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PECOS: Definition and Healthcare Context

Full name: Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System

The Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System (PECOS) is the CMS enrollment database for Medicare providers and suppliers. PECOS stores enrollment records for practitioners, group practices, and suppliers who have applied to participate in Medicare. The system records enrollment status, effective dates, practice locations, and reassignment of billing rights. The PECOS Public Extract (PPEF) is a periodically released public file enabling external verification of Medicare enrollment status by NPI.

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Retrieved
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Data as of
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Last updated: 2026-07-11Reviewed by: Dr. Jennifer Montecillo, MD — Gullas College of Medicine, 2019. Non-practicing medical reviewer.

How it’s used

  • CMS PECOS Medicare Provider Enrollment: the PPEF file provides Medicare enrollment status, enrollment type, and practice state for all active Medicare enrollees.
  • CMS NPPES NPI Registry: NPPES and PECOS are joined via NPI to correlate Medicare enrollment with provider taxonomy and address data.
  • CMS QPP MIPS: MIPS eligibility determination references PECOS enrollment to confirm a provider participates in Medicare fee-for-service.

Frequently asked questions

What does PECOS stand for?
PECOS stands for Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System — CMS's database for Medicare provider and supplier enrollment records.
Is PECOS data public?
A public extract (PPEF) is released periodically by CMS, covering active Medicare enrollment status, NPI, and practice information.
How is PECOS different from NPPES?
CMS assigns and maintains NPIs through NPPES for eligible individuals and organizations. PECOS separately tracks Medicare enrollments; an NPI can exist without a matching active PECOS record.

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What’s on file, by the numbers

Platform snapshot · 2026-08-30

13.4Mproviders & companiesProviders, organizations, owners, and facilities on file
26.2Msource-linked factsSource-linked field facts in the dated platform snapshot
90sources with dataDistinct snapshot source IDs with at least one positive record count
16fresh sourcesDistinct source IDs whose latest positive-data snapshot falls within the preceding 45 days
111sources integratedActive registry rows; integration does not establish a load
13state Medicaid jurisdictionsDistinct states represented in the state-exclusions serving table

Integrated, with-data, and fresh-observation counts are separate. No platform-wide source-completeness count is published. Completeness is source-specific and must be evaluated against the named source's expected scope. State coverage is a separate jurisdiction measure.

Source authority is record-specific

Use the issuer named on the record.

Fonteum spans federal, state, and global public publishers. A source page or returned record identifies its issuer and dataset where that metadata is available. A platform registry count does not assign every page to one authority or establish loaded, fresh, or complete coverage.

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Source and date

Research pages expose the named public file and observation date where those fields are available. Source-file SHA-256 coverage is separate; facts do not currently link deterministically to signatures.

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Daily observations

Dated table row-count observations can detect local drift. They do not imply that an upstream publisher released or Fonteum ingested new data that day.

Named medical review

Reviewed by Jennifer Montecillo, MD, medical reviewer. Non-practicing medical reviewer.

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