What is an NPI?
An NPI (National Provider Identifier) is a unique 10-digit number that identifies a health care provider in the United States. It was created under HIPAA and is issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) through the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES). Any provider who bills insurance — and most who don’t — needs one. There are more than 8 million active NPIs, and a provider keeps the same number for life, even after moving, marrying, or changing specialty.
Type 1 vs. Type 2
- Type 1 — individuals: physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, dentists, therapists, pharmacists, and other people who deliver care.
- Type 2 — organizations: hospitals, group practices, pharmacies, laboratories, imaging centers, and equipment suppliers.
NPI vs. taxonomy code vs. PECOS vs. CLIA
Four different identifiers show up around U.S. providers, and they answer different questions. Here’s how they compare:
| Identifier | What it is | Issued by | Tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| NPI | A unique 10-digit provider ID | CMS (NPPES) | Who the provider or organization is |
| Taxonomy code | A specialty/role classification code | NUCC | What they practice (e.g., Pediatrics) |
| PECOS | A Medicare enrollment record | CMS | Whether they can bill Medicare |
| CLIA | A clinical-laboratory certificate | CMS | Whether a lab may test human samples |
drfind searches by NPI and taxonomy today; PECOS and CLIA cross-checks are on the roadmap for team accounts.
How to read a provider record
Every result is built from the official NPPES fields. Here’s what each one means:
| NPI | The provider’s permanent 10-digit identifier. |
| Type | Individual (a person) or Organization (a facility or group). |
| Specialty | The primary taxonomy, shown as a plain-English label. |
| Practice location | The primary practice address, city, state, and ZIP on file. |
| Phone | The practice phone number the provider registered. |
How drfind is different from the official registry
The data is the same — what changes is the experience. The official CMS NPPES registry is authoritative but built around a multi-field form and exact codes. drfind lets you ask in plain English (“pediatricians in Houston, TX”), returns clean records with no ads or distractions, and resolves specialties and locations for you. We mirror the official source and link back to it, and we never invent or embellish a provider’s details. For anything consequential — credentialing, claims, clinical decisions — verify against the official registry.
Data & methodology
Records come straight from CMS’s public NPPES Data Dissemination files, with specialty labels from the NUCC Healthcare Provider Taxonomy. We apply the NPPES weekly delta files plus a full monthly reconcile, so practice addresses, specialties, and status stay current. Searches are answered on demand from a queryable copy of the registry — we don’t publish a separate page for every provider, and we store only the official fields, nothing we can’t trace back to the source.
Curious what that actually involves? See how the raw NPPES database is structured — the files, the 330+ columns, and why it’s so hard to use. Or browse all our guides on NPI numbers, taxonomy codes, and verifying providers.
Frequently asked questions
Is this the same data as the CMS registry?
Yes — every record comes directly from the official NPPES registry. drfind just makes it searchable in plain English and shows it without the clutter.
How fresh is the data?
We apply the NPPES weekly delta files plus a full monthly reconcile against the official source.
What can I search?
An NPI number, a provider or organization name, or a plain question like “pediatric dentists in Austin.” Paste a 10-digit NPI for an exact match.
Do you add, change, or rank provider details?
No. We show only the fields the official record contains, and never generate descriptions, scores, or rankings.
What is an NPI number?
A unique 10-digit National Provider Identifier issued by CMS to U.S. health care providers and organizations. See “What is an NPI?” above for the full explanation.
Why do some results show organizations instead of people?
Hospitals, group practices, pharmacies, and labs have their own Type 2 NPIs, so they appear alongside individual providers.
Can I rely on drfind for credentialing or billing?
Treat drfind as a fast lookup, not a system of record. For consequential decisions, verify against the official CMS registry, which we link to.
Is drfind affiliated with CMS or NPPES?
No. drfind is an independent tool built on public government data.
A record looks wrong — how is it fixed?
Providers maintain their own NPPES records at nppes.cms.hhs.gov. We mirror the official source, so corrections there flow through on the next refresh.