License verification · CA
California Medical License Lookup
The license itself is verified on the Medical Board of California search. Start there, then use the checks below for what a state search does not show.
Official source: Medical Board of California. Physicians and surgeons (MD) and other professions regulated by the Medical Board of California; other boards use the DCA search.
Verify a California license in four steps
- Search the provider on the Medical Board of California license search by last name or license number. Confirm the status reads active and the expiration date is in the future.
- Open the license detail and read any public board orders: probation, restrictions, fines or reprimands.
- Match the person to their NPI with the NPI lookup below, so the license, the practice address and the specialty all belong to the same provider.
- For a physician, check board certification separately on ABMS Certification Matters (MD) or AOA (DO). A license and a board certification are different credentials.
Find a California provider's NPI
Searches the federal NPPES registry for providers practicing in California. Enter a full name ("Jane Smith"), "Smith, Jane" or a 10-digit NPI.
Who is registered in California
Individual NPPES records with a CA practice address, grouped by the credential text each provider reported. 974,315 records in total; 471,895 left the optional credential field blank (including physicians), so each count below is a floor, not a full census.
| Credential reported | NPPES records in CA |
|---|---|
| Physicians (MD) | 131,934 |
| Osteopathic physicians (DO) | 12,205 |
| Nurse practitioners (NP, FNP, APRN and similar) | 26,742 |
| Physician assistants (PA, PA-C) | 14,983 |
| Pharmacists (PharmD, RPh) | 20,142 |
| Dentists (DDS, DMD) | 35,592 |
| Registered nurses listing RN | 17,657 |
California board discipline in 2023
The board reported 576 disciplinary actions across 556 cases, about 3.8 per 1,000 licensees. The most common action was probation (186).
What a California license search does not tell you
Licenses in other states
Each state licenses separately. DocInfo from the Federation of State Medical Boards lists a physician's licenses and board actions across states.
Federal program exclusions
A provider can hold a license yet be excluded from Medicare and Medicaid. Check the HHS-OIG exclusion list.
Nurses
Most nurse licenses, including multistate compact licenses, can be verified on Nursys. See the nurse license lookup guide.
Board certification
Physician assistants certify with NCCPA; nurse practitioners with the AANP Certification Board or ANCC.
Common questions
Is the California license search free?
Yes. The Medical Board of California publishes its license search at no charge. It shows license status, license number and expiration, and board actions the board has made public.
Does an NPI prove a provider is licensed?
No. An NPI is an identifier CMS issues for billing. It is not a license and does not confirm board certification. Check the state board search for the license itself.
Does the California search show malpractice payments?
Usually not. State searches show license status and public board actions. Malpractice payment history sits in the National Practitioner Data Bank, which is not open to the public for individual lookups.
License lookup in other states
Method and sources
The official search link was confirmed on 2026-09-25 (SERP #1 and HTTP 200, 2026-09-25). Provider counts come from the CMS NPPES registry as loaded on 2026-08-27, grouped by the credential text each provider reported; one record can carry several credentials. Discipline figures come from the board's own annual reporting as compiled by PlainDoctor. PlainDoctor is not a primary-source verifier; for employment or credentialing decisions, use the board's own verification.
CMS NPPES NPI Registry · Medical Board of California · PlainDoctor methodology
Every figure on PlainDoctor is rendered directly from the federal CMS NPPES registry, Medicare Part D, MIPS, and Open Payments records, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-27.