How to Check a Tennessee Dermatologist's License and Board Certification

Two credentials, two different questions

A license answers the question: is this person licensed to practice medicine in Tennessee? The Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners, part of the Tennessee Department of Health, sets standards and licenses medical doctors. The state legislature created it in 1901.

Board certification answers a different question: does this doctor hold a specialty board's credential in dermatology? Vanderbilt's dermatology page shows how practices describe it: “All our dermatologists are American Board of Dermatology certified and residency-trained.” That statement names certification and residency training as their own credentials, which is why it's worth checking each one rather than assuming.

How to check a Tennessee medical license

1. Open the board's official pageGo to the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners on tn.gov. Starting here means you're using the state's own route, not a lookalike site.
2. Find License VerificationsThe board's page has a License Verifications section. It's the official starting point for checking a license.
3. Search for the doctorA guide to the state lookup says you can search by name, license number or location. If a common name returns many results, add a location.
4. Read the statusThe same guide says the lookup shows license status and disciplinary history. Note whether the license is current and read any entries in full.
5. Match the detailsMake sure the name, middle initial and credentials match how the practice lists the doctor.

If you want to read the regulations themselves, the board's licensure rules are published as Chapter 0880-02, revised in June 2022.

How to check board certification in dermatology

Start with the practice. A dermatology office should be able to tell you plainly which board certified the doctor. Then confirm it with that board directly. We haven't yet verified the certifying boards' own lookup tools, so we don't link to them here; ask the practice where to confirm, or contact the board by name.

Residency training is part of the picture too. Vanderbilt's dermatology residency covers outpatient and inpatient dermatology, pediatric dermatology, dermatologic surgery, cosmetic dermatology and dermatopathology. That gives you a sense of how much ground dermatology training can span, from children's skin to surgery to the lab side of the specialty.

Extra checks for Mohs and skin surgery

At some centers, surgery such as Mohs is arranged through a referral. Vanderbilt, for example, publishes a Mohs scheduling line that takes referrals. A referral from a doctor you trust doesn't replace your own check of the person doing the procedure.

• Ask for the surgeon's full name before the procedure and look up their Tennessee license.
• Ask whether the surgeon is board certified in dermatology, and by which board.
• Ask where the procedure will take place and who else is involved, such as the lab that reviews tissue.
• Read our skin cancer and Mohs guide for referral and scheduling details.

Med spas, cosmetic clinics and the word “dermatology”

Cosmetic treatments can be offered by an academic dermatology department or by a stand-alone clinic. Vanderbilt's department, for instance, lists laser treatments and cosmetic dermatologic surgery alongside its medical services. A business name that includes “derm” or “skin,” however, doesn't tell you who will actually treat you.

Before any procedure, ask three things: who will perform it, what professional license that person holds, and who supervises them if they aren't a physician. If the person is a medical doctor, check the license through the Board of Medical Examiners. If they hold a different kind of license, ask which state board issued it and check it there.

Signs to pause before booking

• You can't find the doctor's license through the state board.
• The office can't or won't tell you who will perform your treatment.
• Credentials on the clinic's website don't match what the board shows.
• You're pressed to pay for a package before anyone has examined you.

Checking pediatric dermatologists

The same two checks apply to children's doctors. Le Bonheur's service page says its dermatologists treat common and rare skin conditions from birth to age 18, and Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt offers outpatient and inpatient pediatric dermatology consultations. Hospital doctor profiles are a good place to find the full name you'll need for a license search.