How to Find Physical Therapists by Zip Code
Data sourced from live CMS NPI Registry API v2.1 queries, run June 13, 2026. All provider counts are real API responses, not estimates. Raw query results are available for download. See methodology below.
taxonomy_description=Physical+Therapist (NUCC 225100000X). Three traps proven June 13, 2026: (1) Physiotherapist returns zero — it is the British English term, not used in the U.S. NPI registry. (2) Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (208100000X) is a completely separate MD physician specialty (physiatrists) — not physical therapists. (3) PTs are NPI-1 non-physician providers — they do not prescribe medications; for pharmaceutical call planning, the referring physician is the target, not the PT. Physical therapy is one of the highest-volume non-physician specialties in the registry: every metro and both small states capped at 200 in June 2026. Memphis: 200 (capped), 179 NPI-1, credentials dominated by PT and DPT.
Physical therapy in the NPI registry: real counts from 9 markets
We queried the CMS NPI API v2.1 on June 13, 2026 with taxonomy_description=Physical+Therapist.
Physical therapy is an extremely high-volume non-physician specialty — every market capped.
| Market | Query scope | NPI records returned | At 200-record cap? |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York, NY | City filter | 200+ | Yes (more exist) |
| Los Angeles, CA | City filter | 200+ | Yes (more exist) |
| Chicago, IL | City filter | 200+ | Yes (more exist) |
| Houston, TX | City filter | 200+ | Yes (more exist) |
| Phoenix, AZ | City filter | 200+ | Yes (more exist) |
| Nashville, TN | City filter | 200+ | Yes (more exist) |
| Memphis, TN | City filter | 200+ | Yes (more exist) |
| Wyoming (statewide) | State filter | 200+ | Yes (more exist) |
| Vermont (statewide) | State filter | 200+ | Yes (more exist) |
Source: CMS NPI Registry API v2.1, taxonomy_description=Physical+Therapist, limit=200. Queried June 13, 2026. Every market including Wyoming and Vermont statewide capped. Physical therapy is one of the most-enrolled non-physician specialties in the registry. Confirmed: Physiotherapist → 0; Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation → 200+ (separate MD physiatrist population). Raw dumps: Memphis, Vermont.
Physical therapy taxonomy strings: what works and what doesn't
| Provider type | taxonomy_description value | NUCC code | National June 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physical therapist (licensed PT) | Physical Therapist |
225100000X | 200+ every market tested (capped) |
| Physical therapy assistant (PTA) | Physical Therapy Assistant |
225200000X | 200+ nationally — separate taxonomy |
| Physiatrist (MD physician) | Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation |
208100000X | 200+ nationally — completely separate MD specialty |
| "Physiotherapist" (British term) | Invalid — returns 0 | None | 0 — not a CMS taxonomy string |
| "Physical Therapist, Orthopedic" (variant) | Appears in raw data; standalone query returned 0 | Subspecialty of 225100000X | Use bare Physical Therapist query to capture |
| "Physical Therapist, Sports" (variant) | Appears in raw data; standalone query returned 0 | Subspecialty of 225100000X | Use bare Physical Therapist query to capture |
How to search for physical therapists by zip code (5 steps)
Choose your search method
- NPI registry directly at npiregistry.cms.hhs.gov — free, no account, city or state filter only. No radius.
- getdork Physician Search — same CMS API with zip-radius filtering, correct taxonomy pre-mapped, CSV export. Search physical therapists by ZIP →
Use Physical Therapist — not Physiotherapist, not Physical Medicine
taxonomy_description=Physical+Therapist. "Physiotherapist" returns zero.
"Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation" returns physiatrists (MDs), not PTs.
The numeric NUCC code 225100000X is silently ignored by the API.
Understand that PTs are non-physician NPI-1 providers
Physical therapists are licensed non-physician healthcare providers. They have NPI numbers (NPI-1 individuals and NPI-2 practice organizations) but do not prescribe medications. For pharmaceutical call planning, the referring physician (orthopedic surgeon, physiatrist, neurologist) is the prescriber target — not the PT.
Plan around the cap in every market
Physical therapy capped at 200 in every market we tested — including Wyoming and Vermont statewide. Use zip-code radius queries to segment your territory into workable slices. Physical therapy density is very high in suburban and hospital-adjacent zip codes.
Export to CSV (Pro) and sort by credential for license-level segmentation
DPT credentials indicate a doctoral-level physical therapist (entry-level standard since approximately 2015). PT without DPT indicates an older master's- or bachelor's-level therapist. All are licensed for the same scope of practice in most states. The NPI-2 records represent PT clinics and can be used to identify high-volume practice groups.
