How to verify a doctor or nurse registration in India

To verify a doctor in India, check their registration in the Indian Medical Register and with the state medical council that registered them, then confirm the degree, and for foreign graduates the screening test result, with the body that issued it. For a nurse, confirm the registration with the state nursing council. A registration number on its own is not enough, because recent cases show registrations can be obtained with forged papers.

Why a registration number is not enough

Most hospitals already ask for a registration number. The problem is what sits behind it. In October 2026, Rajasthan's Special Operations Group arrested four doctors who had trained abroad and, after failing the screening test for foreign medical graduates, allegedly bought forged FMGE certificates for Rs 27 lakh to Rs 33 lakh. Using them, they completed internships at government medical colleges and applied for registration with the Rajasthan Medical Council.

A day later, the same agency arrested two more people in a separate case. The Registrar of the Rajasthan Medical Council had filed a complaint on 6 October 2026 alleging that eight people secured registration with forged documents and fake MBBS degrees. One of those arrested had studied only up to Class 8, had worked as a hospital receptionist, and was practising as a gynaecologist from a hospital he owned. His school marksheets, MBBS degree and specialist diploma were all found to be forged.

In both cases the registration itself was real: the council had issued it. What was false were the documents used to get it. An employer who checked only the register would have seen a registered doctor. The lesson is to check two things: that the registration exists and is current, and that the qualifications behind it are genuine.

What the law requires

Under section 34 of the National Medical Commission Act, 2019, only a person enrolled in a State Register or the National Register may practise medicine as a qualified medical practitioner, hold the office of a physician or surgeon, or sign medical and fitness certificates that the law requires a qualified practitioner to sign. Anyone who breaks this can be punished with imprisonment of up to one year, a fine of up to Rs 5 lakh, or both.

For a hospital, clinic, diagnostic chain or health-tech platform, this makes registration the minimum bar. Putting an unregistered person in a doctor's role exposes patients first, and the organisation's reputation next.

How to verify a doctor, step by step

1. Search the Indian Medical Register

The National Medical Commission publishes the Indian Medical Register, which lists doctors registered with state medical councils. You can search by name, year of registration, registration number or state medical council. The same page has a search for doctors whose names have been removed or blacklisted.

When you find the record, match every field: full name, father's name where shown, qualification, university, year of qualification, registration number and council. Treat any mismatch as a stop, not a typo to wave through. Two cautions apply. The page itself says its data is being updated, and it notes that some councils' records are not included for certain years. So a missing entry is not proof of fraud, and a present entry is not the final check.

The Commission is also moving doctors onto a National Medical Register, where each doctor applies, the state council verifies their credentials and the Commission issues an ID. Coverage is still growing, so use it alongside the other steps, not instead of them.

2. Confirm with the state medical council

The state council that registered the doctor holds the authoritative record. Ask the candidate for a copy of their registration certificate and confirm it with that council: whether the registration is current, whether any action is pending against it, and whether the qualifications on file match the ones the candidate gave you. If the doctor has moved states, check where they are registered now. Many councils answer by letter or email, so build the time into your hiring plan.

3. Verify the degree with the university

Confirm the MBBS degree, and any MD, MS or diploma, with the university or body that awarded it, not from the photocopy. The same steps apply as for any degree check: take the candidate's written consent, send the request to the university's verification cell or portal, and match every detail on the reply. In the Rajasthan case, the specialist diploma presented to the council was later found to be forged, which is exactly what a check with the awarding body is meant to catch.

4. For foreign medical graduates, confirm the screening test

A doctor who earned their primary medical qualification outside India must pass a screening test before they can be registered here. The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences conducts this Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) under the Screening Test Regulations, 2002. Since a printed FMGE certificate was the forged document in the recent case, confirm the result with the board itself through its credential verification service, and keep the confirmation on file. Also confirm the internship: ask for the completion certificate and check it with the medical college where it was done.

5. Check experience at the source

For senior roles, confirm past appointments with the hospitals where the doctor worked: dates, department, designation and any concerns raised. Ask the past employer directly, using contact details you find yourself rather than ones printed on the candidate's documents.

How to verify a nurse

Nurses and midwives are registered with their state nursing council. The Indian Nursing Council runs the Nurses Registration and Tracking System, which it describes as a live register of nurses, and nurses enrolled in it receive a unique ID known as the NUID. The Council's note on the system explains how enrolment works.

Ask for the NUID and the state registration certificate. Most registered nurses have an NUID, so treat a missing one as a question to ask, not a formality.
Confirm the registration is active, and check which state nursing council issued it. Where the details do not match, confirm with that council directly.
Verify the nursing qualification (GNM, BSc Nursing or higher) with the institution or university that awarded it.
Confirm past employment with the hospitals named, as you would for a doctor.

Red flags to watch for

What you see	Why it matters	What to do
The register entry and the certificate differ in any field	Forged documents often reuse a real number with different details	Stop and confirm with the council in writing
A foreign medical degree with only a printed FMGE certificate	Printed screening certificates were the forged item in a recent case	Confirm the result with the National Board of Examinations
A specialist diploma from a body you have not heard of	Specialist claims raise pay and seniority, so they attract forgery	Confirm with the awarding body before you appoint
Reluctance to give consent for a source check	Genuine candidates rarely object to a check they are told about	Explain the check; do not appoint without it
Contact details for referees that you cannot find independently	Fake referees often answer from personal numbers	Use the hospital's official contact details

Why it pays to check before you appoint

A fake qualification is not something an organisation can quietly fix later. In October 2026 the Punjab and Haryana High Court held that an appointment obtained on a fake qualification from an institute that did not exist is invalid, and that long service or a qualification earned later cannot save it. That case concerned a teacher, but the principle is the same for clinical roles, where the cost of getting it wrong falls on patients. Checking at the source before the first shift is far cheaper than an inquiry afterwards.

Consent and record keeping

Every check here involves personal data, so take the candidate's written consent, tell them which checks you will run and why, and keep only what you need for the decision. Store the confirmations you receive from councils, universities and the screening board with the candidate's file, so you can show what was checked and when.

How TheRollNumber helps

On Checkkbox, a hospital or staffing agency can check an Indian doctor's or nurse's registration ID and see whether it is active, which council registered it, and the year of graduation. That runs alongside education, employment, court record and identity checks, with the results in one report. Degrees issued by institutions on Dygital.degree carry a QR check that confirms the record with the issuing institution, and candidates who hold verified records in ADi Wallet can share them with your team only after they approve the request. If you hire clinical staff at volume, talk to us about setting up these checks for your hiring flow.

Verifying doctors and nurses in India: how to check medical and nursing council registrations