At present this page is limited to resources in the United
States and some Canadian Provinces. Many State and Provincial Governments now allow
the consumer to check on the licensure status of the various professionals who hold
licenses to practice in that State or Province. Where possible this section will
contain links to the various web sites which allow the consumer to check on whether a
professional is in fact licensed, and in some cases whether there are any disciplinary
actions which have been taken against that professional by the board. Some States
have a single central agency responsible for such record keeping, often the Secretary of
State's office or the Department of Public Health, but many have multiple separate Boards
of Examiners (or Colleges in Canada). When in doubt we have found that calling the
Secretary of State's Office on how to obtain information about a professional's licensure
status to be the single best source of such information.
Many of the States and Provinces have web sites for such
inquiries but some make such information VERY hard to find, either because of poor
planning or poor identification of various offices and departments roles. We have
worked very hard to track down the right office for the consumer to check on various
Mental Health Professionals or to lodge complaints about those professionals. If you
know of a resource in this area that is not listed, including how to check on
professionals in other countries (or find one of our links to be out of date), please let us know.
Government Regulatory & Licensure Boards
"The American Board of Medical
Specialties (ABMS) is an organization of 24 approved medical specialty
boards. The intent of the certification of physicians is to provide
assurance to the public that those certified by an ABMS Member Board have
successfully completed an approved training program and an evaluation
process assessing their ability to provide quality patient care in the
specialty. The ABMS serves to coordinate the activities of its Member
Boards and to provide information to others concerning issues involving
specialization and certification of medical specialists." The
website provides up to 5 free board credential checks to the public per 24
hour period.
There is also a clearing house of information on Licensed
Occupations that SOME States belong to called LOIS. The Licensed Occupation Information System (LOIS)
offers three basic search options: 1) By State; 2) By Commonly Used Occupational Titles;
3) By State Agencies That License Occupations.
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