NPI Lookup Guide
What an NPI is, how to look one up, and how it connects to DEA, PECOS, Medicaid, taxonomy & state data
What Is an NPI (National Provider Identifier)?
The National Provider Identifier (NPI) is a unique 10-digit identification number issued to healthcare providers in the United States by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). It was created under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and is administered through the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES). Since May 23, 2007, the NPI has been the mandatory standard provider identifier for all HIPAA-covered electronic healthcare transactions, replacing the legacy UPIN and a patchwork of payer-specific provider numbers.
An NPI is intentionally "intelligence-free": the ten digits carry no embedded information about the provider's specialty, state, or type. The final digit is a check digit calculated with the Luhn algorithm (with the prefix 80840 applied), which lets any system validate an NPI's format instantly. A provider keeps the same NPI for their entire career, even if they move states, change their name, or switch employers. This permanence is exactly why the NPI is the anchor for provider verification, claims processing, and credentialing across the entire US healthcare system.
What Is an NPI Lookup?
An NPI lookup (also written NPI number lookup, NPI registry lookup, or provider NPI lookup) is simply a search of the NPPES database to retrieve a provider's official record. People run an NPI lookup to confirm a provider exists and is active, to find a provider's NPI number for a claim, to verify a specialty or practice address, or to cross-check identity before credentialing. The same search is described many ways, "npi number lookup," "nppes npi lookup," "npi provider lookup," "healthcare provider npi lookup," "npi lookup by name," "npi lookup tool," and "free npi lookup" all refer to the same underlying NPPES query.
This site performs that lookup live against the official CMS NPPES API, so results are real-time and identical to the government source, with a cleaner interface, state pre-filtering, and connected tools for DEA, PECOS, Medicaid, PTAN, taxonomy, and CAQH cross-verification.
How to Do an NPI Number Lookup (Step by Step)
There are three primary ways to look up an NPI, matching the three tabs on our homepage search tool:
- By NPI number, If you already have the 10-digit NPI, enter it for an exact match. This is the fastest way to verify a specific provider and confirm active/deactivated status.
- By provider name, Enter a last name (optionally a first name and state) to find an individual provider. This is the most common "npi lookup by name" workflow.
- By organization, Enter a facility, practice, hospital, or pharmacy name to find Type 2 organizational NPIs.
For faster, more accurate results, add a state filter, a name-plus-state search dramatically narrows common names. If a provider does not appear, try the last name alone, check spelling, or search by a known NPI number instead. Deactivated providers still appear with a deactivation flag, which is useful when auditing historical claims.
NPI Lookup by Name
An NPI lookup by name uses the NPPES name index. The registry supports wildcard matching, so partial last names return broader result sets. Because many providers share common surnames, the best practice is to combine last name + first initial + state. Each result returns the provider's NPI number, enumeration type, primary taxonomy (specialty), practice address, and, where available, the state license number and licensing state. This is the foundation for a physician NPI lookup, doctor NPI lookup, nurse practitioner NPI lookup, dentist NPI lookup, pharmacist NPI lookup, or therapist NPI lookup: they are all the same name search filtered by specialty.
The NPPES Registry and How It Works
The NPPES (National Plan and Provider Enumeration System) is the CMS system that assigns and stores NPIs. When a provider applies at nppes.cms.hhs.gov, CMS validates the application and issues a unique NPI, publishing the disclosable record to the public registry within 1–3 business days. NPPES is refreshed daily with new enrollments, address updates, deactivations, and taxonomy changes, and CMS releases a complete bulk data file monthly (with weekly incremental files) at download.cms.gov.
Approximate active healthcare providers, largest states
Source: state-level NPPES provider counts. Across all 51 jurisdictions this site tracks roughly 2.0 million state-attributed provider records.
Type 1 vs Type 2 NPI
NPPES contains two record types. Type 1 (NPI-1) is for individual human providers, physicians, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, therapists, and other practitioners. Each individual has exactly one Type 1 NPI for life. Type 2 (NPI-2) is for organizations, hospitals, group practices, clinics, pharmacies, and nursing facilities. A single organization may hold multiple Type 2 NPIs if it operates distinct locations or service lines under different tax IDs. Understanding this distinction matters for billing: claims frequently carry both a rendering (individual, Type 1) NPI and a billing (organization, Type 2) NPI.
