What is an NPI number?
A National Provider Identifier is a 10-digit number CMS issues; HIPAA requires one of every health care provider who sends claims or other standard transactions electronically, and any provider may get one. It identifies who delivered a service; it does not say whether the provider is licensed or qualified.
Look up an NPI
Physicians, nurse practitioners, therapists, pharmacists. One per person, for life. The registry lists 7,327,918 individual records.
Group practices, hospitals, pharmacies, labs, home health agencies: 1,959,633 active organization NPIs. One organization can hold many, for example one per location.
How to get an NPI number
An NPI is free and is issued by CMS through NPPES, the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System. There are three ways to apply:
- Online, the usual route. Create an Identity & Access (I&A) account with CMS, sign in to NPPES and complete the application. Online applications are processed faster than paper ones.
- On paper. Fill in form CMS-10114, the NPI Application/Update Form, and mail it to the NPI Enumerator named on the form.
- Through an employer. An organization approved for Electronic File Interchange (EFI) can apply for many providers at once, for example a hospital for its new residents.
What an individual needs: name, Social Security number (or an ITIN for someone not eligible for one), date of birth, the practice location address and phone number, the taxonomy code that describes the provider, and, for a licensed profession, the license number and state. An organization applies as Type 2 with its employer identification number; a sole proprietor applies as an individual.
After the NPI is issued: it is not a Medicare enrollment. A provider who bills Medicare enrolls separately through PECOS. Any change to the NPPES record (an address, a name, a taxonomy) must be reported within 30 days (45 CFR 162.410). An NPI can be deactivated, for example after a death or when an organization dissolves, and can be reactivated; it is never given to anyone else.
How many are issued now: from January to July 2026, NPPES issued between 36,053 and 53,306 individual NPIs a month. The largest groups in 2026 are behavior technician (69,423), student in an organized health care education/training program (50,498), registered nurse (14,686).
Source: CMS NPPES, individual NPIs by enumeration month, file of Aug 9, 2026; 2026 through July (August is partial).
509,511 new individual NPIs in 2025, more than twice 2015's 224,414
Source: CMS NPPES, individual NPIs by enumeration year, file of Aug 9, 2026 (cms.gov). The 2005 to 2007 enrollment wave and partial 2026 are left out.
NPI, license, DEA, PTAN, UPIN: what each is
| Number | Issued by | What it does | Public lookup |
|---|---|---|---|
| NPI | CMS (NPPES) | Identifies the provider on claims | Yes, NPI lookup |
| State license number | State board | Authorizes practice in that state | Yes, board search |
| DEA number | Drug Enforcement Administration | Registration to prescribe controlled substances | No public search |
| PTAN | Medicare Administrative Contractor | Medicare enrollment number used with the NPI | No public search |
| UPIN | CMS (retired) | Medicare's older physician ID, replaced by the NPI | Retired |
Common questions
Is an NPI the same as a medical license?
No. The NPI identifies a provider for billing. A license is issued by a state board and is what authorizes practice. Verify licenses on the state board search.
Does an NPI ever change?
No. An individual keeps the same NPI for life, across employers, specialties and states. It can be deactivated, but it is not reassigned.
Is it free to get an NPI?
Yes. CMS does not charge for an NPI.
Who must have an NPI?
Every health care provider covered by HIPAA, which means one that sends claims or other standard transactions electronically. Providers who do not bill, and students in training programs, may get one too.
How do I find my own NPI?
Search your name and state in the NPI lookup or on the CMS NPI Registry. The number is also on your NPPES account and on the confirmation CMS sent when it was issued.
Can an NPI be deactivated?
Yes. NPPES deactivates an NPI after a death, when an organization dissolves, or on request, and it can be reactivated. A deactivated NPI is never reassigned.
What do the digits of an NPI mean?
The digits carry no meaning: they say nothing about state, specialty or employer. The tenth digit is a check digit computed with the Luhn formula over the prefix 80840.
Related
- Verify a doctor, in five checks
Identity, license, other states, exclusions, certification.
- Taxonomy code lookup
The NUCC code that says what kind of provider an NPI is.
- Medical license lookup by state
The official search for all 50 states and D.C.
Figures on PlainDoctor are read from the federal files each page names (CMS NPPES, Medicare Part D, MIPS, Open Payments; the HHS-OIG exclusion list only as counts) and from Census population estimates, with the file date shown beside them. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of Aug 9, 2026.