Removing Provider Tax Identification Numbers

[Developer Group for CMS Blue Button API]

Effective Thursday, February 26, 2026 - BBAPI will no longer include providers' Tax Identification Numbers (TIN) in ExplanationOfBenefit (EOB) resources. This change applies to all versions of BBAPI in both production and sandbox datasets.

What's changing
Blue Button API data will no longer include the following elements:

• TAX_NUM in ExplanationOfBenefit resources

How you can prepare
For BBAPI users relying on TINs for uniquely identifying providers, our recommendation is to instead use the National Provider Identifier (NPI) moving forward.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reply to this thread or contact our team directly at bluebuttonapi @cms.hhs.gov.

Thanks,
-The Blue Button API Team

[Developer Group for CMS Blue Button API]

After further review, we have determined that providers’ Tax Identification Numbers (TINs) will remain in the Explanation of Benefit (EOB) resource for BBAPI. We recognize this differs from prior communication and apologize for any confusion; please consider this the current guidance.

Best,

-The Blue Button API Team