Healthcare provider data, without the NPPES headache.

Search U.S. healthcare providers by NPI, name, specialty, and location through one simple API. Normalized, developer-friendly, and built on official CMS NPPES data.

Built on official CMS NPPES data Monthly full sync + weekly updates Individual & organization providers All 50 states

Everything you need to work with provider data

One API instead of wrangling raw NPPES CSV exports yourself.

NPI Lookup

Instant lookup by NPI number, with format and check-digit validation built in.

Provider Search

Search by name, organization, or specialty across individual and organizational NPIs.

Geographic Search

Find providers within a radius of a ZIP code, powered by PostGIS.

Taxonomy Lookup

Resolve provider taxonomy codes to human-readable specialty descriptions.

Search that returns useful results

Illustrative results shown for development -- not real NPPES records.

Sarah Johnson, MD
Individual
Cardiovascular Disease
NPI 1234567890
Grand Rapids, MI Primary taxonomy 207RC0000X
Traverse Bay Family Medicine LLC
Organization
Family Medicine Clinic
NPI 9876543210
Traverse City, MI

Geographic search, built in

Find providers within a radius of a ZIP code, optionally filtered by specialty. Locations are resolved from ZIP-code centroids, so results are approximate -- not exact street-address distance.

  • Filter by specialty or taxonomy code
  • Set a radius in miles
  • Distance returned with every result
See the full API reference
GET /v1/providers/nearby?zip=49684&specialty=cardiology&radius=25
Response · 200 OK
{
  "data": [
    {
      "npi": "1234567890",
      "name": "Jane Smith, MD",
      "specialty": "Cardiovascular Disease",
      "city": "Traverse City",
      "state": "MI",
      "distance_miles": 3.8
    }
  ],
  "meta": {
    "count": 1,
    "radius_miles": 25,
    "center": { "zip": "49684" }
  }
}

Normalized records, not raw CSV exports

NPPES publishes flat, denormalized fields. NPILayer returns clean, structured JSON.

Raw NPPES export field
NPI: 1234567890
Entity Type Code: 1
Provider Last Name: SMITH
Provider First Name: JANE
Provider Credential Text: MD
Healthcare Provider Taxonomy Code_1: 207RC0000X
Provider First Line Business
  Practice Location Address: 123 MAIN ST
Provider Business Practice
  Location Address City Name: TRAVERSE CITY
Provider Business Practice
  Location Address State Name: MI
Provider Business Practice
  Location Address Postal Code: 496841234
NPILayer response
{
  "npi": "1234567890",
  "entity_type": "individual",
  "name": {
    "first": "Jane",
    "last": "Smith",
    "credential": "MD"
  },
  "primary_taxonomy": {
    "code": "207RC0000X",
    "description": "Cardiovascular Disease Physician"
  },
  "practice_address": {
    "address_1": "123 Main St",
    "city": "Traverse City",
    "state": "MI",
    "postal_code": "49684"
  }
}

Plans that scale with you

A monthly request quota, plus a short rolling burst limit to keep the API fast for everyone.

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requests/mo · 30/min burst
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Frequently asked questions

What is an NPI?

A National Provider Identifier is a 10-digit number CMS assigns to individual healthcare providers and organizations in the United States.

Does an NPI mean a provider is currently licensed or in-network?

No. Provider information is based on publicly available NPPES data. An NPI does not indicate licensure, credentialing, network participation, or current practice status.

How current is the data?

NPILayer maintains its own copy of NPPES data, refreshed with CMS's monthly full replacement file and weekly incremental updates.

How accurate is the geographic search?

Radius search is based on ZIP-code centroids rather than exact street-address coordinates, so distances are approximate.

Do I need an API key to use the free lookup tool?

No. The public NPI lookup tool on this site is free and does not require an API key. Programmatic access through the API does.

Start building in minutes

Create an API key and make your first request right away.

cURL
curl \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  "https://api.npilayer.com/v1/providers/1234567890"