What is a National Producer Number (NPN)?
A National Producer Number (NPN) is a unique identifier assigned to licensed insurance producers (individuals and business entities). It’s used as a nationwide ID that connects a producer to their licensing and related records across states and is separate from any state-issued license number.
How is NPN used and why is it important?
The NPN helps regulators, carriers, and agencies identify the correct producer and match them to the right licensing record—especially when a producer is licensed in multiple states.
- Multi-state licensing: Ties licenses from different states to one national identifier.
- Carrier contracting & appointments: Used to validate a producer’s credentials for appointments and onboarding.
- Submissions & enrollments: Commonly required on applications and enrollments. Often including Marketplace and Medicare-related processes, depending on the carrier/program.
- Compliance & recordkeeping: Supports license status checks, lines of authority verification, and continuing education tracking in many workflows.
- Commissions & attribution: Frequently used to match policies to the writing producer for commission payment and reporting.
How to find an NPN
Find an NPN using the NPN lookup tool on our website.
- Go to the NIPR Look up a National Producer Number page.
- Choose how you want to look up the NPN: Individual SSN, License number, or Agency FEIN.
- Enter the requested identifying information.
- Select the checkbox to indicate that you are a human user and not a bot.
- Click Look up NPN.
Common questions about NPN
Is my NPN the same as my license number?
No. Your license number is issued by each state. Your NPN is a nationwide identifier used to reference your producer record across states.
Can my NPN change or expire?
Typically no—once assigned, an NPN is intended to remain the same over time.
Can a business entity have an NPN?
Yes. NPNs are assigned to both individuals and business entities.
What is the Producer Database (PDB)?
The Producer Database is a centralized repository of producer licensing information used by industry and regulators. The NPN is a key identifier used to locate the correct producer record.
What does "NPN not found" or "NPN invalid" mean?
It usually indicates a mismatch between the data entered and the producer record, or an issue with the underlying licensing record. For example, name mismatch, expired license, or inactive line of authority may cause this message.
