Maryland Advertising Rules for Med Spas and Health Practices
A sourced summary of Maryland advertising and delegation rules for med spa, dental, chiropractic, wellness, and longevity practices. Every rule below was verified against the cited statute or COMAR regulation on the date shown. Educational summary, not legal advice.
Verified against Maryland Board of Physicians sources, 2026-07-02
Educational summary for practice owners. Not legal advice.
Physician advertising and board certification claims
Health Occupations § 14-503 states that a physician may advertise only as permitted by the rules and regulations of the Board of Physicians. A physician who advertises board certification must actually hold it and must disclose the full name of the certifying board and the name of the specialty or subspecialty in which the physician is certified. Vague 'board certified' claims without naming the board and specialty do not meet the statute's disclosure requirement.
Md. Health Occ. § 14-503 checked 2026-07-02
Advertising violations as grounds for physician discipline
Health Occupations § 14-404(a)(5) lists soliciting or advertising in violation of § 14-503 as a ground for discipline against a physician's license. Related grounds cover willful false representations in licensure applications and intentional misrepresentation of credentials. Advertising compliance in Maryland is therefore enforced through the license itself, not only through consumer protection law.
Md. Health Occ. § 14-404(a)(5) checked 2026-07-02
Med spa cosmetic procedure delegation and supervision
COMAR 10.32.09 governs delegation of cosmetic medical procedures, including laser and intense pulsed light treatments, radiofrequency, chemical peels, injections, and fat destruction procedures. Delegation is limited to physician assistants or other licensed health care providers whose own board has determined the procedure is within their scope; the physician must personally assess each patient, prepare a written treatment plan, and provide on-site supervision as the default standard, with documented training beyond manufacturer training. An unauthorized person performing these procedures is practicing medicine without a license, subject to a fine of up to $50,000. Marketing that promises these services from unlicensed staff advertises an illegal service arrangement.
COMAR 10.32.09 (Cosmetic Medical Procedures) checked 2026-07-02
Dental advertising: deception, specialty claims, and record retention
COMAR 10.44.06 prohibits dentists from participating in any public communication containing a false or misleading statement, including material misrepresentations, omissions of necessary facts, statements creating unjustified expectations, implications of superiority, guarantees of satisfaction other than fee refunds, and specialist claims without Board recognition or an appropriate disclaimer. Ads must include the name of a responsible dentist, and a fee statement is deceptive if the dentist charges more than advertised or fails to honor the advertised fee for a reasonable period. The dentist is responsible for the ad regardless of who created it and must retain copies for at least 3 years for Board inspection.
COMAR 10.44.06 (Dental Advertising) checked 2026-07-02
Chiropractic advertising and third-party accountability
The chiropractic Code of Ethics at COMAR 10.43.13.08 permits a chiropractor to advertise services subject to the Board's advertising chapter, COMAR 10.43.03. It also makes the chiropractor accountable when an agent, partnership, professional association, or health maintenance organization is used to implement a prohibited advertising action. Hiring a marketing agency does not transfer responsibility for the content away from the licensee.
COMAR 10.43.13.08 (Chiropractic Code of Ethics, Advertising) checked 2026-07-02
Wellness practice advertising: misleading claims and fee disclosure
The Board of Acupuncture's advertising rule, COMAR 10.26.03.08, is a useful model of how Maryland allied health boards treat advertising. Licensees may advertise, including a standard consultation fee or a range of fees for specific services, but may not use statements that misrepresent facts, mislead through partial disclosure, or create a false or unjustified expectation of a favorable result. Fee statements must fully disclose all relevant variables so a layperson would not be deceived, and licensees remain accountable when agents or organizations run the advertising.
COMAR 10.26.03.08 (Acupuncture Advertising) checked 2026-07-02
What this means by practice type
Med spas
Before advertising injectables, laser, IPL, radiofrequency, or body contouring, confirm the service model satisfies COMAR 10.32.09: only licensed providers may perform delegated cosmetic procedures, the physician personally assesses each patient first, and on-site supervision is the default. Copy that promises walk-in treatment by unlicensed staff, or that omits the physician's role entirely, advertises an arrangement the regulation does not permit.(COMAR 10.32.09)
Dental
General dentists should not use 'specialist', 'specializes', or 'specialty' for areas without Board-recognized specialty status or the required disclaimer under COMAR 10.44.06. Advertised fees must be honored, ads must name a responsible dentist, and copies of every ad should be retained for at least 3 years, which means the practice needs an archive of its own web pages, social posts, and paid creatives.(COMAR 10.44.06)
Chiropractic
COMAR 10.43.13.08 makes the chiropractor accountable for prohibited advertising even when it is implemented through an agent, partnership, or professional association. Practices using outside marketing vendors should review all copy against the Board's advertising chapter, COMAR 10.43.03, before publication rather than relying on the vendor's own compliance judgment.(COMAR 10.43.13.08)
Longevity and GLP-1
Programs marketing GLP-1 or hormone protocols delivered remotely fall under COMAR 10.32.05, which requires a Maryland license to treat Maryland patients by telehealth, holds telehealth to the in-person standard of care, and bars prescribing based solely on a static online questionnaire. Advertising a 'quick online form, prescription shipped' funnel to Maryland patients describes a practice model the regulation prohibits.(COMAR 10.32.05 (Telehealth))
Telehealth posture
COMAR 10.32.05 requires practitioners delivering telehealth to Maryland patients to hold a Maryland license and to meet the same standard of care and documentation expectations as in-person practice. Prescribing may not be based solely on a static online questionnaire, and an appropriate synchronous or asynchronous clinical evaluation is required before treatment, with referral to in-person care when clinically indicated. Practitioners must also verify patient identity, obtain consent, and secure patient data.
COMAR 10.32.05 (Telehealth, Board of Physicians) checked 2026-07-02
Common questions
Can a Maryland med spa or health practice advertise discounts and fees?
The physician statute, Health Occupations § 14-503, defers advertising standards to Board of Physicians rules and does not itself set a discount rule, so physician-owned practices should confirm current Board rules before running price promotions. Where Maryland boards do address fees, the pattern is consistent: dental fee statements are deceptive under COMAR 10.44.06 if the dentist charges more than advertised or fails to honor the advertised fee, and the acupuncture rule at COMAR 10.26.03.08 permits fee advertising only when all relevant variables are fully disclosed.
Are patient testimonials and before/after photos allowed in Maryland?
The Maryland provisions verified for this brief do not directly regulate testimonials or before/after photos. They are instead governed by the general standards: dental and acupuncture rules prohibit statements that create false or unjustified expectations of a favorable result, mislead through partial disclosure, or imply guarantees, and the dental rule bars presenting past performance as a guarantee of future results. A testimonial or photo that implies a typical or guaranteed outcome runs into those standards even without a testimonial-specific rule.
Who can perform and advertise cosmetic procedures at a Maryland med spa?
Under COMAR 10.32.09, cosmetic medical procedures such as laser treatments, injections, and fat destruction may only be performed by a physician or delegated to a physician assistant or another licensed health care provider whose board has determined the procedure is within scope, after the physician personally assesses the patient. An unauthorized person performing these procedures is practicing medicine without a license and faces a fine of up to $50,000. The rules verified here address who performs and directs care rather than entity ownership; ownership structure questions should go to Maryland counsel.
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.