Updated 2026-07-31
A Type 1 NPI identifies an individual person — a physician, nurse practitioner, therapist, or any other individual practitioner. A Type 2 NPI identifies an organization — a clinic, group practice, hospital, or supplier. NPPES classifies every NPI as one or the other, a practitioner can hold a Type 1 NPI while their practice holds a Type 2, and some Medicare checks (like ordering/referring eligibility) apply only to individuals.
The NPPES registry records the entity type on every NPI record, and it is one of the first things worth checking: it determines which other Medicare signals even apply.
A physician who owns a practice typically appears twice in the registry: their personal Type 1 NPI and the practice's Type 2 NPI. Claims and enrollment records reference whichever identity fits the role — the person who performed the service, or the entity that bills for it. Medicare reassignment of benefits is exactly this link: an individual authorizing an organization to bill for their services.
Entity type comes from the public NPPES registry and is self-reported at enumeration. It does not verify licensure, credentialing, or payment eligibility — and absence from any public Medicare file is not proof of a negative finding; files lag their sources.
Run the NPI through the lookup on the home page: the record shows its entity type alongside the registry status, taxonomy, and public Medicare enrollment and exclusion signals — each with its source and the time it was checked.
No. An individual is enumerated once; the Type 1 NPI stays with them for their career even when they change names, employers, or states.
Often both, in different fields: the individual who rendered the service and the organization that bills for it. The public registry lets you look up either identity.
Look up any NPI free — entity type, registry status, and public Medicare signals with evidence