How do you verify a doctor?

In the United States you can verify a doctor's credentials (license and specialty board certification) by

Verify a doctor's license by doing a search for your state's medical board. Most states have a way to verify the license online.

Verify a doctor's specialty board certification for most specialties via the American Board of Medical Specialties' by clicking on the 'ABMS Is Your Doctor Certified?' link below. You must register to access ABMS information. You can see a list of the specialty boards under ABMS by clicking on the 'ABMS Specialty Boards' link below. If your doctor's specialty is not listed there, you will have to do a search to locate the board for that specialty.

There are numerous other (mostly non-official) sources for information about doctors on the internet, but the above is by far the way to get the best information available to the general public.

Note: The American Medical Association has a "Doctor Finder" which contains only self-reported information. You can see what information your doctor gave to the AMA, but it is NOT verified.