A professional license lookup is a free online search, usually run by a state licensing board, that tells you whether a doctor, nurse, contractor, therapist, financial advisor, or other licensed professional is currently authorized to practice and whether the board has ever disciplined them. The search itself takes a couple of minutes. The harder part is landing on the right database, because licensing in the United States is split across dozens of boards per state.
Start With the State Board That Regulates the Profession
Licensing is overwhelmingly a state function. A nurse’s license lives with the state board of nursing, a contractor’s with a contractor licensing board, an accountant’s with the state board of accountancy. So your first question is which board, in which state, oversees the person you want to verify.
Many states now run a centralized portal that aggregates license data from multiple boards into a single search, so you can look up a nurse, a real estate agent, and a plumber from the same page. Look for a link labeled “Verify a License” or “License Search” on the state agency’s homepage. If the state doesn’t have a centralized portal, go straight to the specific board. A search for “[state name] [profession] license lookup” almost always lands on the right page.
National Databases for Certain Professions
A handful of professions have national lookups that pull records across state lines. These are useful when you don’t know which state issued the license, or when the person works in several states.
Nurses
Nursys is the only national database that consolidates licensure, discipline, and practice privilege data for registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and advanced practice registered nurses across participating boards. Its Licensure QuickConfirm tool is free and returns license status and any public disciplinary actions.1NCSBN. License Verification
Physicians
The Federation of State Medical Boards runs DocInfo.org, where you can check a doctor’s license status across all 50 states and see whether any state medical board has taken action against them.2DocInfo. DocInfo
One point of confusion: the National Provider Identifier (NPI) Registry is not a license lookup. The NPI is a 10-digit number assigned to healthcare providers for billing, and the registry explicitly warns that having an NPI “does not ensure or validate that the Health Care Provider is Licensed or Credentialed.”3Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. NPPES NPI Registry If someone offers an NPI as proof they’re licensed, it isn’t.
Mortgage Loan Originators
The Nationwide Multistate Licensing System maintains a free consumer tool at NMLSConsumerAccess.org for verifying mortgage loan originators and companies. You can search by name, NMLS ID, license number, or location, and the results show registration status and which states have approved the person. Searching by NMLS ID or state license number is more precise than searching by name alone.4NMLS Consumer Access. NMLS Consumer Access
What to Have Ready Before You Search
The fastest search is by license number, which often appears on a business card, office wall display, or professional advertisement. Without the number, you’ll want the professional’s full legal name including any middle initial, because common surnames generate dozens of hits in populated areas. The city or zip code where they practice helps you narrow in on the right person.
Know the exact license type too. A registered nurse and a licensed practical nurse are tracked under different categories, and searching the wrong one returns nothing. A licensed clinical social worker is not the same record as a licensed master social worker. If you’re not sure what credential a professional should hold, the board’s website lists every category it oversees.
Running the Search
Enter what you have into the search fields. Most portals offer an “exact match” option when you have a precise name or number, and a “starts with” or “contains” option when you’re less sure of spelling. If you don’t get a result, go broader. Drop the middle initial, try an alternate spelling, or switch from name to license number.
When several people share a name, cross-reference city, license type, and any other detail you know before you decide you’ve found the right record. Mixing up two practitioners is easy, and the consequences of acting on the wrong profile can be serious.
Reading the Results
The profile shows a current status, the original issue date, the expiration date, and the license number. Many records also list endorsements, specialties, or certifications: a nurse’s record might show critical care or oncology certifications, an engineer’s might specify structural or mechanical.
Terminology varies by state, but these are the status categories you’ll see most often:
- Active. The professional is authorized to practice. This is what you want to see.
- Inactive. The person holds a license but isn’t currently authorized to practice, often because they chose not to renew or moved to a different state.
- Expired. The license lapsed, usually after a missed renewal deadline. The person is not legally authorized to practice.
- Probation. The board has disciplined the professional but still allows practice under specific restrictions set out in a disciplinary order.
- Suspended. Practice is temporarily prohibited for a set period. The license still exists, but the person cannot legally work until the suspension ends.
- Revoked. The board has permanently removed authorization to practice. Revocation is the most severe outcome and is typically reserved for serious misconduct.
Disciplinary History
The section that matters most to consumers is the disciplinary history, which lists formal actions the board has taken: reprimands, fines, mandatory continuing education, practice restrictions, suspensions, revocations. Detail varies. Some boards publish the full disciplinary order, including the conduct and the penalty. Others give only a brief summary.
A clean record is reassuring, but it’s not proof that nothing has gone wrong. Licensing boards in nearly every state keep investigations confidential until they reach a final determination. A pending complaint will not appear in the public record. Only after a formal finding does the action become visible, which means a professional with an open investigation can still show a spotless profile.
Telehealth and Multistate Providers
Telehealth complicates verification. A therapist in one state treating a patient in another generally needs to be licensed in the patient’s state, not just their own. Several interstate compacts streamline this, and each has its own verification tool.
Nurses Under the Nurse Licensure Compact
The Nurse Licensure Compact lets a nurse hold one multistate license and practice in all compact states. As of 2026, 43 jurisdictions have enacted the NLC.5NCSBN. NLC States The free Nursys QuickConfirm tool shows whether a nurse’s compact privilege extends to your state.1NCSBN. License Verification
Physicians Under the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact
The Interstate Medical Licensure Compact provides an expedited pathway for physicians to get licensed in multiple states. As of early 2026, 43 member states and 2 U.S. territories participate, covering 58 licensing boards.6Interstate Medical Licensure Compact. Physician License To verify a physician practicing under the compact, check the state medical board where they claim to hold a license, or use DocInfo.org to see every state where they’re licensed.2DocInfo. DocInfo
Psychologists Under PSYPACT
PSYPACT, the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact, allows psychologists to practice telepsychology across participating state lines. To check whether a psychologist is authorized to practice in your state under PSYPACT, use the lookup at VerifyPSYPACT.org.7Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards. Psychology on the Internet If the provider isn’t listed, contact your state’s psychology board to confirm whether they hold a valid license in your state.
When a Free Lookup Isn’t Enough
The free consumer tools above are built for the question most people are asking: is this person legitimate before I hire them. For that, they’re sufficient. A separate category of verification exists for professional purposes. A licensee applying for a credential in a new state is usually required to request an official verification document sent directly from the current licensing board to the receiving one. These certified letters typically cost between $10 and $30 depending on the state and profession, and they’re requested by the licensee, not by a consumer. If you’re the consumer checking on your dentist, the free lookup is all you need.
What to Do If You Find a Problem
If the lookup shows a suspended, revoked, or expired license for someone actively offering services, the professional is practicing illegally. Don’t engage them, and consider reporting what you found so others don’t either.
Every board has a complaint process, and most accept complaints online. You can also report the situation to your state’s attorney general or department of consumer affairs. If the person never held a license at all and is impersonating a licensed professional, that can be fraud, and local law enforcement is an appropriate contact alongside the board. Practicing without a valid license carries penalties in every state, ranging from civil fines to criminal misdemeanor or felony charges depending on the profession and the harm caused, and in some states consumers who paid for unlicensed services may recover those fees through civil action.