U.S. · Physician licences
California doctor license lookup.
California M.D. licences are issued by the Medical Board of California, which publishes a licensee profile search for physicians and surgeons and other allied health providers it licenses. Osteopathic doctors (D.O.) are on a separate board.
Important, up front: this is a guide, not a verification service. It links to the official register and never queries it for you. The live record on the official site is the only thing that confirms a licence.
How to check, step by step
- Open the Medical Board of California License Verification page and choose the licence type (Physician and Surgeon).
- Search by name or licence number, or by city or county.
- Open the matching profile and read the licence status and any disciplinary information shown.
- If the doctor is a D.O., the Board says to contact the Osteopathic Medical Board of California instead; an M.D. search will not cover them.
- Match the name and licence number against the person's own paperwork before relying on the result.
We did not find a public check-digit formula for California licence numbers in the sources above, so there is nothing to validate offline: a number that looks right proves nothing until the regulator's record confirms it.
Official lookups
What to know
What the Board's page says you can search
The Board's License Verification page lists search by name or licence number, by city or county, and by self-reported survey responses such as practice location, specialty or language. It also lists lookups for temporary licences: postgraduate training licences, the BPC 853 pilot program physician (Mexico Pilot Program), licensed midwives and fictitious name permits.
Licence alerts
The Board offers a License Alert mobile app that notifies you when a doctor's name, address, practice status, licence expiration or survey data changes, or when administrative actions or enforcement documents are added. The Board describes this as including notice of suspension, revocation or probation.
Limits
The Board notes that the law lets it post some information on a profile indefinitely and other information only for a limited period, so an absent item is not proof nothing ever happened. A profile also does not replace checking the doctor's identity.
Sources
- Medical Board of California: License Verification (read November 2026)
Frequently asked questions
How do I check a California doctor's license?
Use the Medical Board of California License Verification search, choose Physician and Surgeon, and search by name or licence number.
Is a D.O. on the same lookup?
No. The Board's page says osteopathic doctors (D.O.) fall under the Osteopathic Medical Board of California, and tells you to contact that board.
Can I be alerted if a doctor's licence changes?
The Board offers a License Alert mobile app for notifications about changes to a doctor's profile, per its License Verification page.
Guide only — not an official verification
TNAADO is not affiliated with any licensing authority named here. Registers change; confirm on the official site and, for anything binding, with the regulator. This is not medical or legal advice. This page collects no personal data.