Cigna prior authorization fax number (2026)

Cigna prints 1 (866) 873-8279 as its fax number for precertification, also called prior authorization, on its Precertifications page. The page tells providers to "Submit the appropriate precertification intake form to our fax number at 1 (866) 873-8279." Cigna's own Prior Authorization Form prints the same number as 866.873.8279. Phone requests go to 1 (800) 882-4462.

Which Cigna route fits my request?

Cigna routes some services through EviCore by Evernorth and lists a phone line for each. Most use 1 (866) 668-9250, including home health care, durable medical equipment, musculoskeletal pain management, joint surgery and spinal-related procedures, sleep and vascular intervention. Radiology imaging uses 1 (888) 693-3211, and gastroenterology uses 1 (844) 457-9810.

Medications have no fax line on that page. Cigna points offices to electronic prior authorization and to the phone number above. Its Commercial Drug Prior Authorization Forms page (read October 7, 2026) says Cigna is moving prescription prior authorizations from fax and phone to electronic submission, and tells offices that can use neither to fax the number printed on the drug's own form.

Cigna's Forms Center also lists state prior authorization forms for Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Texas, Vermont and West Virginia. If your patient's plan falls under one of them, use that state's form and the instructions on it.

Not every service needs a request. Cigna publishes a master precertification list of the services that do, and a second list of services it has removed from the requirement. Check both before you fax.

What does a Cigna precertification request need?

Cigna lists four items for every request, by fax, phone or electronic transaction: a description of the service, the start date, the end date and the service code (HCPCS or CPT) if available. If any important detail is missing, the request may be denied. Send follow-up information by the same method you used the first time.

The Prior Authorization Form asks for:

• The patient's name, Cigna ID number, address, date of birth and phone number
• The requesting provider's name, address, tax ID or NPI, office contact, phone and fax
• The servicing provider's name, address and tax ID or NPI
• Whether the service is inpatient, outpatient, durable medical equipment or other, and the date of service
• The diagnosis description and codes, and the procedure description, code, modifier and units
• Visits, where they apply, with frequency and duration

The form says to complete it in its entirety and to attach clinical documentation that supports medical necessity.

What goes on the cover sheet?

Use Cigna's own cover sheet as the model. It asks for the sender's name, phone number and fax number, and for nothing else. Add the date and the page count. Patient identifiers belong on the form behind it.

Precertification is listed as a payment activity in 45 CFR 164.501, so the minimum necessary standard in 45 CFR 164.502(b) applies to what you attach. Send one patient per fax, with only the clinical records that support the service requested.

How do I send a precertification from a HIPAA fax account?

Under 45 CFR 160.103, the fax service that carries a precertification request for your practice is a business associate; Fax Pigeon puts a BAA in place at signup on every plan.

Fill in the intake form, add clinical notes and save the packet as one PDF. Upload it, or send it from your email. Enter 1 (866) 873-8279 and compare it with the number on Cigna's current page. After it sends, file the delivery certificate with the request. Cigna asks for 24 to 48 hours before it acknowledges a pending review, and the certificate is your record of when the pages went out.

A reply that comes back by fax lands in your shared inbox, where it can be assigned to whoever owns the authorization. It arrives with an AI summary and an email notification, per fax or daily. Plans start at $4.99 a month billed annually for 200 pages sent and received combined (plans and pricing).

What if the fax fails or Cigna changes the number?

If no delivery certificate arrives, resend once. After that, call 1 (800) 882-4462, or ask your practice management vendor about the electronic transaction Cigna accepts for precertification.

Cigna says to check whether a patient needs precertification before you send, either in the CignaforHCP portal or at the number on the back of the patient's ID card. Check the number above against the Precertifications page each time, because a misdial sends a patient's record to a stranger.

If your own fax number is the one changing, port it in rather than start over. Porting is free on every paid plan, and Port your fax number before you cancel sets out the order that keeps the old number working until the new one lands.

* Fax number verified October 7, 2026, on Cigna's own Precertifications and Prior Authorizations page (https://www.cigna.com/health-care-providers/coverage-and-claims/precertification), and on its Prior Authorization Form (https://static.cigna.com/assets/chcp/pdf/resourceLibrary/medical/prior-authorization-fax-form.pdf), copyright 2021. Confirm it on the current form before you send patient information. Fax Pigeon is not affiliated with Cigna.