An NPDB self-query is your own certified report from the National Practitioner Data Bank. The personal account is free, a $3.00 annual subscription gives unlimited access to the latest certified response as a PDF, and mailed copies cost $13.00. New Mexico requires one for initial chiropractic licensure, and Florida checks the NPDB on MOBILE endorsement.
An NPDB self-query is your own copy of whatever the National Practitioner Data Bank holds on you. You order it online through a free personal account; a $3.00 annual subscription gives unlimited access to your latest certified response, which you download as a PDF. Mailed paper copies are an extra $13.00 each, per the NPDB's billing and fees page. Some chiropractic boards require the self-query in the application, and every board that licenses out-of-state DCs can check the databank. Run it before you file.
What is the NPDB?
The NPDB is a federal repository, established by Congress in 1986, of reports on "medical malpractice payments and certain adverse actions related to health care practitioners, providers, and suppliers," in the NPDB's own description. Its stated purpose is to keep practitioners from moving state to state without disclosure of past problems. Reports are confidential and not public, but the subject of a report can always see their own information. Chiropractors are health care practitioners for NPDB purposes, so state board actions against a DC and malpractice payments made on a DC's behalf can appear.
Which chiropractic boards ask for a self-query?
- New Mexico requires a self-query report from the NPDB, plus an FCLB CIN-BAD report, for initial licensure, according to the New Mexico Chiropractic Board's background report instructions.
- Florida verifies MOBILE Act endorsement applications using the NPDB, and an applicant who has been reported to the NPDB is ineligible for that route unless the report was removed on appeal, subject to the board's authority to approve with conditions when the conduct would not violate Florida law (Fla. Stat. § 456.0145(2)).
- Texas must search at least one national practitioner database for discipline by another state before issuing an initial or renewal license (Tex. Occ. Code § 201.314).
Even where the self-query is not on the checklist, assume the board has the information or can get it.
Why run it if the board does not ask?
Because eligibility for the faster routes depends on what it shows. Texas endorsement is closed to an applicant with any disciplinary action or pending investigation (Tex. Occ. Code § 201.309). Arizona's universal recognition route requires that no other regulator has imposed discipline, or that the board finds the matter corrected and resolved (A.R.S. § 32-4302). For $3.00 you see what the board will see, before you choose a route and pay a nonrefundable application fee.
How do I order one?
- Go to the NPDB website and create a personal account, which is free.
- Request the self-query through the online service. The NPDB Guidebook says those who cannot complete it online can print the form, have it notarized and mail it.
- Pay the $3.00 annual subscription and download the certified response.
- Send it to the board in the form the board asks for. The Guidebook notes that the response belongs to you and you may share it with whomever you choose.
If the board wants a paper original, order the mailed copy for $13.00 and allow time for mail.
How should I handle a self-query that shows a report?
Then your application answers must match it. Boards compare what you disclose with what the databanks show, and a mismatch reads as concealment. Read the report carefully: the date of the action, the reporting entity, the basis code and the narrative. If you believe a report is inaccurate, the NPDB has a dispute process for subjects of reports, and the reporting entity is the one that can correct it. Our post on disclosing past discipline covers how to present the record.
Is the self-query the same as the credentialing check a payer runs?
No. Hospitals and some other entities query the NPDB themselves under their own authority, and the Guidebook states that a practitioner's self-query does not satisfy a hospital's legal requirement to query. Payer credentialing and ongoing monitoring are a separate job from licensing. Our sister company White Glove Credentialing explains that side in NPDB, OIG and SAM monitoring.
How we use it
We ask every client for a current self-query at the start of a Chiropractic Licensure Readiness Review ($149), because it decides which routes are open. The NPDB's fee is paid to the NPDB. If the record is clean, it goes into the file as required; if not, we plan the disclosure and the route together. See also the FCLB CIN-BAD report.
Common questions
- How much is an NPDB self-query?
- The personal account is free. A $3.00 annual subscription gives unlimited access to your latest certified self-query, and mailed paper copies are $13.00 each, per the NPDB.
- Do chiropractic boards require an NPDB self-query?
- Some do. New Mexico requires one for initial licensure along with a CIN-BAD report. Texas must search a national practitioner database itself, and Florida verifies MOBILE endorsement applicants through the NPDB.
- Can I share my self-query with more than one board?
- Yes. The NPDB Guidebook says the response belongs to the subject, who may share it with whomever they choose. Some boards may want a recent copy.
- Is the NPDB public?
- No. Reports are confidential, but the practitioner can always see their own information through a self-query.
Need Help with Your Application?
We handle the chiropractic licensing process end-to-end — eligibility screening, documents, board follow-ups, and tracking.