Does a therapist in private practice still need a fax number?

Yes, where a program still faxes: Medicare's CMS-855I marks a practice's fax number "if applicable" and CAQH's portal takes no faxed documents, yet behavioral health plans, EAPs, licensing boards and Social Security still send or take therapist paperwork by fax. Fax Pigeon gives a practice its own fax number with a signed BAA for $4.99 a month billed annually.

Does a therapist in private practice still need a fax number?

A therapist in private practice still needs a fax number for the programs that send or take paperwork by fax, which include Carelon's provider forms, three EAP programs, plans' testing requests, Florida's licensing board and Social Security. Medicare enrollment runs through PECOS or the paper CMS-855I, CAQH takes uploads only, and Evernorth and Optum credential through their own portals.

The table sorts each program by what its own page says about fax.

Which programs still send or take therapist paperwork by fax?

Behavioral health plans, EAPs, plans' testing request forms, Florida's licensing board and Social Security still send or take therapist paperwork by fax, each on its own form. Carelon's Site Information Form asks a practice for its fax number and whether authorization letters should go to it, and Carelon's ProviderConnect form for access to multiple providers goes back by fax. Lucet faxes or mails EAP authorizations, and Aetna's Resources for Living manual has providers fax the billing form.

Evernorth's Massachusetts psychological and neuropsychological assessment form files by fax, and the Oklahoma Medicaid plans' testing requests carry the fax numbers of both the agency and the treating professional. Payers covered by CMS-0057-F may send a prior authorization denial, with its specific reason, by portal, fax, email, mail or phone. Florida's Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage & Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling lists fax beside upload, email and mail for supporting documents on its LMFT, LCSW and LMHC pages.

Which ones take no faxes?

CAQH and Mississippi's LPC board refuse faxed documents, and the credentialing applications at Evernorth and Optum run online. CAQH's Provider User Guide (Version #43) says the CAQH Provider Data Portal does not support faxing of supporting documents, which go into the Documents section as PDF, TIF, JPG or JPEG files, and the signed Authorization, Attestation, and Release form is uploaded too. Mississippi's Board of Examiners for Licensed Professional Counselors says in its application packet, dated 2016 on its face, that faxed documents are not acceptable.

Evernorth says all applicants, third-party organizations included, apply through its portal and that it relies on CAQH to verify provider information. Optum asks for the CAQH ID # on its credentialing application where a state requires CAQH, wants CAQH to match its NPRF form and sends missing documents out through DocuSign.

Where does a fax number go on Medicare and CAQH forms?

On Medicare's CMS-855I, a fax number goes in Section 4B for each practice location as "Fax Number (if applicable)" beside the telephone number, and in Section 2D for the correspondence mailing address, also marked if applicable. Section 13, the contact person section, is headed Optional and has its own fax field. The form makes every field required except those marked optional, and Section 4B covers each location where the practitioner renders services, including any distant site for telehealth. The paper form goes to the designated MAC with original signatures, or the practitioner applies through PECOS.

On CAQH, now DataSpring, powered by CAQH, the location's phone number is the one a patient uses to make an appointment, or the main number for a provider who takes no appointments, and a location can be marked virtual-only. Grow Therapy's instructions for the DataSpring profile show a Fax number field beside the Appointment phone number for each location. DataSpring's clinician Q&A says the rebrand needs no action, and providers are not charged to use the portal.

How does Social Security ask a therapist for records?

Social Security asks a therapist for records by fax when the therapist, as a medical source, can receive and send faxes: under POMS DI 22505.030, staff fax the request for medical evidence, the invoice and an SSA-827 authorization, then ask for the evidence back by fax to the certified electronic folder with a bar-coded cover sheet on top of the first page. The source does not have to fax the SSA-827 back. A source that cannot fax may get the request by U.S. mail or another delivery service, and under POMS DI 22505.006 the Disability Determination Services send a traditional request by mail, fax or the request function of Electronic Records Express (ERE).

What does a telehealth or home-office therapist do without a landline?

A telehealth or home-office therapist without a landline uses an online fax number, which sends from a browser or from email (how to send a HIPAA fax without a landline or a fax machine). Medicare's Section 4B already covers distant sites where telehealth is rendered, and CAQH lets a location be marked virtual-only. On Fax Pigeon, a PDF, a Word, Excel or PowerPoint file, or a phone photo uploads as it is, and each paid plan gives the practice a number of its own for sending and receiving (a fax solution for a telehealth practice). Confirming an email sends one fax of up to 10 pages with no credit card, from a shared number under the same signed BAA.

How do you set up and keep one fax number, step by step?

Setting up and keeping one practice fax number takes six steps.

1. List the programs the practice works with: plans, EAPs, Medicare, the licensing board and Social Security.
2. Read each program's own page for the channel it uses: portal, upload, fax or mail.
3. Put one fax number on the CAQH profile and on every form that asks for one.
4. Tell each plan's Provider Services when the number changes, as Anthem's EAP page asks.
5. Re-attest the CAQH profile on schedule; Evernorth asks for every 120 days, or every 180 days for Illinois providers (how to fax a W-9 and ownership change to insurers for credentialing).
6. Port an existing number instead of replacing it.

Porting is free on every paid Fax Pigeon plan and can start at sign-up or from Settings. A transfer most often finishes in 5 to 15 business days, with the number still working at the current provider in the meantime (how to get a HIPAA-compliant fax number for a private practice).

What HIPAA points does a practice fax number raise?

A practice fax number raises HIPAA points about the BAA with the fax service, who in the practice sees the faxes and the record of what was sent. On Fax Pigeon, a BAA is signed at sign-up on every plan and can be read at faxpigeon.com/baa before paying. Everyone in the practice shares one number and one inbox with roles and assignment, adding people costs nothing, and every delivered fax gets delivery proof.

Plans check the number from their side: on Anthem's EAP page, associates confirm a provider's fax number each time before faxing documents with protected health information.

* Fax Pigeon prices and plan terms as of October 21, 2026. Outside sources were read on October 20, 2026.