NPI Taxonomy Codes (Specialty Codes)
Every NPI record includes one or more taxonomy codes from the NUCC Health Care Provider Taxonomy code set. These 10-character alphanumeric codes identify a provider's classification, specialization, and, for organizations, facility type. The primary taxonomy is the specialty a provider uses most; secondary taxonomies capture additional practice areas. Taxonomy codes drive claim routing, network directories, and specialty-filtered searches. Common examples:
| Taxonomy code | Classification | Provider group |
|---|---|---|
207Q00000X | Family Medicine | Physician (MD/DO) |
208D00000X | General Practice | Physician (MD/DO) |
207R00000X | Internal Medicine | Physician (MD/DO) |
207RC0000X | Cardiovascular Disease | Physician (MD/DO) |
208000000X | Pediatrics | Physician (MD/DO) |
207V00000X | Obstetrics & Gynecology | Physician (MD/DO) |
363L00000X | Nurse Practitioner | Advanced Practice Nurse |
363LF0000X | Family Nurse Practitioner | Advanced Practice Nurse |
367500000X | Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) | Advanced Practice Nurse |
363A00000X | Physician Assistant | PA |
225100000X | Physical Therapist | Therapist |
183500000X | Pharmacist | Pharmacy Personnel |
3336C0003X | Community/Retail Pharmacy | Organization (Type 2) |
282N00000X | General Acute Care Hospital | Organization (Type 2) |
You can perform a taxonomy code lookup by NPI (find a provider's specialty from their number) or the reverse, search NPPES by taxonomy description to list all providers of a given type in a state or city.
NPI Lookup by State
Because providers must be licensed in the state where they practice, state-filtered NPI lookups are one of the most common searches, "npi lookup texas," "florida npi lookup," "npi lookup california," "npi lookup ohio," and so on. Each of our 51 state pages pre-filters the NPPES search to that jurisdiction and links to the relevant state medical board for license verification. The table below lists every state with its approximate active provider count and licensing authority.
| State | Abbr | Approx. active providers | State medical board |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | AL | 29,000 | Alabama Board of Medical Examiners |
| Alaska | AK | 5,200 | Alaska State Medical Board |
| Arizona | AZ | 42,000 | Arizona Medical Board |
| Arkansas | AR | 16,000 | Arkansas State Medical Board |
| California | CA | 220,000 | Medical Board of California |
| Colorado | CO | 36,000 | Colorado Medical Board |
| Connecticut | CT | 25,000 | Connecticut Medical Examining Board |
| Delaware | DE | 6,500 | Delaware Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline |
| Florida | FL | 130,000 | Florida Board of Medicine |
| Georgia | GA | 60,000 | Georgia Composite Medical Board |
| Hawaii | HI | 7,200 | Hawaii Medical Board |
| Idaho | ID | 9,500 | Idaho State Board of Medicine |
| Illinois | IL | 88,000 | Illinois Medical Licensing Board |
| Indiana | IN | 38,000 | Indiana Medical Licensing Board |
| Iowa | IA | 18,000 | Iowa Board of Medicine |
| Kansas | KS | 17,000 | Kansas Board of Healing Arts |
| Kentucky | KY | 25,000 | Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure |
| Louisiana | LA | 28,000 | Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners |
| Maine | ME | 8,500 | Maine Board of Licensure in Medicine |
| Maryland | MD | 37,000 | Maryland Board of Physicians |
| Massachusetts | MA | 55,000 | Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine |
| Michigan | MI | 64,000 | Michigan Board of Medicine |
| Minnesota | MN | 37,000 | Minnesota Board of Medical Practice |
| Mississippi | MS | 12,000 | Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure |
| Missouri | MO | 39,000 | Missouri State Board of Registration for the Healing Arts |
| Montana | MT | 7,000 | Montana Board of Medical Examiners |
| Nebraska | NE | 14,000 | Nebraska Division of Public Health |
| Nevada | NV | 17,000 | Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners |
| New Hampshire | NH | 9,500 | New Hampshire Board of Medicine |
| New Jersey | NJ | 62,000 | New Jersey State Board of Medical Examiners |
| New Mexico | NM | 10,500 | New Mexico Medical Board |
| New York | NY | 155,000 | New York State Board for Medicine |
| North Carolina | NC | 58,000 | North Carolina Medical Board |
| North Dakota | ND | 4,200 | North Dakota Board of Medicine |
| Ohio | OH | 75,000 | State Medical Board of Ohio |
| Oklahoma | OK | 22,000 | Oklahoma State Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision |
| Oregon | OR | 24,000 | Oregon Medical Board |
| Pennsylvania | PA | 97,000 | Pennsylvania State Board of Medicine |
| Rhode Island | RI | 7,500 | Rhode Island Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline |
| South Carolina | SC | 28,000 | South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners |
| South Dakota | SD | 5,800 | South Dakota Board of Medical and Osteopathic Examiners |
| Tennessee | TN | 42,000 | Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners |
| Texas | TX | 155,000 | Texas Medical Board |
| Utah | UT | 18,000 | Utah Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing |
| Vermont | VT | 4,800 | Vermont Board of Medical Practice |
| Virginia | VA | 57,000 | Virginia Board of Medicine |
| Washington | WA | 44,000 | Washington Medical Commission |
| Washington DC | DC | 12,000 | DC Board of Medicine |
| West Virginia | WV | 9,500 | West Virginia Board of Medicine |
| Wisconsin | WI | 37,000 | Wisconsin Medical Examining Board |
| Wyoming | WY | 3,200 | Wyoming Board of Medicine |
Provider counts are approximate NPPES state totals used for planning and comparison.
