LEIE API — OIG Provider Exclusion Check via NPI

Updated June 9, 2026 · VBC Risk Analytics

Federal healthcare program participants are required to screen employees, contractors, and providers against the OIG List of Excluded Individuals and Entities (LEIE) before engagement and monthly thereafter. Doing this manually for a large provider roster is slow and error-prone. This guide explains what the LEIE is, how the NPI Registry API returns exclusion status as part of every NPI lookup, and how to build LEIE screening into a credentialing or compliance pipeline.

What is the OIG LEIE?

The LEIE (List of Excluded Individuals and Entities) is the Office of Inspector General's database of providers, practitioners, and entities excluded from participation in Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal healthcare programs. Exclusions result from convictions for healthcare fraud, patient abuse, felony drug offenses, and similar violations.

Billing for services provided by an excluded individual — even unknowingly — exposes an organization to Civil Monetary Penalties (CMPs) — up to $20,000 per item or service billed, plus up to three times the amount claimed (penalty amounts subject to annual inflation adjustment). OIG recommends monthly screening of all employees and contractors against the LEIE.

Is there a LEIE REST API?

The OIG publishes the LEIE as a downloadable file and a basic name-search interface at oig.hhs.gov/exclusions. There is no official LEIE REST API that accepts an NPI number and returns exclusion status in JSON.

The NPI Registry API solves this: every findbyNPIId response includes an in_leie flag that reflects whether the provider's NPI appears on the LEIE at the time of the call. You get exclusion status in the same response as taxonomy, address, and PECOS enrollment — no separate OIG query required.

The in_leie flag in the API response

The in_leie field appears in the entity_type object of every findbyNPIId response:

{
  "npi": 1053500652,
  "entity_type": [{
    "in_pecos": "Y",
    "in_leie":  "N",       // N = not on OIG LEIE; Y = excluded
    "enum_date": "2007-10-18",
    "last_update_date": "2022-02-16"
  }]
}

in_leie: "Y" means the provider appears on the LEIE and should be flagged for review. in_leie: "N" means they do not appear on the list as of the most recent dataset update.

Screening a provider roster via API

import time, requests

API_KEY  = "YOUR_API_KEY"
BASE_URL = "https://restapi.npidataservices.com/api/v1/findbyNPIId"

def screen_roster(npi_list):
    flagged = []
    for npi in npi_list:
        r = requests.get(BASE_URL,
                         params={"NPIId": npi},
                         headers={"ApiKey": API_KEY})
        d = r.json()
        entity = (d.get("entity_type") or [{}])[0]
        if entity.get("in_leie") == "Y":
            flagged.append({
                "npi":      npi,
                "in_pecos": entity.get("in_pecos"),
                "in_leie":  "Y",
            })
        time.sleep(0.1)
    return flagged

# Run monthly against your full provider roster
flagged_providers = screen_roster(["1053500652", "1184713042", "1023374782"])

What LEIE screening should cover

The NPI Registry API's in_leie flag reflects the OIG LEIE specifically. A complete exclusion screening program for federal healthcare program compliance typically also covers:

• SAM.gov (formerly EPLS) — the federal debarment and suspension list maintained by GSA, required for federal contractors.
• State Medicaid exclusion lists — each state maintains its own exclusion list, and providers excluded in one state may not appear on the federal LEIE.

The in_leie flag covers the federal OIG list. For a complete compliance program, supplement it with state-level screening appropriate to your organization's Medicaid participation and state of operation.

Who needs LEIE screening via API

• Healthcare staffing and credentialing platforms. Screen providers at time of credentialing and monthly thereafter without manual OIG portal queries.
• Managed care organizations (MCOs). Validate that network providers are not excluded before processing claims or authorizations.
• Revenue cycle and billing systems. Flag excluded billing providers before claim submission to avoid CMPs.
• Healthcare SaaS platforms. Surface exclusion status alongside NPI and PECOS data in provider profiles or credentialing workflows.
• Compliance automation pipelines. Run scheduled monthly screening jobs against provider and contractor rosters.

Related guides

• PECOS API — Medicare enrollment data returned alongside the in_leie flag in a single NPI lookup
• Provider Credentialing Automation — how LEIE screening fits into an automated NPI + PECOS + LEIE credentialing pipeline
• NPI Bulk Lookup API — build monthly LEIE screening workflows against your full provider roster
• NPPES API vs NPI Registry API — why the free NPPES API doesn't return LEIE exclusion data
• NPPES API Down? — production reliability considerations for compliance-critical screening pipelines
• OIG Exclusion Screening API — monthly batch LEIE screening automation, compliance documentation, and scope limitations
• Provider Verification API — combined NPI, PECOS, and LEIE verification in one call

Frequently asked questions

Is there a REST API for the OIG LEIE exclusion list?
The OIG publishes the LEIE as a downloadable file and a name-search interface, not a REST API. The NPI Registry API returns an in_leie flag (Y/N) for any NPI lookup — no separate OIG query needed.

What does in_leie mean in the response?
in_leie: "Y" means the provider's NPI appears on the OIG LEIE at the time of the lookup. "N" means they do not. The flag is included in the entity_type object of every findbyNPIId response.

Who is required to screen against the LEIE?
Federal healthcare program participants — including Medicare/Medicaid providers, MCOs, and their contractors — must screen against the OIG LEIE to avoid CMPs of up to $20,000 per item or service billed, plus up to three times the amount claimed. Screening is typically monthly.

How often is the LEIE flag updated?
The in_leie flag is sourced from the OIG LEIE, which is updated monthly. For ongoing compliance, run scheduled monthly re-checks of your full provider roster in addition to point-in-time lookups at credentialing.

Does LEIE screening via NPI cover state exclusion lists?
No — the in_leie flag covers the federal OIG list only. A complete compliance program also screens against state Medicaid exclusion lists and SAM.gov. See your compliance counsel for program-specific requirements.