Free tool · CMS NPPES registry
NPI Lookup — Dr Name Search
Physician NPI lookup and doctor name search powered by the CMS NPPES National Plan and Provider Enumeration System. Enter a name — with or without the “Dr” prefix — an NPI number, or an organization. Field-level source provenance on every result.
Search any U.S. healthcare provider by NPI number, name, specialty, or location using federal NPPES, OIG LEIE, PECOS, and CMS QPP data. Every result links to a free provider profile carrying field-level source provenance — the dataset each fact came from and the date it was last refreshed.
Enter an NPI number or doctor name to search the CMS NPPES registry.
Search by doctor name
This tool accepts physician names with or without a “Dr” or “Dr.”prefix. Typing “Dr Sarah Chen” is equivalent to typing “Sarah Chen” — the honorific is stripped automatically before the CMS NPPES query runs. The same applies to “Doctor” spelled out.
This MD NPI lookup, DO NPI search, and general physician NPI lookup covers every healthcare provider enumerated in NPPES — individual practitioners (Type 1) and group organizations (Type 2). Use the provider type filter to restrict results to individuals when doing a doctor NPI search by name.
For common names, adding a specialty — for example, “Sarah Chen Cardiology” — helps narrow the results without leaving the search box.
What is an NPI number, and how does NPI lookup work?
A National Provider Identifier (NPI)is a unique 10-digit 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 (HIPAA) of 1996 and has been mandatory for covered providers since 2007. The NPI replaced the patchwork of older provider numbers — Medicare UPINs, payer-specific IDs, and state-issued codes — with one identifier that follows a provider across every insurer, clearinghouse, and federal program. When a claim is submitted, a referral is written, or a prescription is filed electronically, the NPI is the number that identifies who delivered or ordered the care.
An NPI lookupis the reverse operation: you have an NPI number — or a provider name — and you want the record behind it. Because the NPI is a public identifier with no private patient information attached, the federal registry that stores it is open to anyone. Searching it tells you the provider’s legal name, their primary specialty and taxonomy code, the practice address they registered, the entity type (an individual clinician or an organization), and the dates the record was created and last updated. None of this is protected health information; it is administrative data that providers themselves submit to CMS.
The 10 digits are not random. The first nine are sequential, and the tenth is a check digit calculated with the Luhn algorithm — the same arithmetic that validates credit card numbers. That is why a mistyped NPI is usually caught instantly: change one digit and the check digit no longer matches, so the number is recognizably invalid before any database is ever queried. Fonteum validates the check digit on the client before sending an exact-match lookup, which is why an obviously wrong number returns a clear error rather than an empty result page.
NPI Type 1 vs Type 2: individuals and organizations
Every NPI is one of two kinds, and knowing which one you are looking at changes how you read the result.
A Type 1 NPI (NPI-1) belongs to an individual human clinician — a physician, dentist, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, physical therapist, chiropractor, or any other person who delivers care. A person can hold only one Type 1 NPI for their entire career, even if they move states, change employers, or add specialties. In the registry, a Type 1 record carries a first and last name, an optional credential string such as MD, DO, or NP, and a primary taxonomy code that describes the clinician’s specialty.
A Type 2 NPI (NPI-2) belongs to an organization — a group practice, hospital, clinic, pharmacy, laboratory, or supplier. Organizations frequently hold more than one Type 2 NPI, often one per location or per billing entity. A Type 2 record carries an organization name and an authorized official instead of a personal name. When you run a doctor name search and get a clinic back, you are seeing a Type 2 record; when you search a clinic name and get a person, the filter needs adjusting. The provider-type filter on this tool lets you restrict results to individuals or organizations so a common name does not bury the clinician you want under a list of group practices.
The same physician often appears in both forms: once as their own Type 1 NPI, and again as the authorized official or rendering provider under a Type 2 group. Reading the entity type on each result is the fastest way to tell the clinician apart from the business they bill under.
