Can a Healthcare Professional Remove Old Discipline From a Public License Profile in Wilson County, TN?

For healthcare professionals, a past disciplinary action can have consequences long after the underlying matter has been resolved. A public record may affect a provider’s employment opportunities, credentialing, professional relationships, and reputation in the community. For some Tennessee licensees, however, a newer law may offer a path to remove certain older disciplinary information from the public-facing licensure profile.

Tennessee’s Support for Recovery law, Public Chapter 100, took effect July 1, 2025. It allows certain healthcare professionals who completed a state-approved peer-assistance or treatment program for substance-use issues to petition their licensing board to remove qualifying adverse-action information from the public licensure-verification website. A provider may become eligible to petition five years after successfully completing the approved program, as documented in the board’s order.

This change is significant, but it is important to understand what it does, and does not, do. A successful petition may remove specified disciplinary information from the public-facing profile that patients, employers, insurers, and credentialing organizations commonly review. It does not erase the underlying board order or eliminate the licensing board’s authority. The underlying order remains a public record, and the licensing board decides whether the provider meets the legal requirements for relief.

That distinction matters. In Tennessee, formal board discipline typically becomes part of a professional’s publicly available licensure record, and the Department of Health reports that formal discipline remains on a licensure record indefinitely. Public practitioner profiles generally include final disciplinary actions from the prior ten years, along with other information required by law.

A provider considering a petition should begin by reviewing the original consent order or disciplinary order, confirming the completion date for the approved program, and gathering proof of successful completion and continued compliance. The specific board involved, whether nursing, pharmacy, medicine, dentistry, or another health-related board, may have different procedures or rules implementing the law.

It is also important not to confuse this administrative option with criminal-record expungement. They are different processes with different standards and outcomes. Public Chapter 100 is limited to qualifying license-discipline matters connected to substance-use recovery; it does not automatically apply to every disciplinary action or remove all public information associated with a license.

At Hagar & Phillips, we understand that a professional license represents years of education, hard work, and commitment to serving patients. We help healthcare professionals in Lebanon, Wilson County, and throughout Tennessee evaluate disciplinary matters, respond to board investigations, protect their licenses, and explore available options after discipline has occurred.

If you believe you may qualify to seek removal of qualifying disciplinary information from your public license profile, or if you are facing a current board complaint, Hagar & Phillips can review your situation, explain the process, and advocate for your professional future.

If you need help protecting your healthcare license, contact Hagar & Phillips today at 615‑784‑4588 to schedule a confidential consultation.

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