Yes — if the provider is licensed in the state where you are located. Telehealth follows the patient's state, not the provider's.
What matters is not where the provider is physically sitting — it is whether that provider holds an active license in the state where you are located at the time of the visit. A doctor in one state can absolutely evaluate, treat, and prescribe for a patient in another state, as long as they are licensed in the patient's state. Telehealth care is generally regulated by the state where the patient is, not the state where the clinician happens to be.
*This article is general information about how medical licensing works. It is not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for medical advice from a licensed provider. Requirements vary by state and change over time.*
## Why your location is what counts
There is no single national medical license in the United States. Medicine is licensed state by state, and each state board sets the rules for who may practice within its borders. Health regulation is organized around the patient: in general, the practice of medicine is treated as occurring where the patient is when care is delivered. Your state's health authorities — not the provider's home state — are the ones with jurisdiction over your visit.
That is why the question "can a doctor prescribe out of state?" is really two questions. Where the physician lives or works is largely irrelevant. Whether that physician carries an active, unrestricted license in your state is the question that decides everything.
## What this means for a telehealth visit
For an online visit, the practical rule is simple: the provider you are matched with must hold a license in your state. If they do not, they cannot legally evaluate you or issue a prescription for you, no matter how routine the request.
This is why legitimate telehealth services ask for your state before anything else, and why availability differs between services and between states. A platform that never asks where you are is a warning sign. State rules also differ in *how* the visit must happen — some states require a live video or phone visit before a prescription can be written, while others allow a provider to review a written intake. Those differences are covered on our [state availability](/learn/prescribing-compliance/what-states-available) page.
Traveling matters too. If you are physically in a different state on the day of your visit, the rules of the state you are in generally apply, which can change whether care is available to you that day.
## Nurse practitioners and out-of-state prescribing
Nurse practitioners are licensed state by state as well, through each state's board of nursing, and the same principle applies: an NP may care for a patient in another state when the NP holds a license in the patient's state.
There is one extra layer for NPs, however. Beyond licensure, states differ in scope of practice — the range of care a nurse practitioner may provide independently, including prescribing. Some states grant full practice authority, allowing NPs to evaluate patients, diagnose, and prescribe under the exclusive licensure authority of the board of nursing. Other states require a collaborative, supervisory, or team-based arrangement with a physician for some or all of that authority, including prescribing. The National Council of State Boards of Nursing describes this framework and the ongoing work to align state requirements through the APRN Consensus Model.
We are deliberately not publishing a state-by-state table here, because these rules change through state legislation and are best confirmed with your own state board of nursing. The reliable takeaway: an NP treating you from another state must be licensed in your state, and must be practicing within the scope your state allows.
Licensure compacts add a related wrinkle worth understanding correctly. Compacts such as the Nurse Licensure Compact create a multistate license that allows nurses to practice in other participating states. Compacts streamline how a clinician becomes authorized in multiple states — they do not eliminate the requirement to be authorized in the patient's state. Anyone telling you licensure does not matter for telehealth is wrong.
## Controlled substances are a separate, stricter question
Prescribing controlled substances by telehealth carries additional federal requirements on top of state licensing, administered by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Those rules have their own conditions around evaluations, registration, and record-keeping, and they have changed several times in recent years.
That layer does not apply to the medications offered here. Neither ivermectin nor mebendazole is a controlled substance, so the stricter federal telehealth rules for controlled prescribing are not part of this process. State licensing still applies in full.
## How this works at Get It Prescribed
We are a technology platform, not a medical practice. When you complete an assessment, you are matched with an independent provider who is licensed in your state, and that provider makes every clinical decision — including whether to prescribe at all.
That single requirement is the reason our footprint looks the way it does. Service is available in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. We do not offer care in a state until we have a licensed provider for that state.
Two pages answer two different questions, and it is worth knowing which one you need:
- [Which states are you available in?](/learn/prescribing-compliance/what-states-available) — the state list, plus whether your state requires a live consult or allows a written review. - This page — how cross-state prescribing works legally, and why the patient's state is the one that counts.
You can also see the current map and consult requirements on the [availability](/availability) page, and read how each request is screened on the [eligibility and provider review](/eligibility-and-provider-review) page. If you want to confirm a provider's credentials yourself, every state publishes license lookup tools through its medical or nursing board.
## Related questions
### Can a doctor in another state write me a prescription? Yes, provided they hold an active license in the state where you are located during the visit. Their own location does not disqualify them.
### Does the provider have to be in my state during the appointment? Generally no. The requirement is licensure in your state, not physical presence in it.
### Can a nurse practitioner prescribe across state lines? Yes, when the NP is licensed in your state and the prescription falls within the scope of practice your state grants nurse practitioners. Some states allow full practice authority; others require a collaborative or supervisory arrangement with a physician.
### Does a licensure compact mean my provider does not need a license in my state? No. Compacts make it faster for clinicians to become licensed or authorized in multiple states. They do not remove the requirement to be authorized where the patient is.
### What if I move or travel to a different state? The state you are physically in at the time of care generally governs the visit. Keep your address current so your requests are routed to a provider licensed where you are.
## Starting a consultation
If you are ready to begin, the [how it works](/how-it-works) page walks through the full process: an online assessment, review by a provider licensed in your state, a possible phone or video consult at the provider's discretion, and shipping if a prescription is issued. Prescriptions are never guaranteed — an independent provider prescribes only when it is clinically appropriate.
## Sources
- [NCSBN — APRN Consensus Model](https://www.ncsbn.org/nursing-regulation/practice/aprn.page) — how advanced practice registered nurse licensure and scope of practice are structured across states. - [NCSBN — Licensure](https://www.ncsbn.org/nursing-regulation/licensure.page) — overview of state-based nursing licensure. - [Nurse Licensure Compact](https://www.nursecompact.com/) — official description of multistate nursing licensure and how it works. - [Medicaid.gov — Telehealth](https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/benefits/telehealth) — federal overview noting that telehealth policy is set state by state. - [DEA Diversion Control Division](https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/) — federal authority governing controlled-substance prescribing, including telemedicine requirements. - [USAGov — State health departments](https://www.usa.gov/state-health) — directory for verifying state-level health and licensing authorities.