Free · Official state board searches · Checked October 26, 2026
Medical license lookup by state
Verify any doctor’s license with the official board search for every state and DC, and any nurse’s through Nursys. Then check the same person’s NPI and exclusion status, so one hire is checked three ways in a few minutes.
Find the official license search
Choose a state to see its official medical license search, then check the same person’s NPI and exclusion status.
Why check the license, not just the NPI
Most people who search “NPI lookup” are really trying to answer a bigger question: is this person who they say they are, and are they allowed to do this job? The NPI answers only the first half. CMS is clear that an NPI does not ensure licensure or credentialing, and the license numbers shown in the NPI Registry are self-reported and not verified by CMS (CMS NPI fact sheet). An NPI stays active even when a license expires or is suspended.
The license itself lives with the state board that issued it. That board is the primary source: the place credentialing staff, hospitals and health plans are expected to check, rather than relying on a copy of a license certificate or a résumé. And a third check matters for any practice that bills Medicare or Medicaid: the exclusion lists, which can ban payment for someone’s work even if their license is valid.
The three checks side by side
| State license | NPI | Exclusion lists | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it proves | The person may legally practice their profession in that state, and whether a board has disciplined them | The person or organization has a national provider ID for billing | Whether federal or state health programs ban paying for their work |
| Who runs it | Each state’s licensing board | CMS (NPPES) | HHS OIG, GSA (SAM.gov) and state Medicaid agencies |
| Self-reported? | No: the board is the primary source | Yes: CMS doesn’t verify license numbers | No: the agencies publish their own actions |
| Can change without you knowing | Yes: expiry, discipline, surrender | Rarely | Yes: OIG updates monthly, SAM.gov daily |
| Free tool | The board searches on this page | Our NPI lookup | Our OIG, SAM.gov and state check |
How to verify a medical license, step by step
- Find every state the person practices in. Ask them, and look at the license entries in their NPI record, which list license numbers by state. Telehealth providers often hold several licenses.
- Open the state board’s search. Use the picker above or the full table below. Each link goes to the board’s own site.
- Search by license number if you have it, otherwise by last name and first name. Licensing searches are usually exact, so try spelling variations and former names.
- Match the record to the person. Compare full name, profession, license type and, where shown, city or address. A common name can match several people.
- Read the status and expiration date. “Active” isn’t the end of the story: look for conditions, probation or public orders.
- Save proof. Print the record to PDF or take a dated screenshot, and note who checked and when. Some boards also sell official verification letters; you rarely need one for routine employment checks, but hospitals and health plans may require them.
- Check the NPI and exclusion lists for the same person. Use the buttons in the picker. Our exclusion check searches OIG, SAM.gov and state Medicaid lists in one go.
- Diary the expiration date and re-check before it passes.
What license statuses mean
Every board uses its own words, but the statuses fall into a few groups. When a status is unclear, the board’s site usually has a glossary, or you can call the board.
| Status you may see | What it usually means for you |
|---|---|
| Active / current / clear | The person may practice in that state. Note the expiration date: a license that is active today can lapse next month. |
| Active with conditions, restrictions or probation | The person may practice, but under limits set by the board, such as supervision, practice limits or monitoring. Open the board order to see what the limits are. |
| Expired, lapsed or inactive | Not renewed, or put on inactive status by the licensee. The person may not practice in that state until the license is renewed or reactivated. |
| Suspended | Practice is not allowed for a period, often while a case is decided or as a penalty. |
| Revoked or surrendered | The license has been taken away or given up, often to settle a disciplinary case. Check exclusion lists too (see below). |
| Temporary, training or limited | Issued for a narrow purpose such as residency or a specific facility. Confirm the role you are hiring for fits the license. |
Five examples
The people and practices below are invented to show common situations.
1. A new physician with licenses in two states
A family practice in Kansas City hires Dr. Ruiz, who will see patients in both Missouri and Kansas. The NPI record lists a license in each. The office checks the Missouri board and the Kansas Board of Healing Arts: both active, Kansas expiring in eight months. They save both records, diary the Kansas date and run the exclusion check. Ten minutes, fully documented.
2. Active, but on probation
A surgery center’s candidate shows “active” on the board search, but the record has a public order from two years ago: probation with a practice monitor. Probation doesn’t automatically rule someone out, but the center now knows to read the order, ask the candidate about it and decide with its credentialing committee, instead of finding out later.
3. The license in the NPI record is out of date
A therapy practice looks up a new physical therapist’s NPI. It shows a license number from a state she left three years ago. That’s normal: providers update NPPES themselves, and many don’t. The practice searches her current state’s board by name, finds the new license and confirms it. The NPI record was never the proof.
4. A nurse moving from another state
A clinic hires an RN who just moved. Rather than searching two state boards, the office uses Nursys QuickConfirm, which shows licenses and public discipline from participating boards in one place, and enrolls her in Nursys e-Notify so the clinic hears about future changes automatically.
