Superbill vs Invoice: What Is the Difference?
A regular invoice and a superbill look similar but serve different purposes. Understand the key differences and when you need each.
2026-03-22 · 4 min read · By The Superbilled Team
A superbill and an invoice both show what you paid — but only a superbill has the medical codes insurers require to process a reimbursement claim.
What Is an Invoice?
An invoice is a payment receipt. It shows the date, service description, amount charged, and amount paid. It does not include NPI numbers, CPT codes, or ICD-10 diagnosis codes.
What Is a Superbill?
A superbill is a detailed medical receipt. It includes everything on an invoice plus: provider NPI, tax ID, license number, CPT procedure code (e.g., 90837), ICD-10 diagnosis code (e.g., F41.1), and place of service code.
Which Do You Need?
If you want to submit a claim to your insurance for out-of-network therapy, you need a superbill — not an invoice. Insurers will reject claims submitted with invoices that are missing required fields. For the full list of what must be included, see required fields on a superbill.