How to find your own NPI number
If you are a provider and you have lost or forgotten your NPI, you do not need to apply for a new one — you almost certainly already have it, and it is searchable. Type your own name into the search box above, add your state or specialty if your name is common, and your Type 1 record will appear with the 10-digit number. Because the registry is public, this works whether or not you still have access to the original enrollment email.
To changethe information attached to your NPI — a new address, a corrected specialty, a name change after marriage — you sign in to the official NPPES system at nppes.cms.hhs.gov with the CMS Identity & Access (I&A) credentials tied to your record. Fonteum is a read-only window onto the public registry; it cannot edit a provider’s record, and no third-party site can. Only the provider, through NPPES, can update what the registry shows.
If you have never been issued an NPI and you are an eligible provider, you apply for one free of charge through NPPES — there is no cost to obtain or maintain an NPI. New numbers are typically enumerated within a few business days, after which they become visible in the public registry and, from there, in this lookup.
The data sources behind this lookup
The official NPI Registry shows you NPPES and nothing else. Fonteum starts with the same NPPES record and cross-references it against four additional federal datasets, so a single NPI resolves to a fuller picture. Each fact on a result carries a source chip naming the dataset it came from.
- NPPES — the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System, the federal registry of every NPI. This is the identity backbone: name, specialty, taxonomy, registered address, entity type, and the enumeration and last-updated dates.
- CMS PECOS — the Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System, the federal record of whether a provider is enrolled to bill Medicare. On a provider profile, PECOS supplies the Medicare enrollment status.
- OIG LEIE— the Office of Inspector General’s List of Excluded Individuals and Entities. A match here means the provider has been excluded from federal healthcare programs; the profile shows whether an active exclusion is on record for the NPI.
- CMS QPP MIPS— the Quality Payment Program’s Merit-based Incentive Payment System final scores. Where a clinician participated, Fonteum overlays their federal quality score as a performance signal.
State licensing boards sit outside this set by design: licensing data is fragmented across 50 states with no common bulk format, so Fonteum does not represent license status as a single national field. Where a provider record needs a license confirmation, the authoritative source remains the relevant state board. Everything Fonteum does surface is U.S. government public-domain data, joined on the NPI and dated to its source.
Medicare provider lookup
A Medicare provider lookup almost always starts with the NPI, because the NPI is the same number Medicare prints on claims and remittances. Resolve the NPI here to confirm the provider’s identity, specialty, and registered location from NPPES, then open the provider profile to read the CMS PECOS enrollment status. PECOS is the federal system that records whether a provider is enrolled to bill Medicare and in what capacity.
A provider listed in PECOS with an active enrollment record is enrolled in Medicare. If Fonteum finds no PECOS record for an NPI, that means no Medicare enrollment was found for that number — not that the provider is barred or sanctioned. Sanctions are a separate signal: the OIG LEIE exclusion check on each profile is what flags a provider who has been excluded from federal programs. The two questions — “is this provider enrolled in Medicare?” and “is this provider excluded?” — are answered by different federal datasets, and the provider profile keeps them clearly separate.
Medicaid provider lookup
Medicaid is run state by state, so unlike Medicare there is no single national Medicaid enrollment file. Each state Medicaid agency maintains its own provider roster with its own enrollment rules. What ties them together is the NPI: it is the one federal identifier that follows a provider through NPPES, through Medicare PECOS, and through every state Medicaid program they participate in.
The practical workflow is to resolve the NPI here first — confirming name, specialty, and location from the federal NPPES record — and then carry that NPI to the specific state Medicaid portal to read enrollment status for that state. One cross-reference does carry across both programs: the OIG LEIE exclusion list applies to Medicare and Medicaid alike, so a provider flagged as excluded on a Fonteum profile is excluded from billing either program. For the public list of facilities and individuals under federal program sanction, see the Fonteum sanctions hub.
How it works
- Enter a 10-digit NPI number for an exact match, or a provider or organization name (minimum 2 characters).
