What are the four search fields to find a doctor on Certification Matters?
Certification Matters is a free service for patients and their families to check if a doctor is board certified by an ABMS certifying board (ABMS Member Boards). Other online services are available if you do not yet have the name of a doctor who provides the type of medical care you need.
Once you have found doctors who work in the area of medical expertise you need (called a specialty or subspecialty), then use this site to learn if they are board certified.
There are four fields you may use to search for your doctor. Only the last name of the doctor is required. If you do not find your doctor listed in your first search, try different combinations of the other three fields to help you find the correct person when you search our list of more than 980,000 board certified doctors.
1. Last name of the doctor
You must know the last name of the doctor you are searching for. This is because Certification Matters is a site for checking the board certification status for a doctor you know, to help you decide if they have the qualifications you want. This is not a website for finding doctors.
Tip: Make sure you are spelling the doctor’s last name correctly. Use the complete last name when possible; you must type at least the first five letters of the last name. Names with a hyphen should include that full name with the hyphen.
2. First name of the doctor
Use your doctor’s first name to refine your search results.
Tip: Type at least the first letter of the doctor’s first name. Partial searches in the first name are allowed. If you are not sure, you may leave this search field blank.
3. State/Territory/Province
When you select a state, territory, or province in the search tool, the search results will show a “reported location.” This location is the most address reported by a doctor’s certifying board (ABMS Member Board).
Doctors may not provide their updated work location to their certifying board (ABMS Member Board), so what is shown may be out of date.
Tip: Since the doctor’s location may be out of date, you can remove the location from your search terms. To do this, choose the top line in the pull-down list of locations, labeled “State/Territory/Province,” or choose “Clear Search” to start over. You can also try choosing nearby states in case the doctor moved since they reported their address. If you are not sure, you may leave this search field blank.
Attention physicians: If your location is not correct on this website, please send your changes to your ABMS Member Board and ask them to send the update to ABMS. Changes may not take effect immediately.
4. Specialty/Subspecialty
A specialty or subspecialty is an area of medical expertise. When doctors get board certified, they can choose from more than 120 specialties or subspecialties that are offered by the certifying boards (ABMS Member Boards). Some doctors may have more than one area of medical expertise.
Tip: To restrict your search to doctors who work in one area of expertise, choose the specialty or subspecialty from the list of 120 options that best matches the type of medical care you need. If you are not sure, you may leave this search field blank.
See Reasons you may not find your doctor on Certification Matters.
