Your CAQH number, also called a CAQH ID or CAQH Provider ID, is the unique identifier assigned to your profile in the CAQH provider data system, historically known as CAQH ProView. Payers use this number to locate your profile and pull your credentialing data, so nearly every credentialing and enrollment application asks for it. You receive the ID when your profile is first created, and you find it afterward by logging into the CAQH portal, checking your original welcome email, or contacting the CAQH help desk.
The CAQH number and CAQH ID are the same thing under two names. If a payer application asks for either, it wants the identifier tied to your profile in the CAQH system, the data utility behind credentialing for more than a thousand health plans.
How Do I Find My CAQH Number?
Four reliable routes, in order of speed:
1. Log into the CAQH portal. Sign in at proview.caqh.org with your username and password. Your CAQH ID appears on your profile dashboard, typically near your name at the top of the account view. This is the fastest route if your login still works.
2. Check your CAQH welcome email. When your profile was created, CAQH sent a registration email containing your ID. Search your inbox, and any old practice email accounts, for messages from CAQH. Providers who registered years ago through a former employer often find the ID sitting in an archived mailbox.
3. Ask a payer or employer who rosters you. If a health plan added you to CAQH through its roster, the plan holds your ID. Credentialing departments at current and former employers keep these on file as a matter of routine.
4. Contact the CAQH Provider Help Desk. CAQH support verifies your identity with your NPI and personal details, then provides the ID. Reach them through the help resources at caqh.org. Expect identity verification questions; the ID unlocks access to your full professional record, so CAQH does not hand it out lightly.
One route to skip: creating a new profile to replace a lost ID. Duplicate profiles create conflicting records payers struggle to reconcile, and cleanup requires help desk intervention. Recover the original instead.
How Do I Get a CAQH Number in the First Place?
Two paths lead to a new CAQH ID:
Payer-initiated rostering. The traditional route. A health plan you are enrolling with adds you to its CAQH roster, CAQH creates a record, and you receive a welcome email with your ID and registration instructions. If you are mid-enrollment with a payer and have no CAQH ID yet, ask the payer to roster you.
Self-registration. Providers now register directly at proview.caqh.org without waiting for a payer invitation. You enter your NPI and identifying details, CAQH validates them, and the system issues your ID. Self-registration suits providers preparing for enrollment ahead of a specific payer relationship, a common situation for new graduates and telehealth clinicians building multi-state panels.
Either way, receiving an ID is the beginning, not the end. A profile with an ID but no completed data sections and no current attestation does nothing for you. Payers see a shell. Complete the profile and keep your attestation current before listing the ID on applications.
CAQH Number vs. NPI: What’s the Difference?
The two identifiers get confused constantly on enrollment paperwork, and mixing them up delays applications.
| CAQH ID | NPI | |
|---|---|---|
| Issued by | CAQH, a non-profit alliance | CMS, the federal government |
| Purpose | Locates your profile in the CAQH data system | Identifies you in HIPAA transactions and claims |
| Who uses it | Payers pulling credentialing data | Payers, clearinghouses, pharmacies, registries |
| Required for | Credentialing data access | Billing, prescribing, nearly everything |
| Public? | No, treated as semi-confidential | Yes, searchable in the NPPES registry |
Your NPI is a public, federal identifier printed on claims. Your CAQH ID is a private key to your credentialing file. Applications frequently ask for both, and each field wants its own number. When an enrollment form rejects an identifier, the wrong number in the wrong field is the first thing to check.
Where Do I Use My CAQH Number?
The ID shows up at four points in the provider lifecycle:
- Payer enrollment applications. Most commercial plans ask for your CAQH ID so their credentialing team pulls your data instead of requesting documents piecemeal. A current, attested profile plus a correct ID removes weeks of document chasing from the credentialing timeline.
- Authorizing payer access. Inside the portal, you control which organizations see your data. Global authorization opens the profile to every payer who rosters you; selective authorization requires granting access plan by plan. Enrollment stalls quietly when a payer holds your ID but lacks authorization.
- Group onboarding. When you join a practice or health system, the credentialing team asks for your CAQH ID on day one, often before your start date, to begin enrollment across the group’s payer contracts.
- Credentialing services and software. Any credentialing platform or CVO working on your behalf needs the ID to manage your profile.
For individual providers, tracking one ID is trivial. For organizations, the arithmetic turns hostile: a 200-provider group manages 200 CAQH IDs, 200 attestation cycles, and authorization settings across dozens of payers. At this scale, teams move from spreadsheets to provider data management platforms like Madaket Health, which tie each provider’s identifiers, documents, and payer authorizations to a single record and flag profiles drifting toward expiration.
Frequently Asked Questions About CAQH Numbers
Is my CAQH number the same as my NPI?
No. Your NPI is a ten-digit federal identifier issued by CMS for claims and HIPAA transactions. Your CAQH ID is a separate number issued by CAQH to locate your profile in its provider data system. Enrollment applications often request both.
Is there a way to look up a CAQH number online?
There is no public CAQH lookup directory. The ID is semi-confidential by design. Retrieve yours by logging into the portal, finding your welcome email, asking an employer or payer who rosters you, or verifying your identity with the CAQH help desk.
Do I need a CAQH number for Medicare or Medicaid?
Medicare enrollment runs through PECOS and does not require a CAQH ID. Most state Medicaid programs likewise use their own systems. Commercial payers and Medicare Advantage plans are where the CAQH ID does its work.
What if I have two CAQH profiles?
Duplicate profiles happen when a provider self-registers while an old rostered profile still exists. Contact the CAQH help desk to merge or deactivate the duplicate. Leaving both active invites payers to pull the stale one.
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