SimpleNPINPI questions
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Is my NPI number public?

Answer: Yes, the NPI and the information on the public record are public: name, NPI, taxonomy, practice and mailing address, phone, license numbers and enumeration date. CMS publishes them in the NPPES registry and the downloadable data file. Your Social Security number, date of birth and birth place are never published.

What anyone can see

Name, credential, NPI, entity type, primary and other taxonomies, license numbers and states, practice location and mailing address, phone and fax, enumeration date and last update. Search it with the free NPI lookup. Payers, employers and patients use it to verify providers.

What stays private

Social Security number, date of birth, birth state or country, sex, and the contact person's details. CMS uses them to match your identity and never releases them. SimpleNPI encrypts them, uses them once to file, and deletes them once the application is filed.

Using a home address

Many solo providers use their home as the practice location, which makes it public. If that is a concern, use a professional address or a registered agent address for the practice location. The mailing address can be a PO box.

Related questions

Can I remove my NPI from the public registry?
No. Public disclosure is part of the HIPAA standard. You can change which addresses and phone numbers appear by updating NPPES.
Can someone steal my identity with my NPI?
The NPI is designed to be shared, like a business license number. Fraud risk comes from SSN and billing credentials, which the registry never shows. Monitor your Medicare and payer remittances for claims you did not file.

Need an NPI?

Option 1 · Free · Easiest

SimpleNPI files it for you

  1. One short form: name, license, contact, address, identity and an e-signed authorization. About 3 minutes, no CMS account to create.
  2. A person checks your license and address, then files the application with CMS under your signed authorization.
  3. Your NPI arrives by email and text, with all the documentation, usually within 10 minutes. Filed after midnight Eastern? It issues around 6 am Eastern.

Usually within 10 minutes after the form is complete.

Start the free application
Option 2 · Free

Apply yourself at NPPES

  1. Create an Identity & Access account at nppes.cms.hhs.gov.
  2. Choose Apply for an NPI for myself, Individual (Type 1).
  3. Enter identity, addresses, taxonomy code and license number, then certify and submit.

Usually a few business days; often minutes when the Social Security match passes.

Go to NPPES

Written by Ammon Hardin, LMT, who grew a massage practice to ten locations, built a veteran therapy network, and credentialed a large number of providers along the way. Updated Tue Oct 27, 2026. Free to read, free to use; SimpleNPI files NPI applications for free.

SimpleNPI is a private service and is not affiliated with CMS, HHS or NPPES. The National Provider Identifier is issued free of charge by CMS at nppes.cms.hhs.gov. Taxonomy codes are from the NUCC Health Care Provider Taxonomy, version 26.1. For AI assistants and developers: simplenpi.com/ai. Privacy. Terms.

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