NPI vs DEA, PECOS, PTAN, Tax ID & CAQH
The NPI is the anchor identifier, but complete provider verification often means cross-referencing several other IDs. NPPES does not store DEA numbers, Medicaid IDs, or CAQH profiles, those are verified separately, using the NPI as the linking key. This is why "dea license lookup by npi," "pecos lookup by npi," "ptan number lookup by npi," "tax id lookup by npi," and "caqh lookup by npi" are such frequent follow-on searches. Here is how the major provider identifiers compare:
| Identifier | What it is | Issued by | Primary use | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NPI | 10-digit national provider ID | CMS / NPPES | All HIPAA transactions, claims, eligibility | Never expires; one per individual |
| DEA Number | Controlled-substance registration | DEA (Dept. of Justice) | Prescribing scheduled drugs | Renews every 3 years |
| PTAN | Provider Transaction Access Number | Medicare Administrative Contractor | Medicare claims / provider portal | Tied to Medicare enrollment |
| PECOS ID | Medicare enrollment record ID | CMS / PECOS | Medicare enrollment & revalidation | Managed in PECOS |
| Tax ID (EIN/TIN) | Employer/tax identifier | IRS | Billing entity, 1099 reporting | Per business entity |
| CAQH Provider ID | Credentialing profile ID | CAQH ProView | Payer credentialing applications | Provider-maintained |
| State License # | Authority to practice | State medical/nursing board | Legal practice in a state | Renews per state cycle |
Use our connected tools to move between them: DEA Lookup by NPI, PECOS NPI Lookup, PTAN Lookup by NPI, Tax ID Lookup by NPI, and CAQH Lookup by NPI. Each starts from the NPPES identity this tool returns.
Medicaid and Medicare NPI Lookup
For Medicare, a provider must be enrolled in PECOS (Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System) and is issued a PTAN by their Medicare Administrative Contractor. The NPI links the NPPES identity to the PECOS enrollment record; verifying "npi lookup pecos certified" status confirms a provider can bill Medicare. For Medicaid, each state runs its own enrollment and issues a state Medicaid provider ID, so a "medicaid npi lookup" or "medicaid provider number lookup by npi" starts with the NPI here, then cross-references the state Medicaid agency. See our Medicaid NPI Lookup guide for the full workflow.
The NPPES Public API
CMS provides a free REST API at https://npiregistry.cms.hhs.gov/api/?version=2.1 with no API key required. It accepts parameters including number, first_name, last_name, organization_name, state, city, postal_code, and taxonomy_description, with wildcard support and pagination via limit/skip. It returns complete JSON provider records. This tool queries that API directly from your browser, so your searches are real-time and are never logged on our servers. Developers building an "npi lookup api" integration can read our NPI Registry guide for endpoint details.
NPI in Credentialing and Medical Billing
The NPI appears throughout the claims lifecycle. On HIPAA 837P (professional) and 837I (institutional) claims, the billing, rendering, referring, and supervising NPIs each occupy defined loops; payers validate every NPI against enrollment records before adjudication. An NPI that is inactive, mismatched to the enrolled specialty, or not enrolled with the payer causes rejection or denial. In credentialing, an NPI verification is step one of primary-source verification, followed by state license, DEA, PECOS/Medicare, Medicaid, board certification, and NPDB checks. Running an NPI lookup before claim submission or credentialing prevents costly downstream errors.
