The National Provider Identifier (NPI) is a one-of-a-kind, government-issued standard identification number for individual health-care providers and organizations including clinics, hospitals, colleges, and community practices.
Entity Type 1 (Individual) NPIs are those that identify a single person, such as a solo practice dentist. Entity Type 2 (Organization) NPIs are used to identify entities such as hospitals, group practices, and specialist companies.
Individuals and organizations in the health-care industry must receive an NPI if they are HIPAA-covered entities. A “insured entity” is a health care provider that sends some health information in electronic form, such as when filing a claim.
How to apply for NPI?
You may apply for an NPI number through CMS’ web-based application process, a file interchange system, or regular mail. You can apply for their NPI in one of the following ways:
- Fill out the online form at https://nppes.cms.hhs.gov. It takes about 20 minutes to complete this process.
- To submit a paper submission, call the Enumerator call center at 1-800-465-3203 or TTY 1-800-692-2326.
- To submit a paper submission, send an email to customerservice@npienumerator.com.
- Request a paper application by mail:
NPI Enumerator
P.O. Box 6059
Fargo, ND 58108-6059
How much does an NPI number cost?
Obtaining an NPI is free of charge. Audiologists and speech-language pathologists may register for their NPI online for free, or by contacting the NPI Enumerator to submit a paper submission. Applying online takes less than 5 minutes and the number is released within a few minutes.
The National Provider Identifier (NPI) Registry Public Search is a free archive of all active NPI information. It allows you to perform NPI Number Lookups of doctors & various medical entities for their unique NPI number.