Two kinds of NPI
A Type 1 NPI identifies an individual health care provider — a single person. A Type 2 NPI identifies an organization — a hospital, clinic, group practice, pharmacy, lab, or agency. Both are public, both come from NPPES, and both are permanent 10-digit identifiers.
Type 1 — Individual
A single person
- Identifies
- An individual health care provider
- Name field
- The person's name + any NPPES credential text
- Taxonomy
- An individual specialty classification
- Example
- A physician, nurse, dentist, or therapist
Type 2 — Organization
An organization
- Identifies
- An organization
- Name field
- The legal business name + an authorized official
- Taxonomy
- An organizational classification
- Example
- A hospital, clinic, pharmacy, lab, or agency
How the records differ
- Type 1 (individual): the person's name, any NPPES credential text, and a self-reported individual taxonomy.
- Type 2 (organization): the legal business name, an authorized official, and an organizational taxonomy.
- Both: NPI number, entity type, practice and mailing addresses, and create/update dates.
Why one person can appear in both
A clinician often has their own Type 1 NPI and also works at an organization that has its own Type 2 NPI. On a claim, both identifiers can appear in different roles — see NPI lookup for medical billing. They are separate registry records, so look up each one to confirm identity.
What neither type proves
Whether individual or organization, an NPI is an identifier — not a license, credential, quality rating, or insurance confirmation. See what an NPI record shows.