5. The license was restored, but the exclusion wasn’t
A billing manager checks an applicant whose license was suspended years ago and later restored. The board shows active. The exclusion check, though, finds an OIG entry under authority 1128(b)(4). An exclusion based on a license action does not end when the license comes back; the person stays excluded until OIG reinstates them (OIG). Hiring them for work billed to federal programs would put every claim they touch at risk. Our guide to checking exclusion status explains how to read these entries.
Nurses and other professions
Nurses (RN, LPN/VN, APRN). The National Council of State Boards of Nursing runs Nursys. NCSBN says Licensure QuickConfirm is a free service and that e-Notify is a free notification system: employers get alerts when a nurse’s license status, expiration or public discipline changes in participating boards (NCSBN). For a practice with several nurses, e-Notify is one of the most useful free compliance tools available.
Therapists, dentists, pharmacists, physician assistants and others. Each profession has its own board, but in many states one agency runs the search for all of them. Florida’s Department of Health search, Colorado’s DORA lookup, Illinois’s IDFPR lookup, Utah’s DOPL search, Washington’s provider credential search, New York’s Office of the Professions and Pennsylvania’s PALS, among others, cover many professions in one place. Where the medical board’s search above is limited to doctors, the board’s site links to the agency that licenses the others.
Official medical license search for every state
Each link opens the board’s own public search, or, where marked, the board’s home page with its “verify a license” link. We checked every link on October 26, 2026 against the board list published by the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB). Boards sometimes move their search pages; if a link has moved, the board’s home page will have the new one.
How often to check: a simple schedule for practices
- Before the start date: license (every state), NPI and exclusion lists. Save the evidence in the personnel or credentialing file.
- Every month: exclusion lists for everyone, including staff without a license. OIG updates its list monthly and SAM.gov changes daily.
- Before each license expires: confirm the renewal on the board’s site. Renewal cycles vary by state and profession, so take the date from the record itself.
- Whenever you hear of a problem: a complaint, a patient report or a news story. Board actions are public, but nobody sends them to you unless you have set up alerts such as Nursys e-Notify.
Our screening policy generator writes these steps into a one-page policy for your practice, and the excluded employee cost calculator shows what a missed exclusion can cost.
What this page can and can’t do
- We link to each board’s official search; we don’t copy or store license data, so what you see is always the board’s current record.
- Primary source verification for hospital privileges or health plan credentialing may need an official letter or a credentials verification organization. Follow your accreditor’s or payer’s rules.
- Board searches show public information only. Some actions, such as confidential monitoring programs, may not appear.
Questions
How do I look up a doctor’s medical license?
Choose the state where the doctor practices above and open the board’s official license search. Search by last name (and first name if common), then open the record to see the license number, status, expiration date and any public board actions. If the doctor works in several states, check each state.
Is medical license lookup free?
Yes. Every state board publishes a free public search. Some boards charge only for an official written verification sent to another board or a hospital.
Can I verify a license in all states at once?
Not from state boards: each runs its own search. The Federation of State Medical Boards offers DocInfo, a free national search showing where a physician holds licenses and whether boards have taken action. For credentialing, still confirm each license with the state board itself.
How do I verify a nurse’s license?
Use Nursys QuickConfirm from the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. NCSBN says Licensure QuickConfirm is a free service; it shows licenses and public discipline from participating boards. Employers can also enroll nurses in Nursys e-Notify for free alerts when a license status changes.
Does an NPI number prove someone is licensed?
No. CMS says an NPI does not ensure licensure or credentialing. NPI records are self-reported, and the license numbers in them are not verified by CMS. Always confirm the license with the state board.
Where can I see if a doctor has been disciplined?
On the state board’s license record: most list public orders, probation or restrictions, and many link to the order itself. DocInfo also summarizes board actions across states.
If a license was revoked, is the person also excluded?
Not automatically, but often. OIG can exclude a person whose license was revoked, suspended or surrendered (exclusion authority 1128(b)(4)). Check the OIG and SAM.gov lists as well, because an exclusion stays in place until OIG reinstates the person, even if the license is restored.
How often should a practice re-verify licenses?
At hire, and again before each license’s expiration date. Exclusion lists change monthly, so screen staff against them every month. Many practices diary each license expiration date from the board record.
What if the person isn’t found?
Try spelling variations, a maiden or former name, and the person’s other states. If you still can’t find them, ask for their license number and state, and search by number. Don’t let someone practice until you have confirmed an active license.
Sources
- Federation of State Medical Boards, Contact a state medical board (directory of all state medical and osteopathic boards) — the list of state medical and osteopathic boards and their websites (58 board searches on this page)
- Each state board’s own website — the license search linked for each state, checked October 26, 2026
- NCSBN, Nursys: License verification (“Licensure QuickConfirm is a free service”; e-Notify alerts) — free nurse license verification and e-Notify alerts
- FSMB DocInfo: free national search of physician licenses and board actions — free national physician license and board action search
- CMS, NPI Fact Sheet (December 2024) — an NPI does not ensure licensure; NPI data is self-reported
- HHS OIG, Background Information and Exclusion Authorities — exclusion authorities, including 1128(b)(4) for license revocation or suspension
This page is general information, not legal advice. Licensing and credentialing rules vary by state, payer and accreditor.