Check the record
Look up the person’s licence
Match the person to the record.
Have your treating person’s complete name and job title ready. Search the state board’s licence records, then ask about anything that does not match what you were told.
The care check
NAME.CHECK.Bring the open question.Find the board, then search the name
Find links to state boards that license doctors through the Federation of State Medical Boards.
A state may license MD doctors and DO doctors through different boards; searching just one board can miss a doctor’s record.
- Match the full name and professional role.
- Check whether the licence is current. Look for penalties or formal charges published by the board. Ask the board to explain any restriction or result you do not understand.
- Keep the result with the date you checked it.
Read the record
- Find a state medical board
Start here, then use the board’s own licence search.
For online care, check where you will be
As of September 2026, HHS said your treating person needed legal permission both in your state and in the state where they were.
State rules and exceptions decide how that permission works.
Give the service your planned location for the visit, including any travel. Ask which record confirms the person treating you can practise there.
Know what the result settles
A clear public record shows no public penalties or formal charges; it does not guarantee good care.
If a nurse practitioner or physician assistant will treat you, ask which state board holds that person’s record. The medical board directory linked here covers doctors, not every health profession.
Return to the assessment questions after the record check. Both belong in the decision.