Maintaining CAQH and attestation
Maintaining a CAQH profile means keeping a provider's self-reported credentialing data accurate and complete, and periodically re-attesting to it, so that participating health plans can continue pulling current, self-reported information without asking the provider to resubmit everything. Attestation is the provider's dated confirmation that the profile is correct as of that day; without a recent attestation, many payers treat the data as stale and will not rely on it for credentialing. Maintenance is therefore an ongoing responsibility rather than a one-time setup, and the exact rules and intervals vary by payer, plan, and CAQH's own current policy.
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Key takeaways
- Attestation is the provider's dated statement that the CAQH profile is complete, current, and accurate — not the payer's verification of it.
- Profiles must be re-attested on a recurring schedule set by CAQH, and payers may disregard a profile whose attestation has lapsed.
- Expirable credentials — license, DEA registration, malpractice coverage, board status — must be updated in the profile as they change or renew.
- A current attestation does not replace a payer's independent primary source verification; the two are separate steps.
- Timing, cadence, and consequences of a lapse vary by payer, plan, and accreditation standard — always confirm the current source.
What maintaining a CAQH profile means
CAQH operates a widely used online repository where a provider enters credentialing information once and authorizes health plans to access it. Rather than completing a separate data form for every payer, the provider maintains a single CAQH profile that plans draw from during credentialing and recredentialing. Maintaining that profile has two linked parts: keeping the underlying data and documents accurate, and attesting — formally confirming that the information is true and current as of a specific date.
Attestation is what makes the profile usable. A profile that was accurate a year ago but has not been re-attested may be treated by payers as out of date, because the provider has not recently vouched for it. Maintenance keeps the profile in an "active" state so that when a plan reaches in to begin or renew credentialing, the data it retrieves is both complete and freshly confirmed.
- Attestation
- The provider's dated statement that the information in the profile is complete, current, and accurate as of that date.
- Re-attestation
- Repeating attestation on CAQH's recurring schedule so the profile stays active and available for payer use.
- Provider authorization
- The provider's grant of permission for specific health plans to access the profile; without it, an authorized plan cannot pull the data.
Why attestation matters
Health plans use CAQH data as an input to credentialing decisions that ultimately affect network participation and payer contracting. Because those decisions rest on the accuracy of what the provider reported, payers generally require a recent attestation before they will treat the profile as reliable. An attestation that has lapsed signals that no one has recently confirmed the data, so a plan may pause its process until the provider re-attests.
Attestation does not, however, replace verification. Even with a current attestation, a payer still performs primary source verification — independently confirming licensure, education, board status, and other elements with the issuing sources. Accreditation bodies such as the National Committee for Quality Assurance set standards for how recent those verifications must be, which is part of why current, self-attested data helps a plan complete its work within the applicable time limits.
Attestation and verification are not the same
The ongoing maintenance cycle
Maintenance is a repeating loop rather than a task with an end date. CAQH prompts providers to re-attest on a recurring schedule, and separate events — a license renewal, a new practice location, a malpractice policy change — require updates whenever they occur. The interval between required re-attestations is set by CAQH and can change over time, so providers should watch for reminder notices and confirm the current cadence directly with the source rather than assuming a fixed number of days.
Keep the underlying documents current
Ensure that supporting documents on file — license, registration, insurance certificate — are unexpired and legible, so verifiers can retrieve usable copies. This mirrors the discipline of building a credentialing file.Update the profile when something changes
Edit the profile promptly when a credential renews, an address changes, or affiliations shift — not only at re-attestation time. Stale fields discovered during verification can stall a plan's decision.Respond to re-attestation reminders
Re-attest on CAQH's schedule to keep the profile active. A lapsed attestation can quietly take the profile out of use for payers even if every data field is still correct.Maintain authorizations
Confirm that the plans a provider works with are authorized to access the profile, so they can pull data when they begin or renew credentialing.Reconcile with payer requests
When a plan flags a discrepancy or requests an update, resolve it in the profile so future retrievals are consistent. This supports realistic credentialing timelines and planning.
