How to Verify a California Health Care License
California's Department of Consumer Affairs runs one search for the licenses its boards issue, including registered nurses, vocational nurses and many other health professions.
Step by step
- Open the DCA License Search.
- Pick the board (for example, Registered Nursing or Vocational Nursing) and search by license number or name.
- Check the license status, the expiration date, and whether there's any public disciplinary action.
- Save a dated copy (print to PDF) in the employee's file.
What to look for
- Active and current means the nurse can practice.
- Inactive means the nurse renewed without meeting CE and can't practice until the license is reactivated.
- Delinquent or expired means the renewal deadline passed.
- Any probation or discipline notes deserve a careful read before hiring.
The board's own status definitions on the search site are the final word.
Common questions
Where do I verify a California nursing license?
On the Department of Consumer Affairs License Search. Choose the board, search by license number or name, and check the status and expiration date.
Are LVNs verified in the same place as RNs?
Yes. Both appear in the DCA License Search, under the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians and the Board of Registered Nursing.
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StaffScreen, our sister service, checks your whole team against the federal OIG and SAM.gov exclusion lists every month and emails you a dated certificate for your compliance file. California customers hear first when the California License Directory roster opens.
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