Clinical Medical Laboratory: how many are there, and how many are in private practice?

National totals

What this specialty covers

(1) A clinical laboratory is a facility for the biological, microbiological, serological, chemical, immunohematological, hematological, biophysical, cytological, pathological, or other examination of materials derived from the human body for the purpose of providing information for the diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of any disease or impairment of, human beings. These examinations also include procedures to determine, measure, or otherwise describe the presence or absence of various substances or organisms in the body. Facilities only collecting or preparing specimens (or both) or only serving as a mailing service and not performing testing are not considered clinical laboratories. (2) Any facility that examines materials from the human body for purposes of providing information for the diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of any disease or impairment of, or the assessment of, the he

Reading the sole-proprietor share

Among these clinical laboratory records, the reported 3.4% sole-proprietor share indicates the portion flagged that way in NPPES, not the exact portion operating in private practice. Clinical laboratories may use different organizational structures, and the sole-proprietor field is self-reported, so it is an imperfect proxy for ownership or practice setting and may be missing, outdated, or based on an organization's reporting choice.

By state

New NPI registrations by year

Counts reflect the year each NPI was first issued, among records still active today. The final year is partial: this data covers through 2026-01-11.

Data notes

• The sole-proprietor field is self-reported by the provider in NPPES and is an imperfect proxy for private practice.
• A sole-proprietor count shown as <11 is suppressed: the true value is below 11, which could include zero.
• NPI records are not a census of distinct laboratory locations, companies, or service capacity.
• Taxonomy selection, NPI status, and sole-proprietor reporting can be missing, outdated, or changed in NPPES.
• State counts use NPI registration information and may not represent every location where a laboratory provides services.
• Providers are counted once, by their primary taxonomy code only.

Source: CMS National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES) Data Dissemination file, FOIA-disclosable public data under CMS-6060-N. Aggregated by Hero EMR on 2026-08-03; deactivated NPIs excluded; specialty assigned from the primary taxonomy code (NUCC 25.1). Counts below 11 are suppressed. Individual providers are never published. All provider data pages.

Common questions