181,607 new NPIs this quarter, and 31.2% of active records are 3+ years old and never updated
A quarterly NPPES data quality check of the 9,463,524 active National Provider Identifiers: how current they are, what changed this quarter (new NPIs, NPI deactivations and reactivations), and how they line up with the OIG exclusion list.
Key findings
- 181,607 NPIs issued this quarter were still active on September 30, and 8,975 deactivations were recorded; the active registry grew by 155,313 to 9,463,524 between July 13 and September 30.
- 31.2% of active NPI records have never been updated and are at least 3 years old. Among practicing clinicians the figure is 20.5%.
- Nevada and Alaska have the stalest records (42.3% each; Nevada is fractionally higher) and Nebraska the freshest (19.1%), a 23.3-point spread.
- Of 8,700 providers with an NPI on the OIG exclusion list of September 11, 7,753 (89.1%) still held an active NPI on September 14. Exclusion does not deactivate an NPI.
- 200 practice addresses each list 1,000 or more active NPIs: 399,089 distinct NPIs in all.
The quarter at a glance
▲ increase · ▼ decrease; green = better, red = worse · ≈ a change below this report's 0.2-point display threshold. The quarter's figure is the September 30 reading, never an average of the three months.
| Measure | July | August | September | Change in quarter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active NPIs | 9,308,211 | 9,360,727 | 9,463,524 | +155,313 |
| Never updated, ≥3 years old | 31.2% | 31.2% | 31.2% | ≈ −0.1 pts |
| Never updated, any age | 46.2% | 46.2% | 46.3% | ≈ 0.1 pts |
| Not updated in 3+ years | 66.6% | 65.7% | 65.4% | ▼ 1.2 pts |
| Updated in the last 60 days | 2.7% | 3.7% | 3.0% | ▲ 0.3 pts |
| Median years since last update | 5.4 | 5.3 | 5.3 | ▼ 0.2 yrs |
Practicing clinicians: the same measures
| Measure | July | August | September | Change in quarter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active clinician NPIs | 4,369,797 | 4,391,519 | 4,431,132 | +61,335 |
| Never updated, ≥3 years old | 20.6% | 20.5% | 20.5% | ≈ −0.1 pts |
| Never updated, any age | 27.8% | 27.8% | 27.7% | ≈ −0.1 pts |
| Not updated in 3+ years | 68.2% | 66.7% | 66.5% | ▼ 1.8 pts |
| Updated in the last 60 days | 2.7% | 4.4% | 3.1% | ▲ 0.4 pts |
| Median years since last update | 5.7 | 5.4 | 5.4 | ▼ 0.3 yrs |
Trend across editions
Share of active NPI records never updated (≥3 years old), for each month of the first edition. From January 2027 the chart shows one point per quarterly edition.
How many NPIs were added and deactivated in Q3 2026?
181,607 NPIs issued between July 1 and September 30 were still active on September 30. The files record 8,975 NPI deactivations (involving 8,974 distinct NPIs) and 731 reactivations in the quarter.
| Event | Jul | Aug | Sep | Quarter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New NPIs | 59,783 | 63,129 | 58,695 | 181,607 |
| of which individuals | 48,006 | 51,799 | 47,440 | 147,245 |
| of which organizations | 11,777 | 11,330 | 11,255 | 34,362 |
| Deactivated | 3,214 | 2,931 | 2,830 | 8,975 |
| Reactivated | 285 | 275 | 171 | 731 |
| Records updated in the month* | 50,229 | 35,808 | 148,181 | n/a |
New NPIs = issued in the month and still active on September 30. Deactivations: CMS NPPES Deactivated NPI Report for July and August, NPPES weekly files for September. Reactivations by reactivation date. * July and August count updates from the 1st to that month's data date (July 13, August 10); September counts the whole month from the weekly files. A record updated in two months is counted twice, so there is no quarterly total. September has two update counts by design: 148,181 NPIs have an update record in the weekly files, while 148,256 records active on September 30 have a last-update date in September (national CSV).
Which states have the stalest NPI records?
Nevada (42.3%) and Alaska (42.3%) have the highest share of records never updated and at least 3 years old, and Nebraska the lowest (19.1%): a 23.3-point spread among the 50 states and DC. Choose a measure, then select a state on the map or from the list.
