Provider taxonomy codes explained

A taxonomy code is how the provider registry records a specialty. NPPES doesn’t store “cardiologist” as text — it stores a code, and you need the code set to turn it back into words. That code set is the NUCC Healthcare Provider Taxonomy.

How a taxonomy code is structured

Each code is a 10-character alphanumeric string (for example, 207RC0000X). Behind it sit three levels:

• Grouping — broad category (e.g., Allopathic & Osteopathic Physicians).
• Classification — the specialty (e.g., Internal Medicine).
• Specialization — the sub-specialty, if any (e.g., Cardiovascular Disease).

So 207RC0000X reads as “Internal Medicine — Cardiovascular Disease.”

Primary vs. secondary

A provider can list up to 15 taxonomies. One is marked the primary taxonomy; the rest are additional roles. drfind shows the primary specialty by default.

Common taxonomy codes

Code	Specialty
207Q00000X	Family Medicine
207R00000X	Internal Medicine
207RC0000X	Internal Medicine — Cardiovascular Disease
208000000X	Pediatrics
207N00000X	Dermatology
207X00000X	Orthopaedic Surgery
1223G0001X	Dentist — General Practice
363L00000X	Nurse Practitioner
363A00000X	Physician Assistant

Finding a provider’s specialty

You don’t need to memorize codes. On drfind you can search by specialty in plain English — “dermatologists in Austin, TX” — and we map the words to the right taxonomy codes behind the scenes. For how the codes relate to other IDs, see NPI vs. taxonomy vs. PECOS vs. CLIA.