CY2026 · $750
The Medicare application fee is $750 — and most physicians do not owe it
The CY2026 fee is $750.00, and it applies to institutional providers only. A physician filing a CMS-855I does not pay it, and neither does a physician or NPP group practice.
The amount, and the window it applies to
The Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP provider enrollment application fee for calendar year 2026 is $750.00, required with any enrollment application submitted on or after 1 January 2026 and on or before 31 December 2026.
It rose from $730.00 in CY2025 by a 2.7% CPI-U adjustment. Under 42 CFR 424.514(d) the figure is re-indexed every year to the CPI-U for the twelve months ending each June, which is why a number you read in an article from two years ago is not the number you will be charged.
Source: Federal Register, 3 December 2025 — CY2026 application fee
Who actually pays it — this is the part that is worth money
The fee applies to "institutional providers". 42 CFR 424.502 defines that as a provider enrolling via the CMS-855A, the CMS-855B — expressly "not including physician and nonphysician practitioner organizations" — or the CMS-855S.
Read that exclusion carefully. A solo physician filing a CMS-855I is outside it. A physician or NPP group practice is outside it too, by the words in brackets. CMS’s own Application Fee Requirement Matrix confirms it: physicians, non-physician practitioners and clinic/group practices are not subject to the fee, for initial enrollment, revalidation, change of ownership, change of information, or adding a practice location.
The types that do pay include ambulatory surgical centres, independent clinical laboratories, IDTFs, home health agencies, hospices, FQHCs, rural health clinics, portable X-ray suppliers, ambulance services and DMEPOS suppliers.
Source: 42 CFR 424.502 — definition of institutional provider · CMS Application Fee Requirement Matrix (PDF)
Why this matters more than it sounds
A practice that believes it owes the fee pays it, and a practice that pays a fee it does not owe rarely finds out. It also skews budgeting for a multi-provider group, where somebody reasons that ten providers means ten fees.
Check the matrix against your own enrollment type before you send money. It is one PDF and it is linked below.
Questions
How much is the Medicare enrollment application fee in 2026?
$750.00 for applications submitted between 1 January 2026 and 31 December 2026. It is re-indexed annually to CPI-U under 42 CFR 424.514(d), so it changes every calendar year.
Do I pay it as a solo physician?
No. The fee is for institutional providers enrolling via the CMS-855A, CMS-855B or CMS-855S, and the CMS-855B definition expressly excludes physician and non-physician practitioner organizations. A CMS-855I filer is outside the requirement.
Does a group practice pay it?
A physician or non-physician practitioner group practice does not. CMS’s Application Fee Requirement Matrix lists clinic/group practice as not subject to the fee for initial enrollment, revalidation, change of ownership, change of information or adding a location.
A research summary, not legal or enrollment advice. Every rule above links to the regulation or the CMS document it came from so you can check it rather than trust it.
The rest of the cluster
If this is work somebody on your team is doing at four in the afternoon, it can be a seat.
Next step
A lapsed enrollment stops every claim behind it
A credentialing seat works enrollments, revalidations and CAQH attestation, so none of these dates arrives unannounced.
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