Match the name to a board record
- Start with a name: who will treat you, and what is their job? Request their licence number and the state board’s page showing it.
- Find a doctor’s record in the lookup provided on the state medical board’s own site. Use the entry to confirm whose record it is, then check whether the licence is active.
- Read any public record of action the board took against the person, such as a punishment for breaking its rules. Save the board page so you can find it again.
- With another professional title, request the name of the licensing board and the record to check.
A state medical board gives doctors permission to practise and keeps their public records. These show licences and any action against a doctor; what is made public varies by state.
Some states have separate licence boards for different types of doctor, so a missing result may call for another board search.
Your location belongs in the check
Your care needs permission in two places: where the health professional is and where you sit during the visit. Federal health guidance checked on 26 September 2026 says the licence rules in both places apply.
Some states offer a separate permission called telehealth registration to health professionals licensed in another state. It allows online care under that state’s terms instead of requiring a full licence there, as of 26 September 2026.
Mention your location for the appointment and any travel you already have planned. Ask the board how to check the licence or registration that allows care there.