You should not assume that your employee(s) work under a current, active license. Occasionally, during litigation, a physician finds out - too late - that the employee involved was practicing without a current license. It is in your practice's best interest to establish a protocol for checking every employee's license status on a regular schedule. California has made this process relatively easy.
To verify the license of a nurse (Registered Nurse, Nurse Practitioner, LNM, Nurse Anesthetist), access the Board of Registered Nurses (BRN) www.rn.ca.gov.
- Click on "Licensees" at the top navigation bar.
- Then, click "Verification" and choose "Permanent License Verification" in the Quick Hits menu on the left.
- Entering either licensee's name or license number will produce information about the type and status of the license and its expiration date.
- As an alternative, the BRN's 24-hour automated voice verification system is available by calling 1-800-838-6828. You will need the license number when you call.
For Physician Assistant License verification, visit http://www.pac.ca.gov/.
Click "Verify a Physician Assistant License" and "Continue Search" to take you to the fields for name or license number entry. The same information as above is available.
For verification of other types of licenses, see sites below:
- Physicial Therapists and Physical Therapy Assistants www.ptbc.ca.gov
- Licensed Vocational Nurses and Psychiatric Technicians www.bvnpt.ca.gov
- Estheticians (Note: Establishment license all required from Board) www.barbercosmo.ca.gov
- Accupuncturists (other than physicians) www.accupuncture.ca.gov
- Physician Employees www.mbc.ca.gov
CAP's Risk Management & Patient Safety Department recommends that its members check the license status of his or her staff annually, or near the time the license is scheduled to expire.
If your practice discovers an employee's license has lapsed, we would like to know that we assisted you in making this valuable discovery. Please send an e-mail to wdrake@cap-mpt.com with a line or two about your discovery. In your e-mail, you do not have to submit either employee or practice name.
Authored by
Waldene Drake, RN, MBA
Vice President of Risk Management & Patient Safety
If you have questions about this article, please contact us. This information should not be considered legal advice applicable to a specific situation. Legal guidance for individual matters should be obtained from a retained attorney.