Equal-size squares, not scaled to population. View as a table ↓
Do providers excluded by the OIG still have active NPIs?
Yes: 7,753 of the 8,700 excluded providers with an NPI on the September 11 OIG list (89.1%) still held an active one in NPPES on September 14, because being excluded by the HHS Office of Inspector General does not deactivate a provider's NPI. So an active NPI says nothing about whether a provider may bill federal health programs.
Base: 8,700 distinct NPIs on the OIG exclusion list of September 11, 2026, matched to NPPES on September 14, 2026. Another 75,120 current exclusions list no NPI and can't be matched this way.
| This quarter | Jul | Aug | Sep | Quarter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New OIG exclusions (all) | 224 | 245 | 193 | 662 |
| of which with an active NPI | 70 | 81 | 43 | 194 |
| Removed from the list | n/a | 79 | 41 | 120 |
New exclusions are counted by exclusion (effective) date as found in the OIG list of September 11, 2026 (not a complete log of every action in the quarter), which already includes exclusions taking effect later: all 193 September exclusions take effect on September 20. "With an active NPI" = active in NPPES on September 14. "Removed" = on one month's list but not the next (July to August and August to September); the July figure needs the June list.
Detailed data Appendix A
Full tables behind the brief. The main tables can be downloaded as CSV under Data & citation.
All 50 states, DC and Puerto Rico
| 1 | Nevada | 123,991 | 42.3% | ≈ −0.1 | 63.4% | 2,975 | 125 | 4.7% |
| 2 | Alaska | 36,165 | 42.3% | ≈ 0.1 | 71.2% | 519 | 35 | 4.4% |
| 3 | Washington DC | 53,003 | 41.1% | ▲ 0.4 | 67.0% | 857 | 44 | 4.3% |
| 4 | West Virginia | 92,242 | 39.8% | ▲ 0.3 | 61.1% | 2,680 | 78 | 5.0% |
| 5 | New York | 660,247 | 37.5% | ▼ 0.2 | 72.6% | 9,729 | 603 | 4.2% |
| 6 | Utah | 96,287 | 35.5% | ≈ 0.0 | 64.4% | 2,148 | 81 | 5.4% |
| 7 | Oklahoma | 117,819 | 35.0% | ▲ 0.2 | 67.4% | 2,036 | 125 | 5.2% |
| 8 | Hawaii | 41,145 | 34.5% | ≈ 0.0 | 69.0% | 671 | 28 | 5.1% |
| 9 | Wyoming | 18,619 | 34.4% | ▼ 0.7 | 70.2% | 520 | 26 | 6.1% |
| 10 | Massachusetts | 259,795 | 34.3% | ≈ 0.0 | 69.7% | 4,358 | 178 | 5.2% |
| 11 | Michigan | 359,893 | 33.7% | ≈ −0.1 | 63.5% | 8,392 | 250 | 5.3% |
| 12 | Arkansas | 86,892 | 33.5% | ▼ 0.3 | 68.7% | 1,866 | 74 | 5.2% |
| 13 | Louisiana | 126,303 | 33.3% | ≈ −0.1 | 70.9% | 2,011 | 97 | 4.6% |
| 14 | Ohio | 409,367 | 33.2% | ≈ 0.1 | 62.6% | 7,632 | 290 | 5.0% |
| 15 | Oregon | 150,956 | 32.8% | ≈ −0.1 | 67.7% | 2,327 | 134 | 4.9% |
| 16 | New Mexico | 70,047 | 32.7% | ▼ 0.2 | 64.9% | 1,422 | 69 | 6.1% |
| 17 | Mississippi | 58,236 | 32.2% | ≈ −0.1 | 70.0% | 932 | 42 | 5.1% |
| 18 | Washington | 244,571 | 31.9% | ≈ 0.0 | 68.1% | 3,931 | 178 | 5.0% |
| 19 | New Jersey | 235,228 | 31.8% | ≈ 0.0 | 68.7% | 3,751 | 187 | 4.6% |
