Medical Spa Laws State by State

AmSpa's legal summaries allow you to quickly reference the laws governing medical spas in your state. 

Get answers to med spa law questions like

  • Who can own a med spa?

  • Who can inject neuromodulators and fillers?

  • Who can fire a laser?

  • Are Botox parties legal?

Treatment delegation tables

AmSpa Plus members can also access their state's Treatment Delegation Table which covers who can do what med spa treatment. This online resource covers 21 procedures across six professional titles including:
  • Nurse Practitioner
  • Physician Assistant
  • Registered Nurse
  • Licensed Vocational Nurse/Licensed Practical Nurse
  • Aesthetician
  • Laser Tech

Free compliance consultation

All AmSpa members receive one free 20-minute compliance consultation per year with the law firm ByrdAdatto to help guide you with your aesthetic business.

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Get Answers to These Questions with Your Membership

Questions marked (PLUS EXCLUSIVE) are available with AmSpa Plus membership

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  • Med Spa Ownership and Structure
  • Med Spa Providers
  • Med Spa Treatments
  • Med Spa Business Operations
  • Marketing Your Med Spa
  • Treatment Delegation Tables

Med Spa Ownership and Structure

What is a med spa and what is considered 'the practice of medicine'?
  1. What procedures are considered the practice of Medicine?

    Plus Exclusive

What is the corporate practice of medicine?

Who can own a medical spa?
  1. Can a non-physician own all or part of a medical spa?

  2. What is a Management Service Organization (MSO)?

  3. What type of entity may own a medical spa?

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What are the penalties for improperly owning a medical spa by violating the Corporate Practice of Medicine Doctrine?

If I’m not a doctor, can I employ a 'medical director' to provide medical services for my medical spa?
  1. As a non-doctor, can I share in the profits of a medical spa?

  2. As a person without a medical license, how can I make money from a medical spa?

Can a chiropractor or dentist serve as a medical director?

In a medical spa, what decisions have to be made by a doctor?

Plus Exclusive

In a medical spa, who can make hiring and firing decisions?

Plus Exclusive

Can anyone other than a licensed physician use the initials M.D.?

Plus Exclusive

Do I have to be a doctor to own medical spa equipment, like lasers, or real estate?

Plus Exclusive

Can a nurse, physician assistant or nurse practitioner take a commission for administering a medical treatment?

Med Spa Providers

What is a physician assistant? What is a physician assistant's scope of practice?
  1. What is the scope of practice of a physician assistant in a med spa?

  2. Do physicians have to be physically present when a PA is performing services in a medical spa?

    Plus Exclusive

What is a nurse practitioner? What is a nurse practitioner’s scope of practice?
  1. Does a physician have to be physically present while a nurse practitioner is performing services in a medical spa?

    Plus Exclusive

Does a physician have to examine every new patient before the patient is treated at a med spa?
  1. What about nurse practitioners and physician assistants? Can they see new patients or must a physician do it?

  2. Are there special written requirements for any orders or patient charts for physician assistants?

    Plus Exclusive
  3. Can a PA perform cosmetic procedures such as operate lasers, inject Botox, and perform micro dermabrasion?

    Plus Exclusive
  4. Can a PA hand pre-packaged medication to patients?

    Plus Exclusive

What is a registered nurse or a licensed vocational nurse?

What is a medical assistant? What role do they play in a medical spa?
  1. Should a medical assistant be licensed to practice in this state?

  2. What is the legal scope of medical assistants in this state?

    Plus Exclusive
  3. Should a medical assistant disclose, while working, his or her name and the practitioner’s license status on a nametag?

    Plus Exclusive
  4. May medical assistants perform any procedure in a medical spa so long as they are properly supervised?

    Plus Exclusive
  5. Are medical assistants allowed to pierce the skin?

    Plus Exclusive
  6. Are medical assistants allowed to administer Botox or inject collagen?

    Plus Exclusive
  7. Are medical assistants allowed to use lasers or intense light devices to remove hair, scars, moles or other blemishes?

    Plus Exclusive

When is a physician-patient relationship needed? How is it established? Is a physician-patient relationship established by a consultation?

What is informed consent?

What type of records are medical spas required to keep of their patients?

Plus Exclusive

What is a DEA Registration Number?

Plus Exclusive

Med Spa Treatments

Who can legally fire a laser in my state?
  1. Does a physician need to be on site during a laser procedure?

    Plus Exclusive
  2. Can a registered nurse use a laser or intense pulse light device in a medical spa?

    Plus Exclusive
  3. What are laser technicians and can they operate lasers under proper supervision?

    Plus Exclusive
  4. Can an aesthetician, cosmetologist, electrologist or vocational nurses use lasers or intense light devices?

    Plus Exclusive

Who can legally inject Botox/fillers/needleless injections?
  1. Are Botox parties legal?

    Plus Exclusive

Who can legally perform the following treatments:
  1. Microneedling and PRP/PRF

    Plus Exclusive
  2. Light-emitting Devices

    Plus Exclusive
  3. Dermaplaning

    Plus Exclusive
  4. Cryolipolysis (Coolsculpting)

    Plus Exclusive
  5. Permanent Makeup/Microblading?

    Plus Exclusive
  6. Microdermabrasion

    Plus Exclusive
  7. Energy based skin tightening: Radio frequency devices; Fibroblast

    Plus Exclusive
  8. PDO Threads

    Plus Exclusive
  9. IV Treatments

    Plus Exclusive

Plus Exclusive

Can an aesthetician or non-licensed professional perform microneedling, dermaplaning, microblading or microdermabrasion?

Can a med spa hire an aesthetician to perform nonmedical dermabrasion, cosmetic facial and skin treatments?

What regulations affect new and trending procedures?

