RPPS number and CPS card for nurses: obtaining, e-CPS and procedures

RPPS number, CPS card, e-CPS: these three identifiers determine your access to digital health tools, from invoicing to secure messaging. This guide explains how to obtain them, where to find them, what they are used for and what to do if you lose them or your situation changes, for both employed and self-employed nurses.

What is a nurse's RPPS number?

The RPPS (shared directory of healthcare professionals) is the reference directory that identifies professionals working in the healthcare system. It brings together their identification data and professional data: profession, specialities, places of practice.

Each nurse receives an 11-digit RPPS number, assigned for life. It does not change if you change department, employer or mode of practice. This is the number that identifies you to the health insurance fund, establishments and digital health services.

How do I obtain my RPPS number?

You do not need to take any specific steps: the RPPS number follows from your registration with the Conseil national de l'Ordre infirmier. Since nurses were transferred to the RPPS, the Ordre is your single point of contact: it records your data in the directory and sends you your number by email.

1. Register with the Ordre via the members' area, as soon as you obtain your certificate of success.
2. Await the decision of the departmental or inter-departmental council.
3. Receive your RPPS number by email from the Ordre national.

For details of documents required and timescales, consult our guide on registration with the Conseil national de l'Ordre infirmier.

Good to know: you no longer need to register your diploma with the regional health agency or notify it of changes in your situation. Everything goes through the Ordre, whatever your mode of practice.

Where can I find my RPPS number?

Three simple ways:

• the email from the Ordre that sent it to you;
• your members' area on the Conseil national de l'Ordre infirmier portal;
• the health directory of the Agence du numérique en santé, on annuaire.sante.fr, by searching for your name.

The health directory is fed by the RPPS, supplemented in particular by data from the health insurance fund, secure messaging addresses and CPS card data. Its information is updated regularly.

What happened to nurses' ADELI number?

Nurses were previously registered in the ADELI directory, with a departmental number. At the end of October 2021, the Ordre transferred all nurses to the RPPS: the ADELI number disappeared when the RPPS number was assigned, and the ADELI directory was abandoned in favour of the RPPS for the profession.

If a document or software still asks you for an ADELI number, you should now use your RPPS number instead.

What is the CPS card?

The healthcare professional card (CPS) is a smart card issued by the Agence du numérique en santé (ANS). It certifies your identity and status as a healthcare professional when you log in to a digital service. It is used with a card reader and a confidential code specific to its holder.

It should not be confused with the establishment personnel card (CPE), ordered by establishments for their non-clinical staff through their representative.

How do I obtain my CPS card as a nurse?

Prerequisite: be registered with the Conseil national de l'Ordre infirmier. Without registration, no CPS card order is possible.

You invoice the health insurance fund

Nurses who invoice, particularly self-employed nurses, receive their card automatically. The sending is linked to your registration with the health insurance fund when you set up in practice. For the steps involved in setting up as a self-employed nurse, see our guide on becoming a self-employed nurse.

You are employed

If your establishment has generalised the use of CPS cards, your card is sent to you automatically. Otherwise, you can order it yourself.

Order your card yourself

1. Check your registration and your contact details in your members' area of the Ordre.
2. Visit the ordering portal on the Digital Health Agency website: ma-cps.esante.gouv.fr.
3. Follow the online ordering procedure.
4. Log in using a card reader and your personal confidential code.

What is the CPS card for?

The CPS card gives you access to services that require strong authentication of healthcare professionals:

• amelipro, the professional space of the Health Insurance scheme, to view your payments and carry out your procedures: logging in requires entering the CPS card holder code;
• the shared medical record (DMP) of patients;
• the secure health messaging service (MSSanté);
• services connected to Pro Santé Connect, presented below.

Important note: the CPS card and its codes are strictly personal. Do not share them with a colleague, a locum or a secretary: every login is linked to your professional identity.

What is e-CPS and how do I activate it?

e-CPS is the dematerialised version of the CPS card: an application on a smartphone or tablet that authenticates you without a card reader. It offers a level of security equivalent to the physical card. It is useful when mobile, particularly on home visits, and for nurses who do not have a physical card.

Who can obtain it?

Ordering an e-CPS is reserved for nurses registered with the Ordre. To activate it, you must either have a CPS card or have your contact details (email and telephone) registered with the Ordre and transmitted to the Digital Health Agency's reference systems.

Activation steps

1. Update your email and telephone number in your Ordre member space.
2. Download the e-CPS application on your smartphone or tablet.
3. Activate it: from a computer equipped with a reader if you have a CPS card, or directly in the application if you do not.

If activation fails, first check that the contact details registered with the Ordre are correct: without a CPS card, these are what enable activation.

Pro Santé Connect: which services use the CPS or e-CPS?

Pro Santé Connect is the national system for identifying healthcare professionals. You log in with your e-CPS or CPS card, and the service used receives your identity and professional data from the RPPS: profession, expertise, practice situation.

Since 1 January 2023, digital services classified as sensitive must offer login via Pro Santé Connect. Several hundred services are connected to it, including the DMP and secure health messaging service.

Renewal, loss, change of details: what should I do?

Renewal

The CPS card is renewed automatically every three years. Its expiry date appears on the front.

Change of details

Report any change of address, email or telephone number to the Ordre from your member space. The Ordre transmits the update to the Digital Health Agency: this ensures your card is sent to the correct address and your e-CPS is activated.

Card lost, not received or not working

The Health Insurance scheme refers you to the Digital Health Agency, which manages the cards, and to your local fund for local support. Detailed procedures are available on the esante.gouv.fr website.

Good to know: always keep your contact details up to date with the Ordre. The Digital Health Agency uses them to send your cards and to activate e-CPS.

Who should I contact about my CPS card or RPPS number?

• RPPS number, contact details, registration: your departmental or inter-departmental Ordre council.
• Card ordering, operation, card loss: the Digital Health Agency, via the esante.gouv.fr website.
• Access to amelipro and billing: your primary health insurance fund.

These tools are also used to share information covered by professional confidentiality: the rules that apply are detailed in our guide onthe code of ethics for nurses.

Official sources

• Conseil national de l'Ordre infirmier:Migration to the RPPS, answers to your questions, Nurses have joined the RPPSe-CPS card: activation issue
• Health Digital Agency (G_NIUS): RPPS recorde-CPS recordPro Santé Connect record
• ANSM: Procedure for obtaining a CPS card
• Health Insurance Fund: Healthcare professional card (CPS)
• GIE SESAM-Vitale: Accessing amelipro via CPS card