Credentials
What the letters after a name do and don’t tell you.
A title is what someone calls themselves. A license is what a state lets them do, and you can look it up. This dictionary covers both, and the titles that sit in between.
Licenses you can look up
- MDPhysician (MD)Doctor of Medicine. The degree isn’t the license; the license comes from a state.
- DOPhysician (DO)Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine. A physician degree, practiced under a state license.
- PA-CPhysician assistant (PA-C)A physician assistant. National certification and the state license are two separate checks.
- NP · APRNNurse practitioner (NP, APRN)An advanced practice registered nurse. What an NP may do, and with whom, is set by the state.
- RNRegistered nurse (RN)A nursing license. Whether an RN may inject, and on whose order, is set by the state.
- LPN · LVNLicensed practical or vocational nurse (LPN/LVN)A practical nursing license. What it allows is set by the state.
- DDS · DMDDentist (DDS or DMD)A dental degree and license. Whether it covers cosmetic treatments of the face is a question for the state.
- Licensed estheticianA state license for skin care. Where it ends for peels, devices and needling is set by each state.
- Master or advanced estheticianA higher esthetics license tier in states that create one. Elsewhere, a description.
- Licensed cosmetologistA state license for beauty services. What it covers is set by each state.
- LMTLicensed massage therapist (LMT)A massage therapy license. Titles and abbreviations vary by state.
Titles that sound like licenses
These describe a job, a role or a course. Each one has a license underneath it, or should. Ask which.
- “Nurse injector”A job description, not a license type.
- “Master injector”A title that describes experience. What you can check is the license underneath.
- “Certified injector”Someone issued a certificate. It doesn’t say who, for what, or whether any board recognizes it.
- “Medical director”A role, not a license. What the role requires is set state by state.
- “Board certified”Certified by a board in a specialty. The question is which board, and which specialty.
- “Aesthetic nurse”A nurse working in aesthetics. It doesn’t say which license.
National lookup tools
Each tool below was opened and its operator confirmed on the date shown. For state board lookups, go to your state’s page.
- Nursys QuickConfirm
National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN)
Nurse license and discipline status, from the boards of nursing that take part.
Not every board takes part. If a nurse doesn’t appear, search the state board of nursing before drawing any conclusion.
Verified Sep 14, 2026. Opened nursys.com and its QuickConfirm page; both are run by NCSBN.
- NCCPA Verify PA-C
National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA)
Whether a PA holds NCCPA certification. Search by NCCPA ID, or by name and state.
Certification only. It doesn’t confirm a state license; check the state board for that.
Verified Sep 14, 2026. Opened from the “Verify Board Certification” link on nccpa.net.
- Certification Matters
American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS)
Whether a doctor is certified by an ABMS Member Board.
Covers ABMS Member Boards only. Board certification and a state license are separate things to check.
Verified Sep 14, 2026. Linked as “For Patients: Is Your Doctor Certified?” on abms.org. The tool’s own site blocked our automated check, so we confirmed it through ABMS.