Plus Exclusive

Med Spa Business Operations

What is OSHA and does it apply to medical spas?
  1. What are some of the key responsibilities under OSHA for med spas?

  2. What’s the most frequently cited OSHA violation in medical spas?

    Plus Exclusive
  3. Are lasers subject to OSHA requirements?

    Plus Exclusive

What is the FDA and what do they do?

Does a medical spa need to obtain a license to operate?

What is HIPAA?
  1. What is the HITECH Act?

    Plus Exclusive
  2. Who is a 'covered entity' under HIPAA?

    Plus Exclusive
  3. What administrative requirements are provided in the HIPAA Security and Privacy Rules?

    Plus Exclusive
  4. Should a medical spa provide patients with a notice that includes how their health information will be used, and of the patient’s rights regarding their health information?

    Plus Exclusive
  5. What are the requirements to distribute a Notice of Privacy Practices to patients?

    Plus Exclusive
  6. Must a med spa make efforts to limit the use or disclosure of a patient’s PHI?

    Plus Exclusive

Does my state have its own version of HIPAA? How does it differ?

I don’t accept insurance so am I still subject to HIPAA requirements?

Plus Exclusive

What are some of the safety measures that apply when handling needles/sharps?

Plus Exclusive

What are the common employer defenses to an allegation of a workplace violation?

Plus Exclusive

How often must a medical spa review and update their exposure control plan?

Plus Exclusive

Can a physician use a picture album containing patient photos?

Plus Exclusive

May a physician leave a message on a patient’s answering machine? Verify an appointment with a family member or spouse?

Plus Exclusive

Can a med spa text or email patients to convey confidential medical information?

Plus Exclusive

If a patient posted a message or a review on a medical spa’s social media page, can and how should the medical spa respond?

Plus Exclusive

May a med spa use a sign in sheet, or call out names of patients in the waiting room?

Plus Exclusive

Is it legal to purchase drugs like Botox and fillers from overseas? From Canada, Europe, or Asia?

Plus Exclusive

Can medical spas sell retail products i.e. skin creams?

Plus Exclusive

Can staff take commissions on non-medical retail products?

Plus Exclusive

Do medical spas have to charge sales tax on retail products?

Plus Exclusive

Do I need to charge sales tax on procedures like Botox?

Plus Exclusive

Can a medical spa practice under a fictitious name or a "dba"?
  1. Which agency is responsible for fictitious name permits?

    Plus Exclusive
  2. What are some of the requirements to receive a fictitious name permit?

    Plus Exclusive
  3. Once the fictitious name permit is granted, must the physician also file for a fictitious name with their local county and city agencies?

    Plus Exclusive

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Can a medical spa require patients to sign an arbitration agreement as a condition for providing medical care?

Plus Exclusive

Marketing Your Med Spa

Can a medical spa advertise its professional services?
  1. How should a medical practice advertise its prices?

    Plus Exclusive
  2. Can a medical spa include testimonials and endorsements by actual patients or models in its advertising?

    Plus Exclusive
  3. Does a physician have to use his or her name in advertisements?

    Plus Exclusive

Plus Exclusive

I’ve heard that providing gift cards or reward programs in exchange for referrals is a “kickback.” Is this true? What are kickbacks?
  1. What are the anti-kickback statutes?

    Plus Exclusive
  2. What are some examples of prohibited kickbacks and referral arrangements?

    Plus Exclusive
  3. How do I properly incentivize my staff and patients to bring my med spa more business without engaging in kickbacks?

    Plus Exclusive

Plus Exclusive

Can a medical spa pay a person or entity to market the practice’s services?

Plus Exclusive

Can a medical spa offer discounts through Groupon or other similar social networking websites?

Plus Exclusive

Treatment Delegation Tables

Who can do the following medical spa treatments?
  1. Full Field Ablative (laser skin resurfacing)

    Plus Exclusive
  2. Micro Ablative (fractional resurfacing)

    Plus Exclusive
  3. Non-surgical Skin Tightening

    Plus Exclusive
  4. Photo-facial Pulsed Light Therapy (IPL)

    Plus Exclusive
  5. Tattoo Removal

    Plus Exclusive
  6. Body Contouring

    Plus Exclusive
  7. Vaginal Rejuvenation

    Plus Exclusive
  8. Hair Removal (laster, pulse light, dermaplaning)

    Plus Exclusive
  9. Injectable Toxins and Dermal Fillers

    Plus Exclusive
  10. Microneedling

    Plus Exclusive
  11. Vein Treatment Therapy (spider or varicose)

    Plus Exclusive
  12. Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)

    Plus Exclusive
  13. IV Therapy

    Plus Exclusive
  14. Platelet-rich Plasma (PRP) Treatments

    Plus Exclusive
  15. Microdermabrasion

    Plus Exclusive
  16. Dermaplaning

    Plus Exclusive
  17. Superficial (non-medical) Chemical Peel

    Plus Exclusive
  18. Hydradermabrasion

    Plus Exclusive
  19. Microblading and Permanent Make-up

    Plus Exclusive
  20. Thread Lifts

    Plus Exclusive
  21. Aesthetician Services

    Plus Exclusive

Plus Exclusive

Disclaimer: The information and answers contained in these frequently asked questions provide a general guide to certain laws that apply to "medical spas" in this particular state. The information on this site is for general reference only and accuracy cannot be guaranteed, as medical spa legalities and regulations change very frequently. This information is not intended to provide legal advice, and it should not be relied upon as legal advice. This information is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. Readers: You should not act upon this information without seeking knowledgeable legal counsel that takes the laws of your jurisdiction into account. All uses of the content of this site, other than personal uses, are prohibited. They are a list of commonly asked questions researched and prepared for easy use by a team of skilled lawyers at ByrdAdatto Law Firm.

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