Updated 7 November 2026
How to verify a professional credential at the source
Official registers for doctors, lawyers and accountants, academic degree verification, accreditation and what licence status terms mean.
Professional registers
Accountant registers compared: CPAs, chartered accountants and auditorsHow to check a US CPA, a UK chartered accountant or a UK statutory auditor with the official register, and what each register shows.Checking a licence in the United States: state boards, compacts and national databasesHow US licence checks work: state boards, Nursys, the nurse and physician compacts, CPAverify, state bars and why the NPDB is not public.How to verify a professional credential with the official issuerThe basic method for checking a doctor, lawyer or accountant with the official register, what a register entry shows and where checks go wrong.Lawyer registers compared: solicitors, barristers, state bars and law societiesHow to check a lawyer's licence and status in England and Wales, California and Ontario, and what each official register shows.Medical registers compared: UK, US, Australia, Canada, India and moreWhere to check a doctor's registration in the UK, US, Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, India and Kenya, and what each register shows.Nurse and midwife registers compared: UK, US, Ireland, Australia and IndiaHow to check a nurse or midwife on the official register in the UK, US, Ireland, Australia and India, what each register shows and what it costs.Pharmacy and dental registers compared: UK, Ireland, Canada and AustraliaHow to check pharmacists, pharmacies, dentists and dental care professionals on official registers in the UK, Ireland, Ontario and Australia.Professional qualifications in the EU: Directive 2005/36/EC, the EPC and the alert mechanismHow the EU recognises professional qualifications: automatic recognition, the European Professional Card, deadlines and the IMI alert mechanism.
Academic credentials
Accreditation and diploma mills: how to tell a real degree from a bought oneWhat official bodies in the US, UK and India say about diploma mills, accreditation mills and fake universities, and the lists used to check.Apostilles and legalisation for degree certificates: UK, India and the Hague ConventionWhat an apostille is, which countries accept one, and how the UK and India apostille degree certificates, with fees, times and the e-Apostille.Digital credentials and e-Apostilles: how electronic proof of qualifications is checkedHow digital degrees and e-Apostilles are verified: W3C Verifiable Credentials, Europass digital credentials, the e-APP, HEDD and My eQuals.How to verify an academic degree with the issuing institutionOfficial services for confirming a degree: HEDD in the UK, the National Student Clearinghouse in the US, My eQuals and India's NAD.Laws on unrecognised and fraudulent degrees: UK, India, South Africa and US guidanceWhat the law says about unrecognised and fake degrees in the UK, India and South Africa, with offences, penalties and how the US and UK flag degree mills.Recognition of foreign qualifications: the Lisbon and Global Conventions, ENICs and national rulesHow foreign degrees are recognised: the Lisbon Recognition Convention, the UNESCO Global Convention, UK ENIC, Canada's CICIC and the US approach.
Licence status
Fitness to practise sanctions compared: doctors, nurses, solicitors and US boardsWhat tribunals can order against doctors, nurses and solicitors in the UK, Australia and California, with legal maximums for suspension and fines.Glossary of credential verification termsPlain definitions of official terms used in licence and degree checks, from apostille and caution order to erasure, multistate licence and revalidation.Licence renewal and revalidation compared: nurses, doctors, solicitors and pharmacistsRenewal cycles, deadlines and CPD hours for nurses, doctors, solicitors, pharmacists and architects in the UK, Ireland, Australia and California.Licence status terms explained: active, conditions, suspended, disbarred and moreWhat common register status labels mean, from active and inactive to conditions, undertakings, suspension, cancellation, disbarment and prohibition.Protected professional titles compared: doctor, surgeon, solicitor, architect, auditorWhich professional titles are protected by law in the UK and Australia, what the law covers and the penalties official sources state for misuse.Restoration after removal from a register: waiting periods and procedures comparedHow professionals removed from a register apply to return: waiting periods for doctors, nurses, dentists and solicitors in the UK, California and the EU.