| 20 | California | 1,193,766 | 31.0% | ≈ −0.1 | 63.9% | 27,766 | 1,042 | 5.1% |
| 21 | Florida | 656,510 | 30.9% | ≈ 0.0 | 63.5% | 11,579 | 494 | 5.2% |
| 22 | Georgia | 231,862 | 30.6% | ≈ 0.0 | 66.1% | 4,334 | 149 | 5.2% |
| 23 | Colorado | 198,504 | 30.5% | ≈ −0.1 | 64.0% | 4,245 | 173 | 5.7% |
| 24 | Texas | 611,047 | 30.2% | ▼ 0.2 | 65.2% | 12,307 | 460 | 5.4% |
| 25 | Delaware | 28,065 | 30.0% | ▼ 0.2 | 66.9% | 473 | 22 | 5.3% |
| 26 | Illinois | 320,518 | 29.9% | ▼ 0.2 | 66.9% | 5,877 | 253 | 5.5% |
| 27 | Pennsylvania | 337,313 | 29.9% | ≈ −0.1 | 69.1% | 4,976 | 251 | 5.6% |
| 28 | Arizona | 177,458 | 29.8% | ≈ 0.0 | 64.9% | 3,255 | 181 | 5.6% |
| 29 | Maryland | 217,460 | 29.6% | ≈ 0.0 | 59.5% | 5,309 | 165 | 5.8% |
| 30 | Kansas | 73,070 | 28.8% | ▼ 0.3 | 65.8% | 1,492 | 58 | 7.2% |
| 31 | Virginia | 202,137 | 28.6% | ≈ −0.1 | 63.8% | 3,654 | 133 | 6.1% |
| 32 | Alabama | 95,350 | 28.6% | ≈ −0.1 | 65.3% | 1,594 | 66 | 5.1% |
| 33 | Connecticut | 106,057 | 28.6% | ≈ −0.1 | 69.5% | 1,731 | 69 | 5.1% |
| 34 | Tennessee | 161,234 | 28.6% | ≈ −0.1 | 65.9% | 2,901 | 147 | 5.4% |
| 35 | South Carolina | 117,169 | 28.5% | ▼ 0.2 | 65.7% | 2,044 | 102 | 5.7% |
| 36 | Missouri | 149,266 | 28.1% | ≈ 0.0 | 65.1% | 2,423 | 118 | 5.8% |
| 37 | North Dakota | 27,804 | 27.9% | ≈ 0.0 | 61.5% | 651 | 21 | 5.4% |
| 38 | Maine | 43,456 | 27.9% | ≈ 0.0 | 70.1% | 555 | 42 | 4.7% |
| 39 | New Hampshire | 40,900 | 27.9% | ▼ 0.2 | 69.4% | 588 | 43 | 5.0% |
| 40 | South Dakota | 23,290 | 27.8% | ≈ 0.0 | 68.0% | 356 | 17 | 4.8% |
| 41 | Idaho | 46,499 | 27.8% | ▼ 0.3 | 62.1% | 976 | 31 | 6.2% |
| 42 | Kentucky | 113,837 | 27.8% | ≈ 0.0 | 67.5% | 2,079 | 79 | 5.5% |
| 43 | Puerto Rico | 58,251 | 27.6% | ▼ 0.3 | 69.2% | 1,238 | 57 | 6.3% |
| 44 | Wisconsin | 145,545 | 26.8% | ▼ 0.3 | 65.6% | 3,005 | 135 | 6.2% |
| 45 | Minnesota | 169,509 | 26.0% | ▲ 0.2 | 62.2% | 2,713 | 140 | 6.0% |
| 46 | Indiana | 156,632 | 25.8% | ≈ −0.1 | 59.5% | 3,101 | 96 | 5.7% |
| 47 | North Carolina | 278,626 | 25.7% | ≈ −0.1 | 63.2% | 5,221 | 199 | 5.8% |
| 48 | Montana | 30,131 | 25.4% | ≈ −0.1 | 64.6% | 456 | 22 | 5.1% |
| 49 | Iowa | 66,321 | 24.3% | ▼ 0.2 | 64.1% | 1,380 | 50 | 6.2% |
| 50 | Rhode Island | 32,357 | 24.1% | ≈ −0.1 | 62.3% | 481 | 23 | 6.3% |
| 51 | Vermont | 19,265 | 23.2% | ▼ 0.2 | 65.1% | 350 | 22 | 5.2% |
| 52 | Nebraska | 93,503 | 19.1% | ▼ 0.2 | 40.2% | 3,740 | 69 | 6.4% |
Change = September minus July, in points. New and deactivated are July 1 – September 30; deactivated NPIs are placed by their last known state (state from the latest weekly record up to September 30, otherwise the September 14, August 10 or July 13 file; 1,402 deactivated NPIs appear in none of those files with a state, so they count in the totals but not by state). Not shown: 6 active NPIs with other territory, military or foreign practice addresses.
