Respiratory, Developmental, Rehabilitative and Restorative Service Providers / 2251X0800X
Individual · specialization · Medicare specialty 65
2251X0800X Orthopedic Physical Therapist
2251X0800X is the taxonomy code for Orthopedic, a specialization of Physical Therapist, in the NUCC group “Respiratory, Developmental, Rehabilitative and Restorative Service Providers”. It is a code for individual providers — the kind used on a Type 1 NPI. Medicare maps it to specialty 65, Physical Therapist in Private Practice, under which 113,980 practitioners are enrolled.
- 1Taxonomy code 2251X0800X
- 2Level Specialization
- 3Medicare specialty 65 Physical Therapist in Private Practice
- 4Codes in this group 82
Definition
A licensed physical therapist, including but not limited to an individual who is a Board Certified Specialist in Orthopaedic Physical Therapy, who has demonstrated specialized knowledge and skill in human anatomy and physiology, movement science; pathology/pathophysiology, pain science, medical and surgical considerations, orthopaedic physical therapy theory and practice, and critical inquiry for evidence-based practice.
— NUCC Health Care Provider Taxonomy, version 26.1
Where 2251X0800X sits
- Group: Respiratory, Developmental, Rehabilitative and Restorative Service Providers — code 39 of 82 in the group
- Classification: Physical Therapist 225100000X
- Specialization: Orthopedic 2251X0800X
Choose 2251X0800X over the general Physical Therapist code (225100000X) when the provider's training or certification is specifically in orthopedic; the general code covers the classification as a whole. A provider may report more than one taxonomy code on an NPI but marks one as primary.
Medicare
CMS's taxonomy crosswalk links 2251X0800X to Medicare specialty 65 (Physical Therapist in Private Practice). That specialty — not the taxonomy code itself — is what Medicare enrollment records and uses for payment. 113,980 practitioners are enrolled under it nationally, and 10 other taxonomy codes map to the same specialty.
Other codes under the same Medicare specialty: 225100000X Physical Therapist; 2251C2600X Cardiopulmonary Physical Therapist; 2251E1200X Ergonomics Physical Therapist; 2251E1300X Clinical Electrophysiology Physical Therapist; 2251G0304X Geriatric Physical Therapist; 2251H1200X Hand Physical Therapist; 2251H1300X Human Factors Physical Therapist; 2251N0400X Neurology Physical Therapist; and 2 more.
Related codes
| Code | Physical Therapist — other specializations |
|---|---|
| 2251H1200X | Hand |
| 2251H1300X | Human Factors |
| 2251N0400X | Neurology |
| 2251P0200X | Pediatrics |
| 2251S0007X | Sports |
The nearest 5 of 10 other codes under Physical Therapist; all are on the group page.
History of 2251X0800X
NUCC's earliest recorded change to 2251X0800X is from 2020 (definition added).
- 2020-01-01 — definition added
Similar codes in other groups
If 2251X0800X is not quite right, these codes in other groups share a word with it — often the same field practised by a different kind of provider:
- 111NX0800X Orthopedic Chiropractor (Chiropractic Providers)
- 163WX0800X Orthopedic Registered Nurse (Nursing Service Providers)
- 246ZX2200X Orthopedic Assistant (Technologists, Technicians & Other Technical Service Providers)
Find providers with 2251X0800X
Using 2251X0800X
The code goes in the taxonomy field of the NPI application in NPPES, and on claims where a payer asks for it — box 24J (shaded) or 33b on the CMS-1500 with the ZZ qualifier, or the PRV segment of an 837 electronic claim. Payers match it against the taxonomy on the NPI record and, for Medicare, against the specialty on the enrollment, so all three should agree. To see which code a provider uses, search their NPI in the lookup.
Sources: NUCC Health Care Provider Taxonomy code set, version 26.1 (CSV); CMS Medicare Provider and Supplier Taxonomy Crosswalk, August 2026; CMS Medicare Fee-For-Service Public Provider Enrollment, extract of 2026-09-29. Checked 2026-10-24. Methodology.