How to Check If Your Doctor Has Disciplinary Actions
Before your next appointment, spend 5 minutes verifying your doctor's license status and disciplinary history. It's free, public, and could protect you or your family.
The four registries that hold physician records
Background checks for licensed physicians live in four distinct registries, each operated by a different federal or state authority. The table below maps each registry to what it covers, who maintains it, and whether the public has direct access.
| Registry | Maintained by | Coverage | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| State Medical Board | Each state's medical licensing authority | License status, public disciplinary orders, specialty | Free, online |
| FSMB DocInfo | Federation of State Medical Boards | Cross-state license history | Paid, online |
| OIG LEIE | HHS Office of Inspector General | Medicare/Medicaid exclusions | Free, online |
| NPDB | HRSA | Malpractice payments, hospital privilege actions | Self-query only |
Step 1: Check Your State Medical Board
Every state has a medical board that maintains public records of physician licenses and disciplinary actions. This is the most official source. Visit your state's page on PlainDiscipline to find the direct board link, or use our States directory.
Most boards have a "Verify a License" or "Physician Lookup" tool. Search by the physician's name or license number. The record will typically show:
- Current license status (active, inactive, expired, revoked)
- License expiration date
- Any public disciplinary orders, consent agreements, or reprimands
- Specialty and board certifications
What the state board does not show
State medical boards publish only final, public disciplinary actions. Pending investigations, mediated settlements, and patient complaints under review do not appear in the public file even when an active inquiry exists. A clean board record reflects the absence of a finalized public action — not the absence of any concern.
Reading the discipline entry
A disciplinary entry typically lists the action type (reprimand, probation, suspension, revocation), the date of the order, the violation category (e.g., standard-of-care, prescribing, fraud), and a brief description. Some states publish the full board order as a PDF — read it before concluding the matter is settled or active.
Step 2: Use the FSMB DocInfo Tool
The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) operates DocInfo at fsmb.org/physician-data-center. For a small fee, you can get a comprehensive report covering license history across all states where a doctor has been licensed. This is especially useful if your doctor has practiced in multiple states.
When the FSMB report is worth the fee
DocInfo reports cost a small per-physician fee and aggregate license history across all jurisdictions the physician has held a license in. The report is worth running if your physician trained outside their current state of practice, holds multiple state licenses, or has worked at a hospital chain that operates across state lines.
Step 3: Check Medicare/Medicaid Exclusions
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) maintains a List of Excluded Individuals and Entities (LEIE). Physicians excluded from Medicare/Medicaid cannot legally bill federal health programs — an important flag.
Why an OIG exclusion matters even if you don't use Medicare
Federal exclusions are reserved for serious findings — fraud, controlled-substance diversion, patient abuse, or failure to repay federal program debt. An OIG exclusion does not bar the physician from private-pay practice, but it disqualifies them from billing the largest single payer in the US healthcare system, which is a meaningful signal about regulator confidence in the practitioner.
Step 4: Search the NPDB Data Bank (Limited Public Access)
The National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) collects reports of malpractice payments and adverse actions. The public cannot search individual records, but you can request a self-query if you are the subject. Hospitals and licensing boards use it for credentialing.
How to use NPDB indirectly
Although the NPDB is not publicly searchable, its existence shapes physician behavior — every settled malpractice claim above the reporting threshold is logged. If your physician has been involved in highly publicized litigation, the underlying claim almost certainly produced an NPDB entry, even if no state board action followed.
Step 5: Verify Board Certification
Board certification is separate from licensure. Use the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) Certificationmatters.org to verify specialty certification status.
Certification lapses are not discipline
A certification that has lapsed without renewal is not a disciplinary action — it usually reflects the physician's decision to retire from active certification maintenance, often because they have moved to a non-clinical role or to a setting that does not require ongoing board certification. Probe further before treating a lapsed certification as a quality signal.
State medical boards discipline only a small fraction of physicians who may have had adverse events. A clean public record is necessary but not sufficient evidence of quality care.
Red Flags to Watch For
- License on probation or with restrictions — the physician may have conditions on their practice
- Multiple states' boards have taken action — a pattern suggests ongoing issues
- Surrender or revocation in another state — sometimes physicians obtain licenses in new states after discipline elsewhere
- Exclusion from Medicare/Medicaid — serious federal flag
- Multiple malpractice payments — visible through FSMB DocInfo
What a Clean Record Means — and Doesn't
A clean board record means the physician has not been publicly disciplined. It does not mean they have no malpractice history (most is private), no patient complaints under investigation, or no quality issues. State medical boards discipline only a small fraction of physicians who may have had adverse events.