Indiana Advertising Rules for Med Spas and Health Practices
A sourced summary of Indiana's advertising standards for licensed health practices, including the 2026 medical spa registration law. Every rule below was verified against the statute or administrative code text cited next to it. Educational summary, not legal advice.
Verified against Medical Licensing Board of Indiana (Indiana PLA) sources, 2026-07-02
Educational summary for practice owners. Not legal advice.
False or misleading advertising is a disciplinary ground for every licensed health profession
Indiana Code 25-1-9-4, the health professions standards of practice chapter, lists having "advertised services in a false or misleading manner" as a ground for disciplinary sanctions, alongside fraud or material deception in the course of professional services and fraudulent billing. This chapter applies across Indiana's health licensing boards, so the same baseline covers physicians, dentists, chiropractors, and nurses. Sanctions are imposed by the board that regulates the profession after a finding at hearing.
IC 25-1-9-4 checked 2026-07-02
Physician advertising content, advertised fees, and solicitation
The Medical Licensing Board's professional conduct rule bars any public communication containing a "false, fraudulent, misleading, deceptive, or unfair statement or claim" and permits advertising that is dignified and confined to the existence, scope, nature, and field of practice. A practitioner who advertises a specific fee must provide the service for no more than that fee, with binding periods of 30 days for frequently published print, up to one year for materials with no fixed schedule, and 90 days after a broadcast. Broadcast ads must be prerecorded, practitioner approved, and retained with transcripts for five years, and practitioners may not personally solicit members of the public who did not initiate contact.
844 IAC 5-2-13 checked 2026-07-02
Use of the term board certified
A practitioner may not represent being "board certified" or use similar phrasing unless the ad states which board issued the certification and the specific field or area of certification. Generic badge style claims without the certifying board named do not meet the rule. This matters for med spa and longevity marketing that leans on physician credentials.
844 IAC 5-2-22 checked 2026-07-02
Ads naming a practitioner must identify the license type
Under Indiana's health care provider advertising chapter, an advertisement that includes a practitioner's name must prominently display the profession or type of license held, and written ads must present that information in a font size and style readily apparent to the reader. The statute states plainly that an advertisement "must not include any deceptive or misleading information," and violations carry disciplinary sanctions under IC 25-1-9 by the issuing board. Practices using nurse injectors or NPs in creative should apply this to every named provider.
IC 25-1-10.3-7 checked 2026-07-02
Medical spa registration law (SEA 282, new IC 25-22.5-12.5)
Indiana's 2026 med spa law defines a medical spa in part by its marketing: a facility that provides medical services, uses prescription drugs by IV, IM, or subcutaneous delivery, and "holds itself out" as focused on cosmetic or lifestyle treatments including weight loss, wellness, longevity, botulinum toxin and fillers, hair loss, hormone therapies, parenteral nutrient therapies, or cosmetic laser use. Beginning January 1, 2027 a medical spa must register with the Medical Licensing Board to do business in Indiana, listing every business name, address, website, intended services, and its responsible practitioner; unregistered operation carries a fine of up to 5,000 dollars. The law also requires med spas to comply with the state's health care advertising requirements and restricts providing services outside the registered location.
SB 282 (2026), adding IC 25-22.5-12.5 checked 2026-07-02
Referral fees and patient referral marketing
The Medical Licensing Board's conduct rules state that a practitioner shall not pay, demand, or receive compensation for the referral of a patient, with a narrow exception for referral programs operated by a medical society or association and approved by the board. Paid patient referral arrangements dressed up as marketing partnerships sit inside this prohibition. Review any influencer or affiliate structure that pays per booked patient against this rule.
844 IAC 5-2-11 checked 2026-07-02
Physician assistant advertising
The board's physician assistant rules treat it as misconduct for a PA to advertise "in any manner that would mislead the public generally or the patients of the supervising physician as to the physician assistant's role and status." Marketing that presents a PA as the equivalent of a physician, or that obscures the PA credential, falls under this rule. The rule was most recently readopted in February 2024.
