A Type 1 NPI identifies an individual provider — a person. A Type 2 NPI identifies an organization — a practice, agency, or hospital. Both are 10-digit numbers from the same federal NPPES registry of about 8.9M NPI records, but they enumerate different kinds of entity.
The core difference
Every NPI is enumerated as one of two entity types. The distinction is simply person versus organization — and it determines how the number is applied for, what it represents on a claim, and how it should be screened.
- A single human provider
- Tied to the person, not the job
- One Type 1 per individual, for life
- Applied for with personal identifiers
- Examples: physician, NP, PT, dentist
- A healthcare organization
- Belongs to the entity, not a person
- An entity can hold more than one
- Associated with the organization’s EIN
- Examples: group practice, hospital, agency
Type 1 — individual providers
A Type 1 NPI is the lifelong identifier for an individual clinician. It does not change when the provider switches employers, moves states, or renews a license, which is why payers and registries use it as the stable key for a person. Sole proprietors who are not incorporated typically bill under their Type 1.
Type 2 — organizations
A Type 2 NPI represents a healthcare organization as a billing entity. Large systems may enumerate multiple Type 2 NPIs for distinct subparts — separate locations, departments, or service lines — so that claims and quality data can be attributed correctly. The Type 2 is associated with the organization’s Employer Identification Number rather than any individual.
When a practice needs both
A common setup: a physician has a Type 1 for themselves and also forms a professional corporation that holds a Type 2. On a claim, the Type 2 identifies the billing organization while the Type 1 identifies the rendering individual. Getting this pairing right is essential for clean claims and for accurate provider directories.
How to tell them apart
You cannot read the type off the digits — the NPI is non-intelligent and encodes no meaning. The entity type lives in the NPPES record itself. Looking the NPI up shows whether it is an individual or an organization, along with the provider’s name or legal business name, taxonomy, and practice address — each field traceable to the federal source.
By the numbers
Look up an NPI
Check any NPI in the registry to see its entity type, taxonomy, and address — each field traced to the federal NPPES source.
Open the NPI lookup tool →Frequently asked questions
- What is the difference between a Type 1 and Type 2 NPI?
- A Type 1 NPI identifies an individual provider — a person, such as a physician, nurse practitioner, or therapist. A Type 2 NPI identifies an organization — a group practice, hospital, agency, or supplier. Both are 10-digit numbers drawn from the same federal NPPES registry of roughly 8.9M NPI records, but they enumerate different kinds of entity.
- Can one person have both a Type 1 and a Type 2 NPI?
- Yes. An individual clinician has a Type 1 NPI for themselves. If that clinician also incorporates a solo practice or owns a group, the business gets its own Type 2 NPI. The two are distinct: the Type 1 follows the person across jobs for life, while the Type 2 belongs to the organization.
- Do I need a Type 1 or a Type 2 NPI?
- If you are an individual provider, you need a Type 1. If you are enumerating a healthcare organization — an incorporated practice, agency, hospital, or supplier that bills under the organization's name — you need a Type 2. Many practices need both: a Type 1 for each clinician and a Type 2 for the entity.
- Is a Type 1 NPI tied to a Social Security number and a Type 2 to an EIN?
- Broadly, yes. A Type 1 application uses the individual's identifying information, while a Type 2 is associated with the organization's Employer Identification Number. The NPI itself is not the SSN or EIN, though — it is a separate, non-intelligent 10-digit identifier that carries no embedded meaning.
- Can you tell the type from the NPI number itself?
- Not from the digits alone — the NPI is non-intelligent, so the number does not encode the type. The entity type is a separate field in the NPPES record. Looking the NPI up in the registry shows whether it is enumerated as an individual (Type 1) or an organization (Type 2), along with taxonomy and address.
- Why does the individual-vs-organization distinction matter for screening?
- Federal lists track both people and entities. The OIG exclusion list, for example, separates 79,605 excluded individuals from 3,396 excluded entities — the same person/organization line the NPI types draw. Screening a provider means checking the right identifier against the right entity type.
Related
- What is an NPI number? — the full explanation of the National Provider Identifier.
- NPI vs. provider ID, PTAN, and Tax ID — how the NPI relates to the other numbers on a form.
- How to get an NPI number — applying for a Type 1 or Type 2 through NPPES.
- What is a provider taxonomy code? — the classification attached to every NPI.
- NPI lookup tool — search the registry and read the entity type for any NPI.
- NPPES provider data — the full registry, with bulk and API access.