Get the full name and the kind of licence
Colorado’s public search tool has medical, nursing and pharmacy licence records. That includes doctors and physician assistants, as well as nurses, nurse practitioners, pharmacists and pharmacies. The state suggests a person search using just the first and last names.
Match the record to the person named for your care. Check which kind of licence they hold and whether the record shows limits on their work. If the status is unclear, ask the board whether this person may provide the proposed care. A similar name is a reason to ask for clarification, not to guess.
Check the board record for a doctor’s current permission to practise and any action over their conduct. Read whether an entry describes charges still pending or action already taken. Finding no public action gives you no rating of the doctor’s work.
Let the title lead to the right board
For Colorado, doctors and physician assistants fall under the Medical Board; nurses and nurse practitioners under the Nursing Board; pharmacies and pharmacists under the Pharmacy Board.
Under Colorado’s September 2026 rules, a health advert naming a practitioner must state their kind of state licence, certificate or registration. At your first visit, the person must say what state permission they hold or use an authorised professional title. An emergency can excuse this if saying it is not practical.
A useful next question
What changes if the clinician is in another state?