How to Verify a Doctor's Medical License

Why physician license verification matters

Practicing medicine without a valid license is a felony in every U.S. state. Healthcare organizations that employ or credential a physician with a lapsed, suspended, or revoked license face civil liability, regulatory sanctions, and potential CMS reimbursement clawbacks.

The consequences are not hypothetical. The FSMB reports thousands of disciplinary actions against physicians annually — license revocations, suspensions, probation, and restrictions. A physician can hold an active license in one state and have a revocation or serious discipline in another. Without a national database check, state-by-state verification misses the picture.

Verification is a legal requirement in many contexts:

• Hospital credentialing: The Joint Commission and CMS Conditions of Participation require primary-source verification of medical staff credentials
• Health plan network enrollment: CMS and NCQA standards require license verification before enrolling a physician in a network
• Locum tenens and medical staffing: Agencies must verify licensure in every state where a physician will practice
• Telehealth platforms: Physicians must be licensed in the patient's state — not just the platform's home state
• Medical group hiring: Standard of care and malpractice insurance requirements mandate pre-hire verification

What credential types require verification

Note: Nurse practitioners (NPs), certified nurse-midwives (CNMs), and CRNAs are licensed as nurses, not physicians. See our nursing license verification guide.

Step 1: Search DocInfo (free, all 50 states)

Go to docinfo.org and search by physician name or license number. DocInfo is operated by the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) and aggregates license data from all 50 state medical boards, DC, and U.S. territories. No account or fee is required.

A DocInfo search returns:

• All states where the physician holds or has held a license
• License status in each state (Active, Inactive, Expired, Revoked, etc.)
• License expiration dates
• Medical education and training history
• Hospital affiliations on record
• Public disciplinary actions and board orders from all participating states
• Malpractice payment history (where reportable)

DocInfo's multi-state view is its key advantage. A physician may hold an active license in your state but have a revocation or serious disciplinary order in a prior state. DocInfo surfaces the full picture in one search.

Understanding physician license statuses

Restricted or probationary licenses require careful review. A physician on probation can legally practice but under board-imposed conditions. These may include required supervision, mandatory drug testing, practice setting limitations, or prohibited procedures. Obtain and read the full board order before credentialing or placing a physician under restriction.

Step 2: State medical board (primary-source verification)

For formal credentialing — hospital privileges, health plan enrollment, Joint Commission accreditation — DocInfo is a screening tool, not a substitute for primary-source verification. Primary-source verification (PSV) means obtaining confirmation directly from the issuing state medical board.

Most state boards offer online verification portals. Some provide a formal Verification of Licensure letter (usually for a fee) when a documented record is required for credentialing files. FCVS (FSMB's Federation Credentials Verification Service) can centralize primary-source credential storage for physicians who license in multiple states.

Note that California licenses MDs and DOs through separate boards. California DOs licensed before 2023 may appear in the Osteopathic Medical Board system rather than the Medical Board of California. DocInfo aggregates both.

Step 3: NPI Registry

The National Provider Identifier (NPI) registry is maintained by CMS and is publicly searchable at npiregistry.cms.hhs.gov. Every physician billing Medicare or Medicaid must have an active NPI.

An NPI lookup confirms:

• The physician's legal name and credentials (MD, DO)
• NPI number (use this to cross-reference other databases)
• Primary practice address and specialty taxonomy code
• Provider type (individual vs. organization)
• Enumeration date (when the NPI was issued)
• Deactivation status (if the NPI has been deactivated)

The NPI registry does not show license status or disciplinary history — it confirms identity and billing eligibility. A deactivated NPI is a red flag for a physician who has exited practice or is ineligible to bill federal programs.

Step 4: ABMS board certification

Board certification is separate from licensure. A physician can hold an active medical license without being board-certified. However, hospital privileges and many payor contracts require board certification in the relevant specialty.

Verify board certification through:

• ABMS (abms.org) — "Is My Doctor Certified?" lookup covers 997,000+ physicians across 24 specialty boards for MDs and DOs
• AOA (osteopathic.org) — American Osteopathic Association board certification for DOs
• NCCPA (nccpa.net) — National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants, for PA-C certification

ABMS certification has an expiration date. Board-certified status is time-limited and requires maintenance of certification (MOC) activities. Confirm the certification is current, not lapsed.

Step 5: DEA registration (prescribers)

Physicians who prescribe controlled substances must hold a current DEA registration. DEA registrations are state-specific — a physician needs a separate registration for each state where they prescribe Schedule II–V substances.

Verification options:

• DEALookup.com — free NPI-to-DEA cross-reference tool; confirms whether a physician has a DEA registration on file
• DEA Diversion (deadiversion.usdoj.gov) — official DEA verification portal; bulk access requires registration
• FSMB PDC — the FSMB Physician Data Center (paid, for organizations) includes DEA registration data alongside license history

A lapsed or revoked DEA registration means the physician cannot legally prescribe controlled substances in that state. For emergency medicine, anesthesiology, pain management, and psychiatry roles, DEA verification is as critical as license verification.

Step 6: OIG and SAM exclusion checks

Any healthcare employer receiving Medicare or Medicaid reimbursement must screen against federal exclusion lists before hiring. Employing an excluded individual can result in civil monetary penalties of $20,000+ per patient encounter billed to federal healthcare programs.

OIG exclusion is separate from state medical board discipline. A physician can retain their state license while being federally excluded — making the OIG check an independent, required step for any Medicare/Medicaid-participating employer.

Hospital credentialing vs. employment screening

Hospital credentialing (granting medical staff privileges) and pre-employment background screening are related but distinct processes with different standards.

The National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) is a federal repository of malpractice payments, adverse licensure actions, and clinical privilege actions. It is accessible only to authorized entities (hospitals, health plans) — not to the public or to physicians checking their own records informally. If your organization qualifies, NPDB queries are required for hospital credentialing and recommended for health plan enrollment.

Verification checklist

Ongoing monitoring

A clean verification at hire does not remain valid indefinitely. Licenses expire, disciplinary actions occur mid-employment, and DEA registrations lapse. Healthcare organizations with Joint Commission accreditation or CMS certification are required to re-verify medical staff credentials on a defined cycle (typically every two years for hospital privileges).

Recommended minimum monitoring schedule:

• License status: Check at hire, 90 days, and then on each license renewal date
• OIG exclusion: Monthly (OIG updates the LEIE monthly)
• DEA registration: At hire and before renewal (DEA registrations are typically 3-year terms)
• DocInfo / state board: Annual check for new disciplinary actions
• NPDB (for authorized entities): At credentialing and every 2 years for medical staff