What a DNB means on a doctor's profile
The DNB is a postgraduate qualification examined by the National Board rather than a university, and recognised as equivalent to the MD and MS.
The Diplomate of National Board is a postgraduate qualification awarded by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS), a body under the health ministry, rather than by a university. Training runs in accredited hospitals — many of them private and corporate hospitals with no medical college attached — for three years after the MBBS, or two after a recognised postgraduate diploma, and entry is through NEET-PG, the same examination as for the MD and MS. The examination at the end is the National Board's own.
The National Medical Commission recognises the DNB as a postgraduate qualification equivalent to the MD and MS in the same branch; the conditions attached to teaching appointments have moved over the years and are set by the NMC's teacher-eligibility regulations, not by the degree itself. For a patient, a DNB (Paediatrics) and an MD (Paediatrics) mean the same thing: a specialist trained for three years and examined nationally.
The Board also awards the DrNB for super-specialities, equivalent to the DM and MCh, and the FNB, a fellowship in a narrower field. Because DNB training is hospital-based, DNB holders are common in the big corporate hospitals on this site, and the measured block below shows the branches and cities.
How to check whether a doctor holds a DNB
- Read the register entryA doctor's record on the Indian Medical Register names the qualification the state medical council recorded at registration, and further qualifications where the doctor has had them added. If the doctor says they hold a DNB and the register shows only the primary degree, the DNB has not been registered — which is common and not by itself a warning, but it does mean the register cannot confirm it.
- Check the college was recognised for the courseThe NMC's College and Course Search lists which institutions are recognised for which courses. a DNB from a college not recognised for it on the year in question is a qualification the NMC does not recognise, whatever the certificate says.
- Ask the awarding body when it mattersUniversities verify degrees on request, usually for a fee; a hospital credentialing a doctor does this, and a patient can ask whether it has been done. On this site a qualification is marked verified only when it has been checked against the awarding body and the date is shown; otherwise it is marked as supplied.
1,068 doctors record a DNB
2 of them (0%) have the qualification checked against the awarding body; 1 record the year it was awarded, from 2012 to 2012. The rest are recorded as supplied. Counts are read from the live database and refresh hourly.
Branches as written on profiles
| Branch | Doctors |
|---|---|
| Paediatrics | 41 |
| Urology | 33 |
| Cardiology | 28 |
| General Surgery | 27 |
| General Medicine | 27 |
| Ortho | 24 |
| OBG | 21 |
| Medicine | 19 |
Awarding institutions most often recorded
- National Board of Examinations · 3
Specialities they practise
- Gynaecologists · 187
- Paediatricians · 115
- Orthopaedic surgeons · 85
- Internal medicine physicians · 57
- Radiologists · 55
- Pulmonologists · 48
Where they practise
Questions people ask
- Is a DNB a recognised qualification in India?
- Yes, when awarded by an institution recognised for it. The National Medical Commission maintains the list of recognised qualifications and of the institutions permitted to award each; a DNB from a college that was not recognised for the course in that year is not a recognised qualification, and a registering body can refuse to enter it on the register.
- Is a DNB a diploma?
- Despite the word "Diplomate", no. It is a three-year postgraduate qualification at the same level as the MD and MS. The two-year postgraduate diplomas — DGO, DCH, DA and the rest — are a different thing.
Every profile lists its qualifications as supplied and says which of them have been checked against the awarding body and when. Where none has, the profile says so.
General information about medical qualifications in India, checked against the sources listed on 25 Sep 2026. Not advice about your situation. Errors can be reported through the corrections process.