Begin with the doctor's full name
A state medical board licenses doctors. Its public records show a doctor's licence status and any public action the board has taken against that doctor.
The Federation of State Medical Boards provides links to the state boards' websites.
Doctors may have MD or DO after their name. These letters identify two types of medical degree. Some states keep the licences for these doctors in separate searches.
Ask the office which agency issued the doctor's licence and which search to use. Enter the doctor's full name there. If you cannot find the record, ask the office to help you find it.
Find your state medical board What the boards' records tell you
Your location matters for online care
Federal health guidance says your location matters during a video, phone or online visit. The doctor or other licensed health worker must hold a licence or other legal permission for care in the state you are in during the visit. This guidance was checked on September 26, 2026.
Ask what permission allows that person to treat you in your state.
Ask who makes the medicine
For online care, the FDA, the US medicine regulator, says people may be unsure which pharmacy prepared their compounded medicine.
Making or mixing a medicine for a particular order is called compounding.
Ask for its full name, then use the FDA's links to state pharmacy licence searches.
A listed licence does not establish that a particular medicine is being supplied correctly.
Find your state's pharmacy licence search FDA explanation of the pharmacy question