycles for use unless they are superseded by regulatory action or another policy update. In the past, the Certification Program treated each annual SVAP cycle as time-limited, which constrained the availability of previously approved versions. Based on feedback and experience with several SVAP cycles, we believe supporting multiple versions of SVAP-approved standards will better serve industry and advance our shared goals, especially for standards that publish updates annually. As an example for the 2026 SVAP cycle, a Certified Health IT developer with a Health IT Module certified to the standardized API for patient and population services criterion at 45 CFR 170.315(g)(10) using HL7^® FHIR^® US Core Implementation Guide STU 6.1.0 may use SVAP to support later approved versions, including US Core STU 7.0.0, US Core STU 8.0.0, and now US Core STU 9.0.0.

SVAP Resources

• SVAP: See the most recent list of Approved Standards for SVAP and operational information for certification.
• SVAP Annual Process: View information on the annual process, including the list of standards versions being considered for the next Approved Standards List.
• ONC Standards Bulletin: View and sign up for healthcare stakeholder alerts that include updates about ONC health IT standards initiatives such as the SVAP.
• Certification Program Resources: Access reference documents and other resources related to ONC’s Health IT Certification Program.