If this is where you are…
If an ad names the person who would treat you, copy the name down. Check whether their state record allows the kind of work they are offering.
Open Colorado’s official lookup
Colorado’s free search lets you look up licences for pharmacies and pharmacists, doctors and physician assistants, and nurses including nurse practitioners.[a]
It is run through DORA, short for the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies.[a][b]
Open the Colorado licence searchSearch using the name you were given. Compare the role shown with the role advertised. If the result is unclear, ask the relevant board about that record.
Choose the right board for the role
The Colorado Medical Board licenses doctors and physician assistants; the state nursing board licenses nurses, including nurse practitioners.[b][c]
The Colorado State Board of Pharmacy handles pharmacist and pharmacy licensing.[c]
A nurse practitioner is a nurse trained further to care for patients. Ask whether they have permission to write medicine orders as well as a nursing licence.[c]
In September 2026, a Colorado nurse practitioner needs further education and guided work to gain full permission to write medicine orders.[c]
A doctor or a nurse who already has that permission guides the work.[c]
Ask the nursing board whether this person has full or temporary permission to write medicine orders. A nursing licence alone does not answer that question.
Read the result with the right limits
The board’s record can show a licence’s current status, along with any board action over problems in the person’s work.[e]
A clear public record does not promise good care.[e]
In September 2026, Colorado health ads naming the person who provides care must say what kind of state licence or other state permission that person holds.[d]
Bring any mismatch back to the service in plain words: what state permission covers the care being offered to me?