“Board certified”

“Board certified” means a certifying board has certified someone in a specialty. It matters which board, and which specialty.

ABMS, the American Board of Medical Specialties, says its 24 Member Boards certify 38 specialties and 90 subspecialties. Its tool for patients, Certification Matters, checks certification by those boards.

For PAs, NCCPA describes its certification as board certification, and checks it with Verify PA-C.

• That the specialty relates to the treatment you’re booking
• That the person certified is the person treating you
• A state license, which is separate and still worth checking

1. 1Ask: certified by which board, in which specialty?
2. 2For a physician certified by an ABMS Member Board, check Certification Matters.
3. 3For a board outside ABMS, ask for its full name and check with that board directly.
4. 4For a PA, check NCCPA’s Verify PA-C.

• 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.

• 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.

Titles and licenses that get confused with this one:

• Certified injector
• MD
• PA-C