Guide
What is an NPN? The number that proves an agent is licensed
A National Producer Number, or NPN, is a unique ID every licensed insurance agent gets once and keeps in every state. It's the quickest way to confirm the person helping you with Medicare is who they say they are.
Last reviewed October 26, 2026. General information, not advice about any plan.
What an NPN is
- National Producer Number
- A unique number assigned to a licensed agent or agency through the national licensing system run by the NAIC, the association of state insurance regulators, and its affiliate NIPR.
- One per agent
- An agent keeps the same NPN for life, in every state where they're licensed.
- Not a license
- The NPN identifies the agent. The license, issued by each state, is what lets them sell. You check the license using the NPN.
How to use it
Ask the agent for it
"What's your National Producer Number?" Any licensed agent knows theirs.Open your state's license lookup
Most let you search by NPN. A few, like Pennsylvania and California, search by name or state license number instead.Check the license
Look for an active license in your state with a health line of authority.
Have a state license number but not the NPN? NIPR's NPN lookup finds it from the license number, state and license type.
If an agent won't give you one
Every licensed agent has an NPN and there's no reason to keep it private. An agent who dodges the question, or whose number doesn't match an active license, isn't someone to share your Medicare number with.
Common questions
Is an NPN the same as a license number?
No. Each state gives an agent its own license number, so an agent licensed in five states may have five license numbers but only one NPN. (In a few states, like North Dakota, the license number is the NPN.)
Can I look up an agent by NPN?
Yes. Most state insurance department lookups let you search by NPN, name or license number, for free.
Can I find an agent's NPN myself?
NIPR's free NPN lookup finds it from the agent's state license number, state and license type. It doesn't search by name, so it's easiest to ask the agent.
Is it safe for an agent to share their NPN?
Yes. It isn't private. Agents often print it on business cards and websites, and on profiles in our directory.
Keep reading
- How to check an insurance agent's licenseLook up any agent with your state's insurance department, in about two minutes.
- Medicare agent vs. broker: what's the difference?Agent, broker, producer: what the words mean, the one difference that really matters (how many companies they work with), and how to tell before you meet.
- Medicare scams: how to spot them, and what to doThe calls, texts and offers scammers use around Medicare, the signs that give them away, and exactly who to call if you think you've been targeted.
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