How old are provider records?
The median active record was last updated 5.3 years ago, and 65.4% have not been updated in 3 or more years (as of September 30, 2026). Individual and organization records are about equally current: 31.4% of organization records and 31.1% of individual records have never been updated and are at least 3 years old.
No record has a missing or invalid update date, so every active NPI falls into exactly one bucket.
| Time since last update | Active NPIs | Share | Individuals | Organizations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 60 days | 283,788 | 3.0% | 3.1% | 2.7% |
| 2–12 months | 1,123,507 | 11.9% | 12.3% | 10.1% |
| 1–3 years | 1,863,366 | 19.7% | 20.4% | 17.1% |
| 3–10 years | 3,337,105 | 35.3% | 35.2% | 35.6% |
| 10–15 years | 1,344,574 | 14.2% | 13.4% | 17.4% |
| 15+ years | 1,511,184 | 16.0% | 15.6% | 17.2% |
| Total | 9,463,524 | 100.0% | 7,487,638 | 1,975,886 |
Last certified by the provider
The date the provider last certified the record in NPPES, when one is recorded. Providers are not required to certify on a schedule, so a blank date does not show when the record was last submitted, and an old date does not mean the record is wrong.
Specialties
Share never updated and at least 3 years old, by primary specialty. Dark bars are above the national 31.2%. The five stalest and five freshest of the 188 specialties with 5,000 or more active NPIs.
Counties
| Stalest counties | Active NPIs | Never updated ≥3y |
|---|---|---|
| Bethel Census Area, Alaska | 1,474 | 62.0% |
| Randolph County, West Virginia | 2,519 | 57.2% |
| McKinley County, New Mexico | 2,498 | 54.6% |
| Nye County, Nevada | 1,132 | 53.5% |
| Albany County, Wyoming | 1,804 | 53.0% |
| Freshest counties | Active NPIs | Never updated ≥3y |
|---|---|---|
| Olmsted County, Minnesota | 13,704 | 11.1% |
| Madison County, Nebraska | 3,133 | 14.2% |
| Charlottesville city, Virginia | 4,928 | 15.7% |
| Montour County, Pennsylvania | 3,288 | 16.2% |
| Hall County, Nebraska | 2,882 | 16.8% |
Counties with 1,000 or more active NPIs (936 counties). County is assigned from the practice ZIP code: the county most often recorded for that ZIP in CMS's Provider of Services files (QIES and iQIES, Q2 2026), with ties going to the lower county code; 96.0% of active NPIs could be placed. Full list in the counties CSV.
Shared practice addresses
| NPIs at the address | Addresses | NPI listings | Share of listings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (solo) | 3,843,238 | 3,843,238 | 37.9% |
| 2–9 | 639,099 | 2,164,928 | 21.4% |
| 10–99 | 98,146 | 2,294,339 | 22.6% |
| 100–999 | 6,321 | 1,428,313 | 14.1% |
| 1,000+ | 200 | 399,849 | 3.9% |
An NPI with more than one practice location is listed at each, so the listings (10,130,667) add up to more than the 9,429,114 active NPIs on September 14, 2026 (the date of the address data). NPIs with no shared address are counted as solo.
Biggest movers (from the Q4 2026 edition)
Frequently asked questions
What is the Provider Data Quality Report?
A quarterly measure, from NPI Data Services, of how current the 9,463,524 active records in the CMS NPPES registry are. Each edition covers never-updated and stale records nationally and by state, county and specialty, registry activity, and how NPIs line up with the OIG exclusion list.
What share of NPI records have never been updated?
