Is Mehmet Oz currently licensed to practice medicine in any U.S. state?
Executive summary
Public reporting indicates Mehmet C. Oz has retained a medical license while transitioning from practicing surgeon to media figure and, most recently, federal official; multiple outlets state he continued to hold an active license even after he stopped performing surgeries [1] [2]. However, none of the provided sources includes a contemporaneous state medical-board lookup as of January 8, 2026, so definitive, up‑to‑the‑minute verification is not available in the packet of reporting provided [3] [4].
1. The record reporters cite: licensed physician turned policy chief
Profiles and news reports repeatedly describe Oz as a licensed physician and note he was confirmed as the 17th administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in 2025, a role that several outlets say he assumed while retaining his medical credentials [5] [6] [7]. Coverage from MedPage Today explicitly reports that Oz “continues to have an active medical license” and that he ceased performing surgeries in 2018, a point used to distinguish clinical practice from licensure status [1]. Scientific American likewise describes him as a licensed physician even as it criticizes his public promotion of unproven therapies [2].
2. Conflicting details, date limits and the gap to real-time verification
Some reportage gives more granular timing — a state database entry cited by Distractify noted a Pennsylvania license that “remained valid” through the end of 2024 — but those articles are snapshots and not real‑time license confirmations for 2026 [3]. A fact-sheet from advocacy groups and advocacy commentary emphasize controversies over Oz’s public advice and argue he should not be trusted as a clinician, but those documents primarily make normative claims rather than providing authoritative licensing records [8]. Independent sites summarizing the issue assert he “has never lost his medical license,” yet they too do not substitute for a direct state licensing lookup [4].
3. What the sources do and do not prove
The assembled sources establish two clear, supportable facts: that Oz has been widely reported as a licensed physician and that he was confirmed to lead CMS in 2025 [1] [7]. They do not, however, include an authoritative, current query of any specific state medical board as of January 8, 2026; the most precise time‑stamped license detail in the material provided dates to late 2024 [3]. Therefore, while the reporting reasonably supports the statement that Oz has retained licensure in recent years, it cannot serve as definitive proof of his license status on this exact date without checking state board databases.
4. Why this distinction matters: licensure, practice and political role
The difference between “holding a license” and “practicing medicine” is central to the debate the sources reveal: journalists and medical commentators note Oz stopped performing surgeries and moved into media and policy work, yet many critics argue licensure should imply ongoing clinical responsibility and adherence to professional norms — criticisms amplified by his celebrity platform [1] [2] [9]. Advocates and critics alike have political aims—protecting public health standards or opposing his policy agenda—and those agendas color coverage; for example, advocacy groups emphasize risk to Medicare beneficiaries while policy outlets assess his administrative actions at CMS [8] [10].
5. Bottom line and a practical next step
Based on the provided reporting, the responsible conclusion is that multiple reputable outlets described Mehmet Oz as retaining an active medical license through at least late 2024 and into his appointment as CMS administrator in 2025, but the package of sources does not include a current state medical-board lookup to incontrovertibly confirm license status on January 8, 2026 [3] [1] [6]. The definitive way to resolve the remaining uncertainty is a direct check of state medical licensing databases (for example Pennsylvania or New Jersey where he has practiced) or the Federation of State Medical Boards records, none of which were included in the materials supplied here.