Direct API queries
# Physical therapists in Memphis — 200 records (capped, June 2026) https://npiregistry.cms.hhs.gov/api/? version=2.1 &taxonomy_description=Physical+Therapist &city=Memphis &state=TN &limit=200 # WRONG — Physiotherapist returns 0 (British term, not used in US NPI registry) https://npiregistry.cms.hhs.gov/api/? version=2.1 &taxonomy_description=Physiotherapist &limit=200 # WRONG — Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation returns physiatrists (MDs), not PTs https://npiregistry.cms.hhs.gov/api/? version=2.1 &taxonomy_description=Physical+Medicine+%26+Rehabilitation &limit=200 # Vermont statewide — 200+ (capped, June 2026 — even this small state exceeds cap) https://npiregistry.cms.hhs.gov/api/? version=2.1 &taxonomy_description=Physical+Therapist &state=VT &limit=200 # Physical Therapy Assistant (PTA) — separate taxonomy, 200+ nationally https://npiregistry.cms.hhs.gov/api/? version=2.1 &taxonomy_description=Physical+Therapy+Assistant &limit=200
Radius guidance for physical therapy territories
| Market type | Recommended starting radius | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Dense urban (NYC, Chicago, LA, Houston) | 5 miles | Physical therapy density in major cities is extremely high — every market capped at 200. A 5-mile radius in an urban core will return a full, manageable slice. Multiple overlapping queries cover the full metro. |
| Mid-metro (Memphis, Nashville) | 10–15 miles | Both cities capped at 200. A 10-mile radius covers the urban hospital corridor and major outpatient PT groups. Extend to 25 miles for suburban coverage. |
| Statewide (Wyoming, Vermont) | 25–50 miles | Both states capped statewide — physical therapy is well-distributed even in rural states because outpatient PT clinics exist in most mid-size towns. Segment by regional hub zip codes rather than querying statewide. |
getdork sends
taxonomy_description=Physical+Therapist — not "Physiotherapist,"
not "Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation" — and handles the zip-radius math so you
can segment a capped metro into workable slices. The CSV includes entity type and credential
columns to separate individual PTs from practice organizations.
Free to preview; Pro for the full list and CSV export.
Search physical therapists by ZIP — free →
Frequently asked questions
Why does "Physiotherapist" return zero results in the NPI registry?
"Physiotherapist" is the British English term for physical therapist. The U.S. NPI registry
uses American English terminology. The NUCC taxonomy uses "Physical Therapist" (225100000X).
A query for taxonomy_description=Physiotherapist returns zero results with no
error, confirmed June 13, 2026. Use "Physical Therapist."
What is the difference between a Physical Therapist and Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation in the NPI registry?
Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (208100000X) is a separate MD physician specialty — these are physiatrists, who prescribe medications and manage complex rehabilitation cases. Physical Therapist (225100000X) is a non-physician licensed provider who performs hands-on physical rehabilitation. Both are in the registry but under completely separate NUCC categories. Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation returned 200+ nationally in June 2026 — a large, active, separately queryable population.
How does the Memphis physical therapy dataset break down by entity type and credential?
Memphis (June 2026): 179 NPI-1 (individual PTs), 21 NPI-2 (PT practices and hospital departments). Primary taxonomy: 180 Physical Therapist, 5 Physical Therapist Orthopedic, 3 Physical Therapist Pediatrics, 2 each Geriatrics and Sports. Credentials: 50 PT, 30 DPT, 27 P.T., 22 PT DPT. Vermont (200, capped): 173 NPI-1, 27 NPI-2, 184 bare Physical Therapist primary, 7 Orthopedic.
Are PT specialization variants like Orthopedic PT and Sports PT separate NPI taxonomy strings?
When queried independently with comma-separated format (e.g., "Physical Therapist, Orthopedic"), these returned zero in June 2026. However, they appear as primary taxonomy values in the raw data from the bare Physical Therapist query. In Memphis: 5 Physical Therapist, Orthopedic and 2 Physical Therapist, Sports appeared as primary taxonomy values. Use the bare Physical Therapist query and filter the primary taxonomy column after export to isolate specializations.
How does a Physical Therapy Assistant (PTA) differ from a Physical Therapist in the NPI registry?
Physical Therapy Assistant (225200000X) is a separate NUCC taxonomy that returned 200+ nationally in June 2026. PTAs work under PT supervision but have their own NPI numbers. A Physical Therapist query will not return PTAs. For a device or supply rep targeting all PT-setting providers, query both Physical Therapist and Physical Therapy Assistant separately and combine the lists.
What device products use a physical therapist call list?
Physical therapy is a primary market for rehabilitation and modality equipment: electrotherapy (TENS, neuromuscular electrical stimulation, therapeutic ultrasound), continuous passive motion (CPM) devices, dry needling supplies, kinesiology tape, resistance training equipment, balance and proprioception devices, and manual therapy tools. Post-surgical rehabilitation products include bracing, splinting, crutches, walkers, and assistive mobility devices. Wound care supply reps also call on PT clinics managing post-surgical wounds. Note: pharma reps generally target the referring physicians (orthopedic surgeons, physiatrists, neurologists) rather than PTs directly, since PTs do not prescribe medications.
Data methodology
All provider counts come from direct queries to the CMS NPI Registry API v2.1, run on
June 13, 2026. We used taxonomy_description=Physical+Therapist and limit=200.
No authentication required. Confirmed: Physiotherapist → 0;
Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation → 200+ (separate MD physiatrist population);
Physical Therapy Assistant → 200+ (separate PTA population).
Raw responses: npi-physical-therapy-memphis-tn-raw.json, npi-physical-therapy-vermont-raw.json. Collection script: _data/npi-counts-physical-therapy.ps1.
Related guides
- How to search the NPI registry (full guide) — complete API reference and the taxonomy_description quirk explained in detail.
- What is an NPI number and what can you look up? — NPI types, fields, and data freshness.
- How to find physicians by specialty and state — state-level NPI searches across specialties.
- How to find orthopedic surgeons by zip code — the MD counterpart to PT referrals for musculoskeletal conditions.
- How to find neurologists by zip code — neurologists frequently refer to PT for rehabilitation after stroke, MS, and spinal cord injuries.