A clinic's own website stating that it is "fully licensed and accredited" is a claim, not a verification. The only way to rely on it is to check the official register yourself. The good news is that most of the records you need are public, and a clinic has usually told you — or will tell you on request — exactly which authority and number to search. This guide sets out the checks in order, using the registry's own regulator tools, so you can confirm a clinic's standing before you commit money or travel.
Separate the three things you are checking
"Licensed" bundles together three different records that a clinic can hold independently of one another:
1. the facility or health-establishment licence, usually issued by a health ministry or health authority; 2. the operating surgeon's personal registration, held with a national medical or dental council — covered in [how to verify a surgeon's credentials](/guides/verify-surgeon-credentials); 3. the operating company's corporate registration, held at the national companies registry.
A clinic can have an active company but no current facility licence, or a licensed building staffed by a surgeon whose registration you cannot confirm. Check all three; do not let one stand in for the others.
Step 1: find the right regulator
Start by identifying the correct authority for the country and the thing you are checking. The registry's [regulator lookup](/tools/regulator-lookup) lets you pick a country and what you want to verify — doctor, dentist, hospital, or fertility clinic — and returns the official regulator, its public lookup URL, what it does and does not cover, and common limitations such as a register with no English search. The [regulatory bodies directory](/regulatory-bodies) lists the same national councils, dental councils, and ministries with their official verification URLs. Use the official URL from these pages, not a link supplied by the clinic.
Step 2: check the facility licence
Many countries license the establishment itself through the health ministry or a dedicated health authority. Search the official register for the clinic or hospital, confirm that the licence is current rather than lapsed, and note the licence number and the date you checked. Where a country does not publish a searchable facility register, the regulator lookup will usually say so — an unsearchable register is a known limitation, not automatically a red flag.
Step 3: check the operating company
Confirm that the legal entity running the clinic is registered and active at the national companies registry — for example Thailand's DBD, the Turkish Trade Registry, or, as a reference model, Companies House in the UK. Confirm the entity is active rather than dissolved, struck off, or dormant, and note the registration number and status. The registry treats a company that was dissolved and then re-registered as a factual concern worth recording, because it can indicate a change of ownership or a restructuring of liability; see the [methodology](/methodology) and [flags policy](/methodology/flags).
Step 4: check accreditation claims at the source
Accreditation is a separate claim again. If a clinic cites JCI (Joint Commission International), NABH, or another scheme, confirm it against the issuing body's own public list of accredited organisations — not a certificate image or a logo on the clinic's site, both of which can be out of date or unverifiable. The registry's [accreditation verifier](/tools/accreditation-verifier) covers several of these registers, and the [sources policy](/methodology/sources) explains what counts as acceptable evidence. Remember what accreditation means: it confirms that certain systems and standards are in place, not that any individual outcome is guaranteed.
Step 5: cross-check the surgeon
A licensed facility does not tell you that the person operating on you is registered. Take the named surgeon's registration number and confirm it on the relevant council register — the [surgeon lookup](/tools/surgeon-lookup) and [regulator lookup](/tools/regulator-lookup) point you to the right one, and the [surgeon directory](/surgeons) explains the standard the registry applies before it will publish an entry. If a clinic will not name the surgeon at all, see [what to do if a clinic won't name your surgeon](/guides/what-if-clinic-refuses-to-name-surgeon).
What a clean result does and does not tell you
Confirming an active licence, an active company, and a genuine accreditation establishes that a clinic is operating lawfully and that its basic claims are true. It does not measure surgical skill, patient outcomes, or satisfaction — the registry does not verify those, and no register does. A clean set of records is a floor to clear, not a guarantee. Record what you checked as you go: the authority, the exact URL, the number you searched, the status it returned, and the date. If a claim later changes, or a clinic disputes it, a dated record of the official register is the evidence that settles the question — and it is far harder to challenge than a screenshot the clinic supplied.
If you cannot confirm it
Ask the clinic directly for the licence and registration numbers and the official URL on which to check them. A straightforward provider supplies these without difficulty; evasion or a refusal to give a checkable number is itself informative. Work through the checks with the [verify-a-clinic-yourself tool](/tools/verify-clinic-yourself), which mirrors the registry's internal playbook and produces a printable record, and if you find something that contradicts a registry entry, tell us through [corrections](/corrections). Clinics with identified concerns are listed at [/flagged](/flagged). The principle throughout is the same: verify at the official register, on the authority's own website, and never on the clinic's say-so alone.