Overview
This article covers NPI Verification, which lets billers check a provider's National Provider Identifier (NPI) against the national registry directly from the provider's credential record. You'll learn how to run a check, what the results mean, and where to find the history of past checks.
Why This Matters
A transposed digit in an NPI can quietly deny every claim that touches it, and it's easy to miss without checking the number against the source of truth. NPI Verification lets admin confirm a number is valid, active, and tied to the correct name in one click — catching a bad NPI before it becomes a stack of denials instead of after.
Running an NPI Check
You can verify a provider's NPI directly from their credential record, without leaving Motivity to search the federal registry yourself.
To run a check:
Open the provider's profile and go to their NPI credential.
Select Verify NPI.
Motivity checks the number against the national registry and returns the result, including:
The registry's name on file for that NPI
The registry's credential
The registry's state
The NPI's status (active or deactivated)
Review the returned information against what's on file in Motivity to confirm everything matches.
Note: NPI Verification checks the number itself against the national registry — it doesn't change or update the NPI on file. If a check reveals a problem, you'll still need to correct the NPI on the provider's record separately.
Understanding the Results
A check can come back a few different ways, and each one tells you something different about what to do next:
Match — The registry's name, credential, and status line up with what's in Motivity. No action needed.
Deactivated NPI — The number is no longer active in the registry. This will need to be addressed with the provider before claims go out under that number.
Mismatched Name — The registry has a different legal name on file than what's saved in Motivity. This is worth investigating before submitting claims, since a name mismatch can trigger a denial on its own.
No Provider Found — The registry has no record matching that NPI at all, which usually points to a data entry error (like a transposed digit) rather than a registry issue.
Viewing the Check History
Every NPI check is saved to the provider's history, so there's always a record of what was checked, when, and what the result was.
To view past checks:
Open the provider's profile and go to their NPI credential.
Review the history section, which shows each check's date, result, and source.
This gives your organization a dated audit trail for every credential check — so "someone verified this" always comes with evidence of what it was verified against, rather than relying on someone's memory.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does running a check update the NPI if it finds a problem?
No. Verification only checks and reports — it doesn't correct or update the NPI on file. If a check reveals an issue, you'll need to update the provider's record separately.
How current is the registry information Motivity checks against?
The check pulls directly from the national provider registry at the moment you run it, so the result reflects the registry's current data.
Can I verify an NPI for a provider who isn't fully set up in Motivity yet?
The check runs against whatever NPI is entered on the provider's credential record, so the provider will need at least that field filled in before you can verify it.
Have questions about NPI Verification? Reach out to our support team — we're happy to help! 💙
Last Updated: 9/11/2026 by Tatum Winslow