Glossary
Plain-language definitions for the credentialing and compliance terms you’ll run into most often.
For general reference only — not legal advice. Always confirm requirements with your state licensing board or legal counsel.
Jump to a term
LEIE (List of Excluded Individuals/Entities)
The LEIE is a database maintained by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) that lists individuals and entities currently excluded from participating in federally funded healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid.
Exclusions are typically the result of things like healthcare fraud, patient abuse or neglect, or license revocation. Employing or contracting with an excluded individual or entity can carry serious penalties for a healthcare organization, which is why the list is checked as part of routine credentialing.
OIG exclusion check
An OIG exclusion check is the practice of screening staff, contractors, and vendors against the LEIE — and often similar state-level exclusion or debarment lists — to confirm they aren’t barred from participating in federally funded healthcare programs.
Most organizations run this check before hiring or onboarding someone, and then again on an ongoing basis (commonly monthly), since a person’s exclusion status can change after they’ve already started working.
Self-attested vs. verified credential
A self-attested credential is one where the credential holder has entered the details themselves — for example, typing in a license number and expiration date — without anyone else confirming that information is accurate.
A verified credential is one where an administrator or a third party has independently confirmed the details, typically by reviewing the underlying document or checking directly with the issuing body. Verified status carries more weight for compliance purposes, since it doesn’t rely solely on the holder’s own word.
CE hours / continuing education
Continuing education (CE) hours are units of ongoing training or coursework that many licenses and certifications require holders to complete in order to keep their credential valid, on top of whatever was required to obtain it initially.
Requirements vary widely by license, state, and renewal cycle — some require a set number of hours annually, others every two or three years — so the specific requirement always comes from the issuing board or certifying body, not a general rule.
Renewal grace period
A renewal grace period is a window of time some licensing or certifying bodies allow after a credential’s official expiration date, during which it can still be renewed without being treated as fully lapsed.
Not every credential type offers one, and where they do exist, the length and the rules for what’s still permitted during that window vary by issuer — so a grace period should never be assumed without confirming it with the specific licensing board.
Credential audit trail
A credential audit trail is a chronological record of the actions taken on a credential record — who uploaded it, who verified it, what was updated, and when it was renewed — kept for accountability and compliance purposes.
It gives an organization (and, if needed, an outside auditor or inspector) a clear history to point to, rather than relying on memory or scattered emails, if a question ever comes up about when something was checked or by whom.
Trust profile / trust center
A trust profile — sometimes called a trust center — is a shareable, read-only page that shows an individual’s or organization’s verified credentials to anyone with the link, without requiring them to log in.
It’s designed to demonstrate compliance status at a glance — for example, to a patient, client, or partner — while keeping private details like certificate numbers or the underlying documents themselves hidden from public view.