Editorial Policy

1. Our Editorial Mission

U.S. license verification is fragmented across more than 1,500 state licensing boards, dozens of federal regulators, and hundreds of specialty certification bodies. Each portal has its own search interface, its own field labels, its own quirks. The same license type can be called “active” in one state, “current” in another, and “in good standing” in a third. The result is that simple verification questions — “Is this nurse currently licensed in Texas?” “Is this contractor’s California license active?” “Is this CPA in good standing in New York?” — turn into research projects.

Our editorial mission is to publish practical, step-by-step walkthroughs — manually verified against the live portal — for every U.S. state-and-profession combination, plus the federal credentials that span states. The reader leaves a page knowing the portal URL, what to enter into the search box, what the verification page will display, and what to do if the lookup returns something unexpected.

2. Quality Standards Every Page Meets

• The licensing authority is verified against USA.gov’s directory of state agencies and the relevant federal agency’s own page
• The verification portal URL is clicked through and confirmed live, displaying the actual lookup tool (not a generic agency homepage)
• A sample search has been run and the on-screen field labels, error messages, and verification page layout described from the actual interface
• Renewal procedures, fees (where applicable), and CE/CEU requirements are captured with their statutory or rule citation where available
• Disciplinary action visibility is described (whether discipline is shown on the verification page itself, on a separate “actions” page, or only by separate request)
• Interstate compact participation is named (NLC, IMLC, PT Compact, PSYPACT, EMS Compact REPLICA, etc.) where applicable
• “Last reviewed” date appears on every page
• FCRA non-CRA position is reachable from every page

3. Source Hierarchy — Six Tiers

Full hierarchy with named sources, URLs, and how each is used is on the Sources & Methodology page.

4. Verification — Our Seven-Step Process

1. Identify the right authoritative source. We start with the state board or federal agency that actually issues the credential — confirmed against USA.gov’s directory and the relevant national association’s state-board directory.
2. Verify the URL is current. State licensing portals get migrated, redesigned, and replaced. We click through every link before publication and confirm the destination is the actual lookup tool.
3. Run a sample search. Walkthroughs are written from a real lookup against a sample license — fields, error messages, and the verification page layout described from on-screen.
4. Document the on-screen labels. Field names, button text, status terminology, and the verification card’s layout are described from the actual interface.
5. Cross-check the legal framework. For procedures governed by statute or rule, we cite the practice act, administrative code section, or federal regulation.
6. Note current procedural details, fees, and processing times. Captured with a “last reviewed” date and re-verified each quarter.
7. Editor sign-off. A second editor reviews the page end-to-end before it goes live, including a fresh sample search and a re-check of any named board chair or executive director.

5. Update Cycles

6. Corrections Process

1. You report it. Email info@verificationlicense.org with subject “Correction” and the page URL.
2. We acknowledge. Response within seven business days confirms receipt.
3. We verify. An editor goes back to the official source and confirms the current position with a fresh sample search.
4. We correct. If confirmed, the page is updated. Substantive corrections — wrong URL, wrong fee, wrong procedure — trigger a published correction note dated and described in plain English.
5. We tell you. The reporter is notified once the correction is live.

7. FCRA Editorial Policy

For healthcare credentialing offices: primary-source verification performed directly with the issuing licensing board is generally considered appropriate under Joint Commission, NCQA, and CMS Conditions of Participation. The state board’s own verification portal is the primary source — not us.

8. AI Tools and Authorship

• AI tools may be used for first drafts, summarization of agency pages, formatting consistency, and language polish
• Every state-and-profession walkthrough is run against the live portal by a human editor before publication — AI cannot substitute for live verification
• Portal URLs, field labels, fee amounts, statute citations, and renewal procedures are confirmed against the agency’s own page by a human
• AI-generated text that turns out to misstate a procedure is corrected through the standard corrections process
• We do not allow AI to invent state-specific procedures, fabricate statute citations, or describe boards that don’t exist

9. Editorial Independence

We do not take payment from any state licensing board, federal regulator, national association (NCSBN, FSMB, ABMS, NCEES, NASBA, etc.), specialty certification body, or third-party verification service in exchange for editorial coverage. We do not take payment from any commercial license-related service, background-check provider, employment-screening vendor, CE provider, or test-prep company in exchange for being mentioned, recommended, or omitted on a state-and-profession page. The site is funded by display advertising on the principle that advertising and editorial are separate functions.

10. Advertising and FTC §255

• Display advertisements are visually distinct from editorial content and labeled where required
• Where any commercial relationship exists with a service relevant to our audience, it is disclosed in context per the FTC’s Endorsement Guides at 16 C.F.R. Part 255
• Sponsored content, if it ever appears, is clearly identified as paid-for
• We do not insert commercial links above the verified state board or federal agency portal links on a page; the official source always comes first

FTC endorsement guidance: ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/ftcs-endorsement-guides-what-people-are-asking.

11. Conflicts of Interest

• The editorial team is not employed by, contracted to, or financially connected to any state licensing board, federal regulator, or national association
• The editorial team is not employed by, contracted to, or financially connected to any background-check provider, employment-screening vendor, or third-party verification service
• We don’t accept gifts, hospitality, or considerations from these organizations in exchange for coverage

12. Sensitive Topics

License verification content intersects with several sensitive areas. We try to handle them fairly:

• Disciplinary actions. We describe how to find publicly published discipline through the official agency portal but do not republish disciplinary records on our own pages. Each board’s published record at the time of your check is the authoritative source.
• License denials and applicant matters. We describe the framework but do not editorialize on individual applicant cases.
• Pending investigations. Most states do not publish investigations until they conclude in a formal action. We describe the framework but do not speculate on active investigations.
• Background checks for licensure. We point applicants to the criminal-history disclosure rules in their state’s practice act.
• Practitioners and identifying information. Walkthrough examples use fictional names or de-identified examples; we don’t put real practitioner names into illustrative searches.

13. Reader Feedback

Substantive feedback — corrections, suggestions, broken-link reports — is logged and addressed within seven business days. Licensees, credentialing officers, license-defense attorneys, and HR professionals who use these portals daily often spot inconsistencies before our quarterly review catches them. Feedback that is abusive, threatening, or harassing is not engaged with and may be reported under our Terms of Service.

14. Language, Tone, and Accessibility

• Pages are written in plain English at a level intended to be accessible to a general adult audience, including patients and consumers who are not credentialing professionals
• Acronyms are spelled out on first use (FCRA, HIPAA, NCSBN, FSMB, ABMS, NCEES, NASBA, NPI, NPPES, NPDB, IMLC, NLC, PSYPACT, REPLICA, ASLP-IC, OPV, NMLS, FINRA)
• Where Spanish-language portals exist, we link them where applicable
• We follow our Accessibility Statement, including WCAG 2.1 AA targets and Section 504/508 considerations