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Tirzepatide Before weight treatment Chapter index

Whose permission covers your visit?

# The licence check starts where you are.

A clinic name gives you little to search. Ask for the person who will assess you and the pharmacy that will fill any prescription.

Myth to test

Does a licence somewhere cover a visit everywhere?

Short answer

For an online visit, the patient's location determines which state's permission the doctor needs, according to U.S. guidance checked in September 2026.

## Look up the person, then the state

A state medical board is the body that licenses doctors and can take action against them. Its public record is a place to start.

Look to the state medical boards for published records of a doctor's licence status and public disciplinary history.

The Federation of State Medical Boards puts those board links in a directory.

Finding no public disciplinary record tells you nothing about how the doctor's care would rate.

Match the record against the full name; for a care provider with another professional title, ask which board holds the relevant record.

Ask which state rule permits that person to treat you where you will be during the visit.

## Make a separate pharmacy check

The prescriber and the pharmacy are different parts of care. Ask who will fill the prescription before you commit to a service.

Pharmacies have a separate state board that holds their licence records.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) links to state pharmacy searches through BeSafeRx, its online pharmacy guide.

A pharmacy's licence record confirms a licence, not that every product or practice is sound.

Use the pharmacy's full name, not just the online service's name.

## Brief source notes

[Find the state medical board](https://www.fsmb.org/contact-a-state-medical-board/)

Use the board's own record for the doctor's name.

[FDA route to state pharmacy searches](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/besaferx-your-source-online-pharmacy-information/locate-state-licensed-online-pharmacy)

The pharmacy check is separate from the doctor check.

[Health department guidance across state lines](https://telehealth.hhs.gov/licensure/licensing-across-state-lines)

As of September 2026, some states let doctors licensed elsewhere sign up for permission to provide online care instead of getting a full state licence.

[Medical-board guidance on limited exceptions](https://www.fsmb.org/siteassets/advocacy/policies/fsmb-workgroup-on-telemedicineapril-2022-final.pdf)

Limited exceptions can cover a doctor advising another doctor, or follow-up for an existing patient who is temporarily travelling.

[Back Who the care is for](/decision-points/fit-for-care/)

[Next Video, phone or a form](/ask-next/visit-format/)

## Chapter index

Begin here

[Start with the checks](/)

[What makes care real](/getting-started/)

[What tirzepatide is](/step-one/)

[Brand names and uses](/decision-points/brand-names/)

[Who the care is for](/decision-points/fit-for-care/)

Check the care

[Check the licence](/ask-next/licence-check/)

[Video, phone or a form](/ask-next/visit-format/)

[Prepare for the visit](/ask-next/first-visit/)

[Ask about tests](/ask-next/blood-tests/)

Work out the cost

[Build the full bill](/plan-costs/)

[Check the plan's rules](/coverage-check/)

[The Medicare routes](/coverage-check/medicare/)

Check the product

[Made to order or generic](/decision-points/compounded-medicine/)

[What the shortage changed](/decision-points/shortage-rules/)

[When an offer needs a pause](/pause-and-check/)

[Sort out the care words](/reading-list/plain-words/)

Know the limits

[What weight studies found](/what-supports-this/)

[What stopping can mean](/what-supports-this/stopping-treatment/)

[Stomach trouble and more](/risk-check/)

[Health details that matter](/risk-check/personal-history/)

Keep this guide beside your care questions. We explain care here; clinic services and medicine sales are outside our work.

Start with the checks Care words Chapter index Read as plain text