The myth to check
Can the website’s name settle the licence question?
Read the fact
The fact
Get the treating person’s full name and licence type, then check the matching Arizona board.
On October 3, 2026, Arizona’s Medical Board search covers MDs, or medical doctors. A separate Osteopathic Board search covers DOs, another type of doctor.
A search for one type of doctor does not replace the other search.
Match the person to the right board
The letters after a name tell you which record to ask for.
Medical doctor — MD
Arizona’s Medical Board provides doctor records and public board orders: written decisions that can include action over a doctor’s conduct.
Search the MD boardDO — another type of doctor
The Osteopathic Board links to its own doctor search.
Search the DO boardNurse practitioner
This nurse has extra training to assess and treat patients in a defined group. Check the nursing licence and advanced-practice certificate, the board’s permission to work in that role.
Find the nursing checksPhysician assistant — PA
A PA is a licensed health professional who gives medical care. Arizona’s Physician Assistant Board has a search to check that licence.
Find the PA searchArizona’s rule on October 3, 2026 lets nurse practitioners write prescriptions only with board permission and only for the patient groups their training covers.
Ask: Does your certificate cover my age group and health problem? Do you have the board’s permission to write this prescription?
Ask the person treating you what experience they have with your health problem.
Check the medicine’s source as well
Even for an online visit, ask for the pharmacy that will prepare or send your medicine.
The October 3, 2026 Arizona rules require an out-of-state pharmacy to hold an Arizona permit before sending medicine here. A current pharmacy permit or equivalent permission is also required in the place where the pharmacy is located.
Ask for both permit numbers and which boards can confirm them.
An Arizona pharmacy permit and a pharmacist’s personal licence are different records.
Ask the board to confirm the permit for the named pharmacy rather than relying on a copied badge.
Read the Pharmacy Board’s roleA clean web result has limits
As recorded on October 6, 2026, Arizona restricts which licence records appear on board websites. Other public records can be requested.
A search showing no penalties or licence restrictions does not prove the board has never taken action against that person.
Ask the board how to request any further public records. Keep the person’s name, the board record and the pharmacy’s name together in your notes.
Look it up
Sources for this chapter
- Arizona Nursing Board: licence checks
Check the nurse’s licence and extra certificate for their care role.
- Arizona law: pharmacy permits
The permit requirement, including out-of-state pharmacies.
- Arizona law: public board records
The limits of a website search and access to more records.
Keep reading
What a visit needs to answer