License verification: what every office should double-check

Start with the primary source

Search the public register maintained by the regulator for the office's jurisdiction. Washington's Department of Health describes its credential search as a primary source updated daily. British Columbia, Ontario, and Alberta regulators also maintain public registers for the oral-health professions they regulate.

A résumé, wallet card, certificate, screenshot, or earlier verification can help you locate the record. It doesn't replace the live register. Status, conditions, and expiry can change.

Match the record to the person and the shift

• Match the professional's legal name and credential or registration number.
• Confirm the credential belongs to the profession being booked.
• Confirm the jurisdiction is the one where the office is located.
• Read the current status, effective date, expiry date, category, and every condition or restriction.
• Check whether a provisional, limited, courtesy, or temporary category changes supervision or duties.

Don't treat 'found in the register' as the same thing as 'authorized for this shift.' A pending, expired, suspended, cancelled, inactive, or otherwise restricted credential may not permit practice. If the status isn't clear, stop and contact the regulator before patient care.

Verify scope one procedure at a time

Scope differs by role and jurisdiction. Build the shift from the procedures the office expects, then verify that the professional may perform each one under the required level of supervision.

• Dental radiography and any required authorization
• Local anesthesia or nitrous oxide administration
• Restorative or expanded-function procedures
• Coronal polishing, sealants, fluoride, impressions, or scanning
• Sedation-related duties and emergency responsibilities
• Any specialty procedure that requires separate education, endorsement, or supervision

Washington, for example, lists separate expanded-function education and examination requirements for anesthesia, nitrous oxide, and restorative functions for hygienists. Alberta's dental-assistant register can show advanced-practice authorizations and conditions. The correct checklist is the one for your jurisdiction and the actual duties assigned.

Check the supporting requirements

The professional license may be only one part of the file. Depending on the role, location, and duties, confirm current CPR or BLS, radiography, anesthesia, sedation, or other required credentials. Confirm professional liability coverage where the service arrangement or regulator requires it.

Full Service shifts place employment, payroll, workers' compensation, liability, and classification with WORKFORCE under the applicable agreement. That doesn't turn an out-of-scope procedure into an authorized one. The office still needs to assign duties that fit the professional's verified credentials and supervision requirements.

Create a verification record

Record the professional's name, credential number, regulator, date and time checked, status, relevant conditions, reviewer, and any follow-up. Use the minimum personal information needed and follow your privacy and retention rules.

Set a recheck trigger for the credential's expiry date and for any new shift after a material gap. A clean check last year doesn't establish authorization today.

What to do when something doesn't match

1. Pause the assignment or remove the disputed duty.
2. Confirm spelling, legal-name changes, and registration number.
3. Open the regulator's guidance for the displayed status or category.
4. Contact the regulator when authorization remains unclear.
5. Document the resolution before the professional treats a patient.

Don't ask the professional to work around the discrepancy while someone investigates. A delayed start is easier to repair than unauthorized practice.

How WORKFORCE fits into verification

WORKFORCE uses credential information as part of the staffing process, with service details varying by market and agreement. Offices should still review the professional and planned duties shown for the shift and raise any mismatch before patient care begins.

This guide is operational information, not legal advice. Regulators and applicable law control when requirements differ or change.