31.2% of active NPI records have never been updated and are at least 3 years old (September 30, 2026). Including newer records, 46.3% have never been updated, and 65.4% have not been updated in 3 or more years.
Does a never-updated NPI record mean the data is wrong?
No. Covered health care providers must report changes to their required NPPES data within 30 days, but a record whose details have not changed never needs an update, so an old record may still be correct. It is a record to verify before relying on it.
How do I check whether a provider is excluded?
Search the OIG List of Excluded Individuals/Entities (LEIE) and the Medicaid exclusion list of each state where the provider works. An active NPI does not show exclusion status.
Where does the data come from?
CMS NPPES monthly files and weekly update files, the CMS NPPES Deactivated NPI Report, and the OIG List of Excluded Individuals/Entities, processed by NPI Data Services. Definitions are in the methodology.
When is the next edition?
January 2027, covering October to December 2026. Every edition stays online at its own address.
Methodology Appendix B
Population and sources
- Active NPIs only. Deactivated NPIs are counted in the activity figures but excluded from every freshness measure.
- Practicing clinicians: a taxonomy group, not a check of current practice: individual NPIs whose primary taxonomy is in the NUCC groups for physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, CRNAs, nurse midwives, dentists, podiatrists, optometrists, chiropractors, psychologists, physical, occupational and speech therapists, counselors, marriage and family therapists and clinical social workers (definition pdq-v2). The code list is in the data download.
- Sources: CMS NPPES monthly files as processed by NPI Data Services (data dates July 13, August 10 and September 14, 2026), with the NPPES weekly update files for September applied to bring September to the 30th; the CMS NPPES Deactivated NPI Report (July 13, August 10, September 14); the OIG List of Excluded Individuals/Entities (July 11, August 11 and September 11, 2026). The quarter's freshness figures are the September 30 reading.
Definitions
- Never updated (≥3 yrs): last update date equals enumeration date, and the NPI was issued at least 3 years before the data date.
- Not updated in 3+ years: last update at least 3 years before the data date (September 30, 2026).
- Display threshold: changes smaller than 0.2 percentage points are marked ≈; this is an editorial display convention, not a statistical-significance threshold.
- Geography: state from the practice-location address; county from the practice ZIP code.
Limits
The September 30 reading is reconstructed: the September 14 file, with each NPI's latest weekly record dated September 14–30 applied on top (primary taxonomy from that same weekly file) and NPIs deactivated in September removed unless a later reactivation is recorded. 107 NPIs issued by September 30 whose only weekly record is from October are included with their issue date as the last update, and certification dates after September 30 are ignored. Weekly records can overwrite earlier fields, so this is a close reconstruction, not an archived September 30 file. July and August freshness are read at their data dates (July 13, August 10). Shared practice addresses are read at September 14. This report has no comparable readings before July 2026, so the series starts there. Exclusions without an NPI in the OIG list can't be matched to NPPES. Comparisons with Medicare enrollment (PECOS) are not included in this edition.
Data & citation
Cite this report
NPI Data Services. (2026, October 7). Provider Data Quality Report, Q3 2026 (data as of 30 September 2026). https://www.npidataservices.com/provider-data-quality/2026-q3Data sources
Each figure in this report comes from the releases below.
Download this report's data as CSV files under Data & citation above. The downloadable data files are free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with credit to NPI Data Services; the underlying CMS, OIG and Census data are public.
Editions
Each quarterly edition stays online at its own address, so it can be cited.
Disclaimer
This report is provided for general information only. It is derived from publicly available data published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (NPPES) and by the HHS Office of Inspector General (List of Excluded Individuals/Entities), as processed by NPI Data Services. NPI Data Services does not create the underlying data and makes no warranty, express or implied, as to its accuracy, completeness or timeliness.
Nothing in this report verifies the licensure, enrollment, credentials, exclusion status or eligibility of any individual or organization, and it must not be relied on for that purpose. Always confirm with the authoritative source. A record that has not been updated is not necessarily inaccurate. NPI Data Services is not a consumer reporting agency; this report is not a consumer report under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and may not be used to determine eligibility for employment, credit, insurance or any other FCRA-covered purpose. The report contains no protected health information.
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