[Go to the answer](/getting-started/check-licences/#answer)

[Treatment questions](/)

A plain-language guide to understanding care

- [What is this?](/)

- [Is it approved?](/decision-points/)

- [Who gives care?](/getting-started/find-care/)

- [What will it cost?](/plan-costs/)

- [What needs a pause?](/pause-and-check/)

- [What can I read?](/reading-list/)

Check the names

# How can you check the doctor and pharmacy?

Ask for the full names first. Then use the public board records to check each role separately.

## What can the records tell you?

State medical boards show whether a doctor holds a licence. Their public records can also show penalties for breaking medical rules or formal charges that have not been decided.

A record with no published penalties or charges is not a rating of how well the doctor cares for patients.

- Keep the doctor’s full name, licence number and state together.

- Keep the pharmacy’s details on a separate line.

- If someone else will prescribe, ask which board holds that person’s record.

## Work through the names

-

### Ask for the names

Request the doctor’s full name and licence details, plus the name of the pharmacy that would supply the medicine.

-

### Open the medical-board record

Use the Federation of State Medical Boards’ state-board directory to reach the relevant board’s own website.

-

### Match the details

Check that the doctor’s name and licence match the details you were given. Read any listed penalties or charges; a charge is an accusation, not a final decision.

-

### Check the pharmacy separately

Choose your state on the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) page. It leads to your state pharmacy board’s online list, where you can search for the pharmacy’s name and check its licence.

### What if the record is hard to match?

Pause the comparison and ask for help finding the correct entry. A similar name is not an answer to a mismatch.

- Ask whether the doctor appears under a different name.

- Check whether the state has separate boards for different types of doctors.

- Ask for the pharmacy’s registered name if it differs from the website name.

- A licence authorises the pharmacy to operate. It does not prove that every medicine the pharmacy prepares or supplies is correct.

Next question

[What is an online visit like?](/getting-started/online-visit/)

## When a badge is offered instead

Could you help me find the actual board entry for the person or pharmacy named here?

### Keep this in mind

Keep a note of the record you checked and when you checked it. Return to the source record if details change.

US care facts as of September 2026.

## Reading for this question

- [Find the right state medical board](https://www.fsmb.org/contact-a-state-medical-board/)

The federation’s directory leads to state and territorial boards. Read the actual board entry after choosing the state.

- [Reach your state’s pharmacy search](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/besaferx-your-source-online-pharmacy-information/locate-state-licensed-online-pharmacy)

The FDA page links to each state’s online list of pharmacy licences. Search for the pharmacy business here, and check the doctor’s licence on the medical board’s website.

Keep a question open

- [Where do I begin?](/)

- [What does peptide mean?](/step-one/)

- [Is the medicine approved?](/decision-points/)

- [What if it is made to order?](/decision-points/made-to-order/)

- [Where can I look for care?](/getting-started/find-care/)

- [How do I check the names?](/getting-started/check-licences/)

- [What is an online visit like?](/getting-started/online-visit/)

- [Which questions can I bring?](/ask-next/)

- [What about tests and follow-up?](/ask-next/tests-and-follow-up/)

- [What will the whole plan cost?](/plan-costs/)

- [Could insurance help?](/coverage-check/)

- [What calls for a pause?](/pause-and-check/)

- [What might go wrong?](/risk-check/)

- [What can I read for myself?](/reading-list/)

Use these pages to prepare for care. This guide provides information; it neither sells medicine nor operates a clinic.

[Read this page as text](/getting-started/check-licences/index.md) [Guide text index](/llms.txt) [All guide text](/llms-full.txt)