Licence check
Get the clinician’s name in full. A profile photo and a few lines of work history cannot answer a licence question.
The source notes used here were recorded on or before September 26, 2026. Later changes may be missing.
Check permission in the state you will join the visit from. The September 26, 2026 guidance ties the doctor’s permission to your location during the appointment.
That permission may be a full licence from your state. Some states instead let a doctor licensed elsewhere register to give online care, with conditions set by that state.
Mention travel plans when arranging a visit. Ask how being in a different state would affect the appointment.
The medical-board federation has a public directory of the boards that license doctors in each state.
Have the doctor give the exact name used on their licence and the state permission covering the appointment.
Find the board for the patient’s location using the linked directory.
Look up that name on the board’s site. Check that the result’s licence details belong to the person offering the visit.
Read the licence status and any public disciplinary entries; ask the board about a result you cannot interpret.
A board record can disclose current licence standing and public discipline. It does not measure how well a doctor practises.
Nurse practitioners and physician assistants have separate records outside this physician lookup.
If another kind of clinician will see you, ask which state board holds their record and use that board’s lookup.