You can check a doctor’s record for free using several public databases, starting with your state medical board’s website for disciplinary history and the Federation of State Medical Boards’ DocInfo tool for a national overview. Beyond those two essentials, separate databases let you verify board certification, look up industry payments, and check for federal exclusions. Here’s how to use each one.
Start With the FSMB DocInfo Tool
The Federation of State Medical Boards maintains DocInfo, a free national database that pulls together licensing and disciplinary information from medical boards across the country. It’s the single most comprehensive starting point because it consolidates records that would otherwise require searching state by state.
A DocInfo search returns several key data points about a physician:
- Disciplinary actions taken by any state medical board
- License history across all states where the doctor has held a license
- Medical school and type of degree (MD or DO)
- Board-certified specialties recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties or the American Osteopathic Association
This is especially useful for catching doctors who lost a license in one state and moved to another. You can search by name at docinfo.org.
Check Your State Medical Board
Every state has a medical board that licenses physicians and investigates complaints. Most of these boards operate a free online lookup tool where you can search by a doctor’s name and pull up their license status, any formal disciplinary actions, and in some states, malpractice payment history.
The level of detail varies significantly by state. Some states, like California, Florida, and Massachusetts, are relatively transparent and publish malpractice settlement information on physician profiles. Others disclose only formal board actions like license suspensions or revocations. To find your state’s portal, search for “[your state] medical board license verification.” The search tool is typically on the board’s homepage.
State boards are the authoritative source for whether a doctor’s license is currently active, expired, suspended, or revoked. If you find a disciplinary action listed, the board’s website will usually include details about what happened, such as whether it involved substandard care, substance abuse, fraud, or unprofessional conduct.
Verify Board Certification
A medical license means a doctor is legally allowed to practice. Board certification is a separate credential that shows they passed rigorous exams in a specific specialty, like cardiology or orthopedic surgery, and are keeping their knowledge current through ongoing education.
The American Board of Medical Specialties runs a free public tool called “Is My Doctor Certified?” at certificationmatters.org. You can search by name to confirm whether a physician holds current board certification, which specialty they’re certified in, and whether they’re participating in continuing certification activities. Not every competent doctor is board certified, but it’s a strong signal that they’ve met a high standard in their field.
The American Board of Physician Specialties also maintains a free public confirmation database on its website for doctors certified through that organization.
Look Up Industry Payments
If you want to know whether your doctor has financial relationships with pharmaceutical or medical device companies, the federal government tracks this. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services runs Open Payments, a searchable database at openpaymentsdata.cms.gov that records payments companies make to physicians.
You can search by individual provider and see a breakdown of payments from January 2018 through December 2024. These payments include consulting fees, research grants, speaking fees, meals, and travel. A payment doesn’t automatically mean a conflict of interest. Many doctors consult for companies as part of legitimate research or education. But if a doctor recommends an expensive device or brand-name drug, and you see they’ve received significant payments from that manufacturer, it’s worth a conversation.
Search the Federal Exclusions Database
The Office of Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services maintains the List of Excluded Individuals and Entities, known as the LEIE. This database identifies healthcare providers who have been excluded from participating in Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal health programs, typically because of fraud, patient abuse, or felony convictions related to healthcare.
You can search by individual name at exclusions.oig.hhs.gov. If a doctor appears in this database, that’s a serious red flag. It means a federal agency determined they engaged in conduct severe enough to bar them from government-funded healthcare programs.
Why Online Reviews Aren’t Enough
Sites like Healthgrades, Vitals, and Zocdoc are often the first results when you search a doctor’s name, but they have real limitations as a vetting tool. A 2023 systematic review of the research literature on physician rating websites found mixed results on their credibility. Ratings tend to reflect patients’ perception of their experience, things like bedside manner, wait times, and office staff. But they don’t reliably correlate with clinical quality or disciplinary history.
A doctor with glowing reviews could still have board actions or malpractice payments on their record. And a doctor with a few negative reviews might simply have patients frustrated by scheduling issues. Reviews can be one piece of the picture, but they’re not a substitute for checking the official databases described above.
Checking Credentials of International Medical Graduates
Many physicians practicing in the U.S. graduated from medical schools outside the country. These doctors must be certified by ECFMG (now part of an organization called Intealth) before they can enter residency training in the United States. ECFMG certification confirms that an international graduate’s medical education meets established standards.
Unlike the other databases on this list, ECFMG’s verification service is designed for organizations like hospitals and licensing boards, not for individual patients. Confirmations are sent to the requesting organization, not to applicants or the public directly. However, you can still verify an international graduate’s credentials indirectly. If their license is active on your state medical board’s site and they completed a U.S. residency program, that means they cleared the ECFMG process. Board certification through ABMS provides an additional layer of confirmation.
A Practical Approach
You don’t need to search every database for every doctor. A reasonable approach is to start with DocInfo for a national snapshot, then check your state medical board for detailed local records. If you want to go deeper, verify board certification through ABMS and look up industry payments through Open Payments. The OIG exclusions database is worth a quick search if you have any specific concerns about fraud or abuse. Together, these free tools give you a far more reliable picture than any review site or Google search alone.