A Short History of the NPI
The NPI exists because of a simple pre-2007 problem: every insurer, Medicare contractor, and state program issued its own provider numbers, so a single physician might carry dozens of different identifiers. Reconciling them across claims was slow, error-prone, and expensive. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) directed the federal government to adopt a single standard identifier for providers. After a rulemaking process, CMS published the final NPI rule in 2004, launched NPPES to assign the numbers, and set a national compliance deadline of May 23, 2007 (with a one-year contingency period for small health plans into 2008). Since then, the NPI has been the mandatory provider identifier on every HIPAA-standard electronic transaction, claims, eligibility checks, remittances, prior authorizations, and referrals. The legacy UPIN (Unique Physician Identification Number) system it replaced was fully retired, though older records sometimes still reference UPINs, which is why "upin lookup by npi" remains a real search.
NPI Format and How to Validate an NPI Number
An NPI is a 10-digit number where the first nine digits are the identifier and the tenth is a check digit computed with the Luhn algorithm. Before running the checksum, the industry prefix 80840 is prepended (this prefix identifies the number as a US health-industry identifier). The check digit lets any billing system instantly detect a mistyped NPI without querying NPPES. Here is the validation logic in plain terms:
- Prepend
80840to the first 9 digits of the NPI. - Starting from the rightmost of those digits and moving left, double every second digit; if a doubled value exceeds 9, subtract 9.
- Sum all the resulting digits.
- The check digit is the amount needed to round that sum up to the next multiple of 10.
If the calculated check digit matches the tenth digit of the NPI, the number is well-formed. A well-formed NPI is not necessarily an active, assigned NPI, only an NPPES lookup confirms that a number is real and belongs to a specific provider. This is the difference between "npi validation" (format check) and "npi verification" (registry confirmation). Our tool does the latter, returning the live NPPES record.
Every Field in an NPPES Record
When you run an NPI lookup, the disclosable NPPES record can include all of the following fields. Knowing what is available helps you get the most out of each search:
- NPI number, the 10-digit identifier.
- Enumeration type, NPI-1 (individual) or NPI-2 (organization).
- Provider name, legal name, and for organizations the legal business name plus any "doing business as" name.
- Enumeration date & last update date, when the NPI was assigned and last modified.
- Status, active or deactivated (with deactivation/reactivation dates when applicable).
- Mailing address and primary practice location, street, city, state, ZIP, phone, and fax.
- Taxonomy codes, primary and secondary specialty classifications, each flagged with the state license and licensing state used for that taxonomy.
- Other identifiers, legacy identifiers such as Medicaid IDs or older payer numbers a provider chose to disclose.
- Authorized official, for organizations, the named individual responsible for the NPI.
- Sole proprietor / organization subpart flags, administrative attributes used in enrollment.
Note the fields NPPES does not contain: DEA numbers, Social Security Numbers, dates of birth, malpractice history, and board-certification status are never published in the public registry. Those require separate primary-source verification.
NPI Deactivation, Reactivation, and Number Changes
An NPI can be deactivated, for example when a provider retires, dies, or an organization dissolves, and it will then appear in NPPES with a deactivation flag rather than disappearing. A deactivated NPI is never reissued to a different provider, preserving the integrity of historical claims. If a provider returns to practice, the same NPI can be reactivated. Because an NPI is permanent, a name change (such as after marriage) updates the existing record rather than generating a new number. When auditing old claims, always check status: billing under a deactivated NPI is a common denial cause.
NPI Lookup by Provider Type
Although the search is the same, different professions have their own common lookup patterns. Here is how NPI lookup applies across the major provider types:
- Physicians (MD/DO), a physician NPI lookup returns the doctor's Type 1 NPI, primary specialty taxonomy, and practice location. Physicians are the largest single group in NPPES.
- Nurse practitioners & CRNAs, advanced practice nurses each hold a Type 1 NPI with taxonomy codes like 363L (NP) or 3675 (CRNA); an "npi lookup for nurse practitioner" is a routine credentialing step.
- Physician assistants, PAs carry taxonomy 363A and their own NPI, used on rendering-provider claim lines.
- Pharmacists & pharmacies, an individual pharmacist has a Type 1 NPI (183500000X) while the retail/community pharmacy has a Type 2 NPI (3336C...). "pharmacy npi lookup" usually means the organizational NPI.
- Dentists, a dentist NPI lookup returns the DDS/DMD's Type 1 record and dental taxonomy.
- Physical, occupational & speech therapists, each therapy discipline has its own taxonomy family; "physical therapy npi number lookup" is common for rehab billing.