- Fonteum queries the CMS NPPES NPI Registry public API in real-time — no intermediary database, no cached copy. Results reflect the current federal record.
- Each result displays: provider name, NPI, entity type (Individual or Organization), primary specialty and taxonomy code, practice address, enumeration date, and last-updated date from NPPES.
- Where available, Fonteum overlays the CMS MIPS quality score (QPP PY2023) from our local federal dataset enrichment layer.
- Every result carries a provenance badge: source name, authority, and fetch timestamp.
Frequently asked questions
What is an NPI number?
A 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) under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Every covered healthcare provider must have an NPI. Individual clinicians receive a Type 1 (NPI-1) number; organizations and group practices receive a Type 2 (NPI-2) number.
What is NPPES and where does this data come from?
NPPES stands for the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System, maintained by CMS. It is the official federal registry for all U.S. healthcare provider NPI numbers. Fonteum queries the NPPES NPI Registry public API in real-time, so results reflect the current state of the federal database. Data is US-Government-Works (public domain).
How do I look up an NPI number by name?
Enter the provider's first and last name (e.g. 'John Smith') or an organization name (e.g. 'Mayo Clinic') in the search box. You can also filter by provider type — Individual or Organization. For an exact match, enter the 10-digit NPI number directly. Results include specialty, location, enumeration date, and last updated date from the federal NPPES registry.
What does the MIPS score on a provider result mean?
When available, Fonteum overlays the CMS Quality Payment Program (QPP) MIPS final score for the provider. MIPS (Merit-based Incentive Payment System) is a federal program that scores eligible clinicians on quality, cost, improvement activities, and promoting interoperability. A higher score indicates better performance on these federal quality measures. Scores shown are for performance year 2023 from the CMS QPP public dataset.
How do I do a dr NPI search?
Type the doctor's name exactly as you would say it — with or without the 'Dr' or 'Dr.' prefix. The search tool automatically strips the honorific before querying the CMS NPPES registry, so 'Dr Sarah Chen' and 'Sarah Chen' return the same results. You can also add a specialty keyword to narrow results.
Can I search NPI by doctor name?
Yes. Enter the doctor's first and last name in the search box — the tool performs a physician NPI lookup against the CMS NPPES registry in real-time. For common names, adding a city or specialty helps narrow results. For an exact match, use the 10-digit NPI number directly.
Is dr NPI search free?
Yes, the dr NPI search tool on Fonteum is completely free. No account, no subscription, and no API key required. The underlying data is U.S. Government-Works public domain, sourced directly from the CMS NPPES NPI Registry.
What does NPI stand for?
NPI stands for National Provider Identifier. It is the standard unique identifier for healthcare providers in the U.S., required under HIPAA for all covered healthcare entities. The 10-digit number is assigned by CMS and used across insurance claims, billing systems, and federal databases.
How is Fonteum's dr NPI search different from npiregistry.cms.hhs.gov?
Both tools query the same underlying CMS NPPES data. Fonteum adds two layers not available on the official registry: (1) a MIPS quality score overlay from the CMS Quality Payment Program dataset, giving each physician a performance signal; and (2) field-level source provenance on every result, showing which federal dataset each data point came from and when it was last refreshed. Fonteum also accepts 'Dr' name prefixes and strips them automatically.
How do I do a Medicare provider lookup?
Start with the provider's NPI number — it is the same identifier Medicare uses on claims. Look up the NPI here to confirm the provider's name, specialty, and registered location from CMS NPPES, then open the provider profile to see CMS PECOS enrollment status. PECOS (the Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System) is the federal record of whether a provider is enrolled to bill Medicare. A provider listed in PECOS with an active enrollment record is enrolled in Medicare; the absence of a PECOS record means Fonteum found no Medicare enrollment for that NPI, not that the provider is barred.
How do I do a Medicaid provider lookup?
