How to check a licence

For a doctor, use the medical board

State medical boards keep public records of doctor licences and action taken over broken professional rules.

Links to state and territorial medical boards are collected in a Federation of State Medical Boards directory.

Open the official board for the state where the care will happen. Search the full name. Compare the record with the name and licence details the service gave you.

Some states have more than one board for doctor licences.

If more than one medical board is listed, ask which one holds that doctor’s record. A visit may be with a doctor or another licensed health professional. Before booking, ask what that person’s job is and what care they are allowed to provide. Ask for the name of the state board that keeps their licence record.

For a pharmacy, use a different board

A state board of pharmacy handles pharmacy licensing.

A page from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) provides pharmacy licence-search links for each state.

In most states, a pharmacy based elsewhere must obtain permission from the patient’s state before it ships medicine there, as of September 26, 2026.

Ask which pharmacy would make and send a proposed medicine. Search that exact name rather than the name of the website arranging the visit.

Know what the result answers

A pharmacy licence record shows that a licence exists; it does not show whether the pharmacy follows the rules when supplying medicine.

A clean public doctor record does not rate the quality of that person’s care.

Use the record to check permission and identity. Keep the treatment evidence as a separate question.