PECOS — the Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System — is the CMS system where providers enroll in Medicare. The public extract holds 2,981,799 enrollment records across 2,556,656 distinct NPIs. The official login is on cms.gov; Fonteum mirrors the public enrollment data.
What PECOS is — and what it is not
PECOS is the online system that healthcare providers and suppliers use to enroll in Medicare, keep their enrollment information current, and revalidate on schedule. Enrolling is what lets a provider bill Medicare and be paid by the program. The “Chain and Ownership” in the name refers to the organizational and ownership relationships CMS collects as part of enrollment.
PECOS is not where you get an NPI — that is NPPES. It is not a license or a credential, and being enrolled in PECOS is not a quality rating. It is an administrative record that a provider is authorized to bill Medicare.
How to log in to PECOS
The PECOS login is operated by CMS, not by Fonteum. Providers sign in with an Identity & Access Management (I&A) account:
- Create or use an existing I&A account at the CMS Identity & Access Management System.
- Go to the official PECOS site at pecos.cms.hhs.gov.
- Sign in to start, update, or revalidate a Medicare enrollment.
If you only need to look up enrollment information — not change it — you do not need a login. The public PECOS extract is open data; Fonteum surfaces it below without an account.
PECOS vs. NPPES
Issues the NPI and stores provider identity: name, taxonomy, practice address. Every US provider that bills electronically has an NPPES record.
Enrolls that NPI in Medicare so the provider can bill the program. Holds enrollment type, specialty, and reassignment and ownership relationships.
For the identity side, see the guide to the National Provider Identifier.
PECOS by the numbers
The public Medicare fee-for-service enrollment extract is smaller than the NPPES provider universe, because many providers hold an NPI without enrolling in Medicare.
Looking up a provider's Medicare enrollment
To check whether a provider is enrolled in Medicare, you do not need the PECOS login. The public extract is open data. Fonteum joins it to NPPES identity and OIG exclusion status on each provider profile, so a single lookup shows identity, Medicare enrollment, and exclusion screening together — every field stamped with its source and snapshot date.
Look up Medicare enrollment
Search any provider by NPI or name. The result returns NPPES identity, CMS PECOS enrollment status, and an OIG exclusion check in one view.
Provider lookup →Frequently asked questions
- What is PECOS?
- PECOS stands for the Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System. It is the CMS system that healthcare providers and suppliers use to enroll in Medicare, update enrollment information, and revalidate. CMS publishes a public extract of Medicare fee-for-service enrollment; it currently holds 2,981,799 enrollment records across 2,556,656 distinct NPIs.
- How do I log in to PECOS?
- The official PECOS login is hosted by CMS at pecos.cms.hhs.gov and requires an Identity & Access Management (I&A) account. Fonteum is not affiliated with CMS and cannot log you in to PECOS; it mirrors the public Medicare enrollment extract so anyone can look up enrollment without an account.
- What is the difference between PECOS and NPPES?
- NPPES issues the National Provider Identifier (NPI) — provider identity. PECOS is where a provider enrolls that NPI in Medicare so they can bill the program. A provider can have an NPI in NPPES without being enrolled in Medicare in PECOS. The two systems cover identity and enrollment, respectively.
- How do I look up a provider's Medicare enrollment?
- The CMS PECOS public extract lists each enrolled provider's NPI, enrollment type, specialty, and reassignment relationships. Fonteum surfaces this enrollment data on its PECOS data page and on each provider profile, cross-referenced with NPPES identity and OIG exclusion status, every field stamped with its source and snapshot date.
- What is a PECOS revalidation?
- Medicare requires enrolled providers to revalidate their enrollment information periodically — generally every five years, or every three years for durable medical equipment suppliers. Revalidation is completed in PECOS. Missing a revalidation deadline can lead to a hold on Medicare payments or deactivation of the enrollment.
- Is enrolling in PECOS the same as getting an NPI?
- No. Getting an NPI happens in NPPES and is a prerequisite. Enrolling in PECOS is a separate, later step that ties the NPI to Medicare so the provider can bill the program. Many providers obtain an NPI but never enroll in Medicare, which is why the PECOS count is smaller than the NPPES provider count.
- Does PECOS cost money?
- Creating an NPI and an I&A account is free. Institutional providers pay a Medicare enrollment application fee set annually by CMS; individual physicians and non-physician practitioners generally do not pay the fee. Fonteum's lookup of the public enrollment data is free and requires no account.
Related
- CMS PECOS enrollment data — the public Medicare enrollment extract with per-field provenance and NPI cross-reference.
- The National Provider Identifier — what an NPI is and how NPPES identity feeds Medicare enrollment.
- PECOS glossary entry — the short definition and where the term fits in the federal data graph.
- NPPES provider data — the identity registry that issues every NPI enrolled in PECOS.
- Provider lookup tool — search any provider and see identity, enrollment, and exclusion status together.