- State professional license(s) and their expiration dates
- DEA registration, where applicable to the provider's practice
- Professional liability (malpractice) coverage and current policy dates
- Board certification status and expiration
- Current practice locations, addresses, and contact details
- Hospital affiliations and privileges
- Work history, including any gaps that a payer may question
- Uploaded documents, so verifiers can access unexpired, legible copies
Attestation vs. related maintenance activities
CAQH attestation is one of several recurring maintenance activities in a provider's credentialing and enrollment life. It is easy to conflate them, but each has a different owner, venue, and consequence. The table compares attestation with a payer's recredentialing and with Medicare revalidation across the same dimensions.
| Dimension | CAQH attestation | Recredentialing | Medicare revalidation |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | The provider's periodic confirmation that profile data is current and accurate | A payer's periodic re-verification of a credentialed provider's qualifications | CMS's periodic re-verification of a provider's Medicare enrollment record |
| Who drives it | The provider or an authorized delegate | The health plan or its credentialing delegate | The provider, responding to a CMS or contractor notice |
| Where it happens | The CAQH profile | The payer's credentialing process, often sourced from CAQH | PECOS or an updated CMS-855 |
| Typical cadence | Recurring; interval set by CAQH — check the current source | Recurring; interval set by each plan and accreditation standards | Recurring; cycle set by CMS — check the current source |
| What a lapse can affect | Whether payers can use the profile for credentialing | Continued network participation under the contract | Continued Medicare enrollment and billing privileges |
Cadences and consequences vary by payer, plan, state, and CMS policy, and change over time; the entries describe structure, not fixed timelines.
Avoiding lapses and keeping the profile audit-ready
The most common maintenance failure is a silent one: the data is correct, but the attestation has expired, so payers stop treating the profile as current. Because a provider's participation effective date with a plan generally depends on credentialing finishing on time, a lapse that stalls the plan's work can push participation later than expected. Assigning clear ownership and using calendar reminders for both re-attestation and credential expirations reduces that risk.
A lapsed attestation can quietly stall credentialing
Good maintenance also supports the broader picture of provider enrollment and ongoing enrollment maintenance. The identifiers and demographics in a CAQH profile — such as the provider's NPI, practice locations, and specialty — should stay consistent with what is on file across payer records, so that data pulled from different systems agrees. Consistency across sources is what lets verifiers and payers move without repeated back-and-forth.
Designate an owner
Common questions
Is attestation the same as credentialing?
No. Attestation is the provider's dated confirmation that the CAQH profile is complete and accurate. Credentialing is the health plan's process of verifying qualifications and deciding on participation. Attestation is an input the payer relies on, not the decision itself.
How often must a CAQH profile be re-attested?
On a recurring schedule set by CAQH. The exact interval can change over time, so providers should watch for CAQH reminder notices and confirm the current cadence with CAQH directly rather than relying on a fixed number remembered from the past.
Does a current attestation replace the payer's verification?
No. Even with a fresh attestation, payers still perform primary source verification — independently confirming credentials with their issuing sources. Attestation and verification are separate steps that serve different purposes.
What happens if attestation lapses?
The profile can be treated as stale, so payers may be unable to use or rely on it. That can delay credentialing or recredentialing until the provider re-attests. How much delay results, and any downstream effect, depends on each payer's process and timing.
Who can maintain and attest the profile?
The provider, or an authorized delegate acting on the provider's behalf, can maintain the data and complete attestation. The provider remains responsible for the accuracy of the information regardless of who performs the updates.
Key terms in this article
Defined once, on their own pages.
Continue learning
Where to go next in the credentialing and enrollment cluster.
The CAQH profile
What a CAQH profile contains and how payers draw on it during credentialing.
Primary source verification explained
How payers independently confirm credentials with their issuing sources.
Revalidation and recredentialing
The recurring re-verification cycles that run alongside CAQH attestation.
Enrollment maintenance
Keeping payer enrollment records accurate as a provider's information changes.
Building a credentialing file
Assembling the documents that support a profile and a payer application.
Authoritative sources
- CAQH (opens in a new tab)
Nonprofit alliance that operates the widely used provider data profile and attestation system.
- National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) (opens in a new tab)
Accreditation body that publishes credentialing standards, including verification time limits.
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) (opens in a new tab)
Administers Medicare and Medicaid and publishes provider enrollment and revalidation rules.