Michigan Advertising Rules for Med Spas and Health Practices
A sourced summary of Michigan's advertising, title, delegation, and ownership rules for licensed health practices. Every entry below was verified against the cited statute or administrative rule on the date shown. Educational reference, not legal advice.
Verified against Michigan Board of Medicine (LARA, Bureau of Professional Licensing) sources, 2026-07-02
Educational summary for practice owners. Not legal advice.
False or misleading advertising is sanctionable unprofessional conduct
Michigan's Public Health Code lists false or misleading advertising among the unethical business practices that are grounds for disciplinary action against any licensed health professional, at MCL 333.16221(d)(i). The same section separately sanctions misrepresentation to a consumer or patient under subsection (e)(i) and promotion for personal gain of an unnecessary drug, device, treatment, procedure, or service under subsection (e)(iii). These standards apply across licensed professions rather than through a single advertising rulebook, so marketing claims for any regulated service are measured against them.
MCL 333.16221, Public Health Code checked 2026-07-02
Titles, implied licensure, and specialty claims
MCL 333.16261(1) prohibits using any insignia, title, word, letter, or phrase under circumstances that would induce the belief that a person is licensed or registered in Michigan when they are not. Subsection (2) bars announcing or holding oneself out as limiting practice to, being specially qualified in, or giving particular attention to a specialty field for which a board issues a specialty certification or license, without first obtaining it. Subsection (3) reserves any representation about performing chiropractic adjustments, manipulations, or services to licensed chiropractors. Ads naming staff should make clear who holds which license.
MCL 333.16261, Public Health Code checked 2026-07-02
Delegation and supervision behind advertised services
MCL 333.16215 allows a licensee to delegate acts, tasks, or functions to a licensed or unlicensed individual only where the act is within the delegating licensee's scope and is performed under the licensee's supervision, and it may not be delegated if it requires the level of education, skill, and judgment of the licensee. Physicians face additional limits, including that procedures involving surgical instrumentation may generally be delegated only to licensed individuals. This statute is the framework that determines whether an advertised injectable, laser, or infusion service is being lawfully performed by the person actually doing it.
MCL 333.16215, Public Health Code (delegation) checked 2026-07-02
Dental specialty advertising and disclosure
Board of Dentistry rule R 338.11525 states that a dentist not licensed as a specialist shall not announce or hold themselves out as limiting practice to, being specially qualified in, or giving special attention to a listed specialty branch. Giving public emphasis to a specialty service without disclosing that the dentist is not licensed as a specialist counts as holding out, and licensed specialists must include their license number in all public advertisements for that specialty, including internet advertising. Association with a licensed specialist as employer, employee, or partner is itself treated as an announcement of specialization unless clarified publicly.
Mich Admin Code R 338.11525, Board of Dentistry General Rules checked 2026-07-02
Practice ownership and the professional corporation structure
Under Michigan's Business Corporation Act, MCL 450.1283, a professional corporation may be formed by one or more licensed persons, its articles must state the professional services it provides, and its shareholders must be licensed in those services or be entities owned exclusively by such licensed persons. MCL 450.1285 adds that a professional corporation shall not provide professional services except through officers, employees, and agents who are duly licensed or otherwise legally authorized. Marketing that presents an entity as a medical provider should be consistent with an ownership and service structure that satisfies these sections.
MCL 450.1283, Business Corporation Act (professional corporations) checked 2026-07-02
What this means by practice type
Med spas
Michigan has no standalone med spa statute; the operative constraints are the delegation statute and the title rules. An advertised injectable or infusion service must trace to a licensee whose scope covers it, delegated under supervision per MCL 333.16215, and marketing may not describe unlicensed staff in terms that imply licensure under MCL 333.16261(1).(MCL 333.16215, Public Health Code (delegation))
Dental
R 338.11525 is unusually specific: a general dentist emphasizing implants, orthodontics, or another listed specialty in ads must disclose they are not licensed as a specialist, and licensed specialists must print their license number in every public advertisement for the specialty, including web advertising.(Mich Admin Code R 338.11525, Board of Dentistry General Rules)
Chiropractic
The former Board of Chiropractic advertising rule, R 338.12014, was rescinded effective 2019, so chiropractic advertising now rests on the statutory standards: only licensed chiropractors may represent that they perform chiropractic services under MCL 333.16261(3), and the general false or misleading advertising ground in MCL 333.16221 still applies.(MCL 333.16261, Public Health Code)
Longevity and GLP-1
Weight loss and longevity marketing sits directly under MCL 333.16221(e)(iii), which sanctions promotion for personal gain of an unnecessary drug, device, treatment, procedure, or service, and (e)(i), which sanctions misrepresentation to a consumer or patient. Claims about GLP-1 outcomes should be supportable and tied to individualized clinical evaluation rather than guaranteed results.(MCL 333.16221, Public Health Code)
Telehealth posture
MCL 333.16284 states that a health professional shall not provide a telehealth service without directly or indirectly obtaining consent for treatment, with a narrow exception for services provided to inmates under the Department of Corrections. Practices advertising virtual GLP-1, hormone, or wellness consultations should build this consent step into intake. The statute took effect March 29, 2017 under 2016 PA 359.
MCL 333.16284, Public Health Code (telehealth consent) checked 2026-07-02
Markets in Michigan
Common questions
Can a Michigan med spa advertise discounts or promotional pricing?
The board's published rules do not address discount or fee advertising directly. The operative standard is MCL 333.16221(d)(i), which makes false or misleading advertising grounds for discipline, so a promotion must be accurate, honored as stated, and must not misrepresent what the discounted service includes or who performs it.
Are patient testimonials allowed in Michigan health practice advertising?
Michigan's published statutes and the board rules reviewed for this brief do not contain a testimonial-specific provision for physicians. Testimonials are therefore measured against the general standards: they cannot be false or misleading under MCL 333.16221(d)(i), and they cannot imply licensure or specialty status the practice does not hold under MCL 333.16261.
Who can own a medical or med spa practice in Michigan?
Under MCL 450.1283, a Michigan professional corporation providing professional services must be formed by licensed persons, and its shareholders must be licensed in those services or be entities owned exclusively by such licensed persons. MCL 450.1285 requires services to be delivered only through duly licensed officers, employees, and agents. Ownership structures for specific arrangements warrant review by Michigan healthcare 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.