A check you can do
Check the name behind the offer.
Get the names first. Then match them to public licence records, rather than relying on a badge.
A public record is a useful starting point
State medical boards oversee doctor licences. Their public records show licence status and action taken against a doctor. They can also show formal accusations of breaking professional rules that still await a decision.
Pharmacies have a separate state licensing board and a separate lookup.
A licence record helps you check whether a doctor has permission to practise. A doctor’s record can show no public action and still leave the quality of care unproven.
Follow the names through the public record
Get the names
Get the treating person’s full name and identify the pharmacy that would prepare or send your medicine.
Find the right board
Use the medical-board directory for a doctor, and the pharmacy-licence lookup for a pharmacy.
Match the record
Match the name and licence details to the public record. Check the state where care will take place.
Read the status
Read the current licence status and any record of accusations or action by the board. Ask the board about a record you cannot interpret.
Check permission for the person and the pharmacy
Use the lookup for the right profession
A doctor’s name may be followed by MD or DO. MD means Doctor of Medicine. DO means Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine.
The Federation of State Medical Boards provides a directory linking to the state boards that hold MD and DO doctor licences.
Ask which board holds the licence if the person treating you has a different professional title.
FDA provides a route to state pharmacy licence searches.
Open the official lookup routesA pharmacy elsewhere may need permission here
Under most states’ rules as of September 2026, a pharmacy based elsewhere needs a local non-resident licence or permit before shipping medicines into that state.
A registration badge is a different claim
A facility’s registration with FDA gives neither the facility nor its products FDA approval, as of September 2026.
Ask what the badge means, who issued it, and where the actual licence record can be found.