What NPPES is
NPPES stands for National Plan and Provider Enumeration System. CMS built it to issue National Provider Identifiers, as required by HIPAA, and it started handing them out in 2005. Providers use NPPES to apply for an NPI, change their details, and deactivate the number when they stop practicing.
The NPI Registry is the public side of NPPES: a search page and an API showing the record of every active NPI. CMS also publishes the whole thing as a downloadable file every month.
What is in a registry record
- NPI, entity type (individual or organization) and enumeration date
- Name, credential and, for organizations, the authorized official
- Up to 15 taxonomy codes, with the license number and state for each
- Practice location and mailing address, phone and fax
- Other identifiers, such as state Medicaid numbers
- The date the record was last updated
It does not contain Social Security numbers, dates of birth, Medicare enrollment status or malpractice history.
NPPES lookup on this site
This site reads the official NPPES API, so the records are the same. The differences are speed and extras: one search box instead of a form, up to 50 results on a page, a page per provider that you can bookmark or share, deactivation dates from the CMS report, and a bulk tool for whole lists.
We are not part of CMS. To apply for or change an NPI you have to use NPPES itself.