NPI Lookup
Search the official CMS NPPES registry by provider name, organization, or 10-digit NPI number. See the NPI type, primary specialty, and practice location — straight from the source.
Right provider, right identifiers, clean claim.
A wrong or mismatched NPI is a fast route to a rejected claim. Medmio validates provider and organization identifiers as part of claim preparation, alongside the ICD-10, CPT & HCPCS codes CodeSightTM suggests from the note.
What an NPI is
The National Provider Identifier (NPI) is a unique 10-digit number that identifies a health care provider in standard HIPAA transactions — claims, eligibility, remittance, and more. It is issued by CMS through NPPES (the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System), never reused, and carries no hidden meaning in its digits (the last digit is a check digit).
There are two kinds. A Type 1 NPI identifies an individual provider; a Type 2 identifies an organization or group. The same clinician often appears under both — their personal Type 1 NPI and the Type 2 NPI of the practice they bill under — so when you verify a claim, make sure the rendering and billing NPIs are the ones you intend.
The NPI was created under HIPAA as the single standard identifier for health care providers, replacing a patchwork of payer-specific numbers such as the legacy Medicare UPIN. CMS stood up NPPES to assign and publish the numbers — enumeration began in 2006, and providers were required to use the NPI in standard transactions by May 23, 2007. The registry now holds millions of active NPIs and is refreshed daily by CMS. (See the CMS National Provider Identifier Standard.)
Frequently Asked Questions
An NPI (National Provider Identifier) is a unique 10-digit number assigned to HIPAA-covered health care providers in the United States. It is issued by CMS through the NPPES system and is used to identify the provider on claims, eligibility checks, and other HIPAA transactions. An NPI does not change and contains no embedded meaning about the provider.
A Type 1 NPI (NPI-1) identifies an individual provider - a physician, nurse practitioner, therapist, and so on. A Type 2 NPI (NPI-2) identifies an organization or group, such as a practice, hospital, or supplier. A single clinician can be associated with both: their own Type 1 NPI and the Type 2 NPI of the group they bill under.
Yes. NPPES NPI registry data is public information, disclosable under the Freedom of Information Act. This tool searches the official public registry live; it does not expose anything that is not already published by CMS. No protected health information is involved.
For an individual, enter the provider's first and last name together (add a state to narrow the results); for a clinic, hospital, or group, search by organization name. To verify a specific number, paste the 10-digit NPI and the tool returns that record directly.
Results come live from the CMS NPPES NPI Registry, which is the system of record for NPIs. Because the lookup queries NPPES in real time, you see the current published record. Always confirm critical details against the official NPPES registry.
No. Your query is sent to the NPPES registry through a Medmio proxy and the results are returned to your browser; Medmio does not store the searches. The data returned is public registry information, not patient data.