Before the visit, check the route.

Check the person who will assess you

Find out who will do the assessment. Note their full name, job, and the state where they can practice.

The appointment location matters: the person treating you must have that state’s license or be legally permitted to practice there. This location rule was checked September 26, 2026.

If the service says a state license is not needed, ask it to name the exception and show written confirmation from that state’s licensing board.

Ask again if you plan to travel before the visit. Knowing the person treating you does not settle whether they may treat you in that state.

Use the public license record

For a doctor, look up their current license and any action the state medical board has taken against them. These public actions are the board’s recorded penalties.

A record with no listed penalties cannot tell you whether that doctor gives good care.

Choose the state for your appointment location in the directory below, then follow its link to the medical board’s website.

Ask which board keeps the licensing record for a nurse or other health professional.

Can a prescription begin with remote care?

Some medicines, called controlled drugs, have extra legal controls because they can be misused.

An in-person visit was not a federal requirement for prescribing a medicine online if it was not a controlled drug, as of September 26, 2026.

State rules still apply. The online visit must still be as thorough as a visit in person.

Know what a form can leave out

A form with set answers and no back-and-forth questions is not enough on its own for treatment. A form that misses information needed for your care is not enough either. Relying on that kind of form alone for treatment goes against the Federation of State Medical Boards’ advice. This guidance was checked September 26, 2026.

A form that changes based on your answers, with a doctor able to ask more, is a different kind of exchange.

• Who reviews the answers?
• Can the person treating me ask me more?
• Can I ask my own questions?
• What happens if this format cannot settle my concern?

Allow for an examination or test

If a proper assessment needs a test or an examination, the doctor needs to do it or arrange care with someone who can. This is part of the group’s guidance for state medical boards.

Ask where that happens, who explains the result, and what the extra visit or test would cost.