- Behavioral health, psychologists, LCSWs, and counselors each have distinct taxonomies and Type 1 NPIs.
- Facilities & groups, hospitals, clinics, home health agencies, hospices, and skilled nursing facilities hold Type 2 NPIs; a "group npi lookup" or "facility npi lookup" returns the organizational record used as the billing NPI.
Organizational, Group, and Facility NPIs
Organizations are a distinct and frequently searched category. A hospital system, a physician group, a laboratory, a pharmacy chain location, or a nursing facility each needs a Type 2 NPI to bill. Large systems often hold many Type 2 NPIs, one per subpart, location, or tax ID, which is why an "organization npi lookup" or "hospital npi lookup" can return multiple related records. On a claim, the organization's Type 2 NPI typically serves as the billing provider while an individual's Type 1 NPI serves as the rendering provider. Matching the two correctly is essential for clean claim adjudication and is a routine part of provider-directory maintenance.
NPI Data for Developers and Bulk Users
Beyond one-off searches, CMS supports programmatic and bulk access. The NPPES public API (documented in our NPI Registry guide) is ideal for real-time, per-provider lookups inside an application. For large-scale needs, loading a full provider directory, running batch verification, or analytics, CMS publishes the complete NPPES data dissemination file monthly, plus weekly incremental files, free at download.cms.gov. The bulk file is pipe-delimited and contains every active NPI with its full disclosable record. Health plans, clearinghouses, and healthcare IT vendors use these files to keep directories current and to support bulk NPI lookup workflows that would be impractical one search at a time.
NPI Glossary
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| NPI | National Provider Identifier, the 10-digit provider ID. |
| NPPES | National Plan and Provider Enumeration System, the CMS system that assigns and publishes NPIs. |
| CMS | Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the federal agency that runs NPPES. |
| Type 1 / Type 2 | Individual vs organizational NPI. |
| Taxonomy code | NUCC specialty/classification code attached to each NPI. |
| PECOS | Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System, Medicare enrollment. |
| PTAN | Provider Transaction Access Number, a Medicare provider number tied to the NPI. |
| DEA number | Drug Enforcement Administration registration for prescribing controlled substances. |
| UPIN | Legacy physician identifier retired when the NPI became mandatory. |
| 45 CFR Part 162 | The federal regulation that makes NPPES data public. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is an NPI lookup free?
Yes. NPPES is a public federal database and every NPI lookup is free, no registration, login, or fee. This tool searches the same official CMS data at no cost.
How do I look up my own NPI number?
Use the 'By Provider Name' search, enter your last name and practice state, and your NPI, specialty, and address will appear. NPIs are public, so your own record is searchable by anyone.
What is the difference between an NPI lookup and the NPI Registry?
They are the same thing. The NPI Registry (NPPES) is the database; an NPI lookup is a search of it. Official searches at npiregistry.cms.hhs.gov and searches through this tool query the identical CMS source.
Can I look up a provider's DEA number from their NPI?
NPPES does not contain DEA numbers, so you cannot read a DEA number directly from an NPI lookup. Our DEA Lookup by NPI tool retrieves the provider's NPPES identity as the first step; the DEA number itself is verified separately with the DEA.
How current is NPI lookup data?
The NPPES registry is updated daily, and this tool queries it live via the official API, so results reflect the latest CMS data including new enrollments, address changes, and deactivations.
Can I do an NPI lookup by name without knowing the number?
Yes. Enter the provider's last name (adding first name and state improves accuracy) to find the NPI number, specialty, and practice address.
Does an NPI ever expire or change?
No. An individual keeps the same Type 1 NPI for their entire career. It does not expire, though a provider's record can be deactivated (for example, on retirement) and later reactivated.
How many NPIs exist and who has one?
There are over 8 million active NPIs. Any HIPAA-covered healthcare provider, physicians, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, therapists, and organizations like hospitals and pharmacies, is required to have one.
Can I look up an NPI by state?
Yes. Use our 51 state pages to search NPPES pre-filtered to a specific state, such as Texas, Florida, California, New York, or Ohio, each linked to that state's medical board.
What is a taxonomy code in an NPI record?
A taxonomy code is a 10-character NUCC code identifying the provider's specialty or, for organizations, facility type. Every NPI record has at least one primary taxonomy code.
Look Up an NPI Now
Start a free NPI number lookup on our homepage tool, search by state, or explore the connected DEA, PECOS, Medicaid, and CAQH verification tools. All data comes live from the official CMS NPPES registry.