844 IAC 2.2-2-6 checked 2026-07-02
What this means by practice type
Med spas
The new registration law makes marketing itself a trigger: a practice that uses prescription injectables or IVs and holds itself out as focused on cosmetic, wellness, or longevity treatments meets the medical spa definition regardless of what it calls itself. Registration with the Medical Licensing Board is required to do business beginning January 1, 2027, a qualified responsible practitioner must be designated and physically present for sufficient time, and the registered name, website, and services become part of a public database, so advertising claims should match the registration.(SB 282 (2026), adding IC 25-22.5-12.5)
Dental
The Board of Dentistry's advertising rule flags testimonials, endorsements, and treatment guarantees as potentially misleading, prohibits implying specialization without graduation from an accredited advanced dental education program in a recognized specialty, and requires non specialists announcing services to state they are provided by a general dentist. An advertised fee must either state its effective period or remain available at or below that fee for at least 90 days after the final advertisement.(828 IAC 1-1-18)
Chiropractic
The chiropractic code of professional conduct prohibits advertising that is false, fraudulent, deceptive, or misleading, that applies intimidation or undue pressure, or that makes unsubstantiated claims of professional superiority over fellow practitioners or another health science. Licensees must use the words chiropractic, chiropractor, or D.C. with their names on all signs, letterheads, cards, advertising, and solicitation, and may not use wording that suggests licensure in another profession.(846 IAC 1-3-2)
Longevity and GLP-1
The medical spa definition expressly reaches weight loss, hormone therapies, and parenteral nutrient therapies delivered with prescription drugs, so GLP-1 and longevity clinics that market those services fall inside the registration regime. The same 2026 law adds compounding restrictions requiring FDA reviewed, pharmaceutical grade bulk drug substances with certificates of analysis, and directs the state to report disciplinary actions involving improper marketing, advertising, or promotion of compounded drugs or telehealth services, which signals enforcement attention on compounded GLP-1 advertising.(SB 282 (2026), IC 16-42-22.5 and IC 25-22.5-12.5)
Telehealth posture
Indiana Code 25-1-9.5 authorizes telehealth by a broad list of licensed practitioners and holds them to the same standards of appropriate practice as in-person care, including for medical records. Out-of-state providers serving Indiana patients agree to the jurisdiction of Indiana courts and Indiana law for claims arising from telehealth services. The Professional Licensing Agency notes it has not adopted additional rules implementing the chapter, so the general advertising and conduct standards apply to telehealth marketing.
Indiana PLA, Information on Telehealth (IC 25-1-9.5) checked 2026-07-02
Common questions
Can an Indiana med spa advertise discounts or specific prices?
The board's published rules do not prohibit price or discount advertising, but they bind the advertiser to it. Under 844 IAC 5-2-13, a practitioner who advertises a specific fee must provide the service for no more than that fee, with the fee holding for 30 days to one year depending on the publication and 90 days after a broadcast. Dental practices face a parallel 90 day rule under 828 IAC 1-1-18. Any discount framing still has to clear the general bar on deceptive or misleading information in IC 25-1-10.3-7.
Are patient testimonials allowed in Indiana health care advertising?
The Medical Licensing Board's published advertising rule does not address testimonials directly; they are governed by the general prohibition on false, fraudulent, misleading, deceptive, or unfair statements in 844 IAC 5-2-13 and IC 25-1-9-4. The dental board goes further, stating in 828 IAC 1-1-18 that testimonials and endorsements about benefits of treatment may be misleading when advertised. A testimonial that implies a guaranteed or typical outcome is the highest risk pattern under either standard.
Does my practice have to register as a medical spa in Indiana?
If the practice provides medical services, prepares or administers prescription drugs by IV, IM, or subcutaneous delivery, and holds itself out as focused on cosmetic, weight loss, wellness, longevity, or aesthetic treatments, it meets the medical spa definition in the 2026 law and must register with the Medical Licensing Board to do business beginning January 1, 2027. Physician offices and facilities otherwise licensed by the state are excluded from the definition. Operating unregistered can draw a fine of up to 5,000 dollars.
Marketing that survives your board
The free growth audit includes a compliance read of your current site and ads against your state's advertising rules.