Blue Lake AestheticsA guide to the care questionChapter index

Whose licence are you checking

Check a licence in the public record.

Get the full name and professional title of the person assessing you. Ask which state licensing body, called a board, holds their licence.

For a medical doctor

State medical boards, the bodies that license doctors, publish licence records.

Those records can show penalties imposed by the board or formal charges still waiting for a decision.

What the public can see varies by state.

A record with no public action does not tell you the quality of care.

Medical boards · public licence records
Why this source matters

Some states keep separate boards for different kinds of medical doctor. Ask which board holds the person’s record.

A directory published by the Federation of State Medical Boards links to the boards that license doctors in each state.

Medical boards · find your state board
Why this source matters

Use the relevant board’s own record for the licence check.

For another kind of prescriber

As of September 26, 2026, some states allowed nurse practitioners (prescribing nurses) to prescribe on their own.

Others required a doctor’s agreement or supervision, meaning that a doctor oversees the nurse’s work.

Arizona law · what prescribing nurses may doCalifornia law · what prescribing nurses may do
Why this source matters

A nurse practitioner is a prescribing nurse. The title does not give the same prescribing rights in every state.

  • What kind of licence do you hold?
  • Which board can confirm what that licence allows?
  • Is supervision or a formal working agreement needed here?