Medicaid is administered state by state, so each state Medicaid agency keeps its own provider enrollment file. The NPI is the common thread across all of them: it is the single federal identifier that follows a provider through NPPES, Medicare PECOS, and every state Medicaid program. Use this tool to resolve the NPI and confirm identity from the federal NPPES record, then check the relevant state Medicaid portal for that NPI's enrollment status. Fonteum also cross-references the OIG LEIE exclusion list, which applies to both Medicare and Medicaid billing.
Is there an NPPES API?
Yes. CMS publishes the official NPPES NPI Registry API at npiregistry.cms.hhs.gov/api, which Fonteum queries in real time for this tool. Fonteum also exposes its own enriched endpoints: GET /api/npi-lookup returns name and NPI search results with a MIPS overlay and source provenance, and GET /v1/npi/{npi} returns a composite record joining NPPES, PECOS, OIG LEIE, and CMS QPP for a single NPI. Both are free, require no API key, and are documented in the Fonteum API reference.
Methodology & data freshness
The NPI and name search on this page is a live query. When you submit, Fonteum calls the CMS NPPES NPI Registry public API in real time and returns whatever the federal database holds at that moment — there is no intermediary copy, no nightly snapshot, and no stale cache standing between you and the registry. That is why the enumeration date and the last-updated date shown on each result come straight from NPPES: they describe when the provider created and last edited their own record, not when Fonteum fetched it.
The cross-referenced datasets on a provider profile — PECOS enrollment, OIG LEIE exclusions, and CMS QPP MIPS scores — are refreshed on their own federal cadences and stored with the snapshot date of the release Fonteum ingested. CMS republishes PECOS and the QPP scores on an annual cycle; the OIG updates the LEIE exclusion file monthly. Each of those facts carries a source chip with the dataset name and the snapshot date, so you can always see how current a given field is rather than assuming everything was refreshed together.
Fonteum does not edit, score, or re-rank the underlying federal data. The MIPS overlay is the clinician’s own published score; the exclusion flag is a direct match against the LEIE; the enrollment status is the PECOS value as released. The full join logic and refresh schedule are documented on the methodology page.
Privacy & ethical use
NPI records are public by law. The registry contains administrative provider data — name, specialty, registered business address, and identifiers — and deliberately excludes any patient information. Searching an NPI exposes nothing about the people a provider has cared for; it is professional information that providers submit to CMS as a condition of participating in the healthcare system.
Public does not mean consequence-free. The registered address on an NPI is frequently a home address for solo and small-practice clinicians, so the responsible use of this data is to confirm a provider’s identity, credentials, specialty, and program standing — not to surveil, harass, or build contact lists for unsolicited marketing. Fonteum presents the registry as a transparency tool for patients, researchers, and other providers confirming who they are dealing with. It does not sell provider contact lists, and it asks that anyone citing this data link back rather than scrape it.
Related Fonteum research
The same federal provider graph that powers this lookup also drives Fonteum’s healthcare research. If you are tracing facility quality or program-integrity questions from a provider record, these studies start where the NPI ends:
- Nursing homes banned from Medicare admissions — facilities under a denial of payment for new admissions, drawn from CMS enforcement data.
- Nursing-home staffing deserts by county — county-level analysis of where nurse staffing falls furthest below federal benchmarks, from PBJ daily staffing data.
- Provider directory — browse source-provenanced profiles by specialty and state, and read the full record behind any NPI.
Source & limitations
Data source: CMS NPPES National Plan and Provider Enumeration System, operated by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Public domain (US-Government-Works). Fonteum queries the NPPES public API in real-time; no data is cached on Fonteum servers.
Limitations:NPPES records reflect provider self-attestation and are not independently audited by CMS for accuracy of specialty, address, or status. Deactivated NPIs may still appear in search results. Address data reflects the provider’s registered practice location, which may differ from current practice. MIPS scores are available only for individual clinicians who participated in the QPP PY2023 program.
Free to cite with attribution to Fonteum Research and a link to this tool.