New Jersey Advertising Rules for Licensed Health Practices
A sourced summary of New Jersey's advertising regulations for physicians, dentists, chiropractors, and the practices they anchor. Every rule below was verified against the cited regulation text on the date shown. Educational reference, not legal advice.
Verified against New Jersey State Board of Medical Examiners sources, 2026-07-02
Educational summary for practice owners. Not legal advice.
False, misleading, or deceptive advertising
N.J.A.C. 13:35-6.10 makes it professional misconduct for a Board of Medical Examiners licensee to advertise with any statement, claim, or format that is false, fraudulent, misleading, or deceptive, including misrepresenting material facts or suppressing information a patient needs to make an informed judgment. Any guarantee of results from any procedure is prohibited. Graphic representations, defined to include drawings, animations, clinical photographs, dramatizations, music, or lyrics, may not be used in a way that is misleading or that obscures material facts, which is the standard New Jersey applies to before and after imagery.
N.J.A.C. 13:35-6.10 (Cornell LII) checked 2026-07-02
Testimonials and endorsements
The medical board's rule bars personal testimonials attesting to the quality or competence of a service where the assessment is beyond the patient's competency to judge. Permitted testimonials must carry conspicuous statements that the procedure may not be suitable for every patient and that no medical procedure is risk free, and any paid testimonial must disclose that compensation has been provided. The physician must keep documentation for three years, including a signed, notarized statement and release verifying the testimonial's truthfulness.
N.J.A.C. 13:35-6.10 (Cornell LII) checked 2026-07-02
Fee, discount, and free-service advertising
An ad offering a reduced fee must state both the reduced fee or range and the physician's usual fee for each service, and the usual fee must have actually been charged for at least 90 days before the ad runs. Free-service offers must state the specific charges for all associated or reasonably anticipated services not included, and the physician may not charge for any service rendered within 72 hours of the free service. Licensees must keep patient names and dates of service for free or discounted care for seven years and file copies of these advertisements with the Board within 30 days.
N.J.A.C. 13:35-6.10 (Cornell LII) checked 2026-07-02
Board certification and specialty claims
A licensee advertising board certification must hold current certification and must conspicuously name the specific specialty board or certifying entity that granted it, plus the field of specialty if that is not evident from the name. The rule also prohibits promoting a service the licensee knows or should know is beyond the licensee's ability to perform, and prohibits communication techniques that intimidate or exert undue pressure on prospective patients. Copies of print ads and recordings of electronic ads must be retained for three years from the last authorized publication.
N.J.A.C. 13:35-6.10 (Cornell LII) checked 2026-07-02
Practice ownership and corporate practice of medicine
N.J.A.C. 13:35-6.16 requires medical practices to be owned solely by one or more licensed health care professionals, with narrow exceptions. Physicians may be employed by general business corporations only in specific settings such as licensed health care facilities, nonprofits, educational institutions, or insurance carriers doing quality assurance. The rule also restricts employment hierarchies, for example a plenary licensee may not be employed by a limited-license practitioner, so an MD or DO may not be employed by a chiropractor or podiatrist. This is the framework that governs who may own a New Jersey med spa's medical entity.
N.J.A.C. 13:35-6.16 (Cornell LII) checked 2026-07-02
Delegation of office procedures to advanced practice clinicians
Within the office-based surgery and special procedures subchapter, N.J.A.C. 13:35-4A.19 states that nothing in the subchapter precludes practitioners from authorizing advanced practice clinicians to perform minor procedures in the office consistent with their respective scopes of practice and as addressed within their individual collaborating agreements. In practice this means delegation at a New Jersey practice rests on the clinician's scope and a written collaborating agreement, and marketing should not imply a broader delegation model than that framework supports. Procedure-specific requirements elsewhere in subchapter 4A, including privileging for surgery and special procedures, still apply.
N.J.A.C. 13:35-4A.19 (Cornell LII) checked 2026-07-02
What this means by practice type
Med spas
New Jersey has no standalone med spa statute; med spas operate under medical board rules. The medical entity must be owned by licensed health care professionals under N.J.A.C. 13:35-6.16, injectable and device procedures fall under the office-procedure and delegation framework in subchapter 4A, and every promotion, before and after image, and influencer testimonial is judged under the 13:35-6.10 advertising standards, including the ban on guaranteed results.(N.J.A.C. 13:35-6.16 (Cornell LII))
Dental
Dentists have their own advertising rule, N.J.A.C. 13:30-6.2. It prohibits false or misleading claims, unsubstantiated superiority claims, and testimonials attesting to technical quality or competence. Fee ads must state a fixed fee or range for a specifically described service, discount ads must disclose the fee the discount runs against, and an ad without a stated effective period is honored for 30 days from first publication. Ads must display the dentist's name with either General Dentist or the specialty designation, and copies must be kept for three years.(N.J.A.C. 13:30-6.2 (Cornell LII))
Chiropractic
Chiropractors are governed by N.J.A.C. 13:44E-2.1, which mirrors the medical standard on false or misleading content and adds specifics: ads must contain the licensee's name and address or telephone number, examination-fee ads must disclose x-ray costs with the words if needed, guarantees of a cure are prohibited, testimonials must rest on an actual provider relationship with objective claims substantiated, and free or reduced-fee offers bar additional charges within 24 hours absent a signed waiver. Copies of all ads must be retained for three years.(N.J.A.C. 13:44E-2.1 (Cornell LII))
Longevity and GLP-1 practices
Weight-loss and longevity marketing runs directly into the 13:35-6.10 prohibitions already summarized above: no guarantee of results from any procedure, no claims for services beyond the licensee's ability, and patient testimonials about outcomes carry the mandatory suitability and risk disclosures plus compensation disclosure. Advertised program discounts also trigger the 90-day usual-fee, disclosure, and Board-filing requirements described in the fee advertising rule.
Telehealth posture
New Jersey regulates telemedicine through statute implemented by board rule. The medical board's telemedicine subchapter, N.J.A.C. 13:35-6B, applies to all physicians and podiatrists and requires a New Jersey license for any provider, in state or out of state, who directs care for patients located in New Jersey via telemedicine. An out-of-state provider who merely consults with a New Jersey licensee through communications technology, without directing patient care, is exempt from the licensure requirement.
N.J.A.C. 13:35-6B.1 (Cornell LII) checked 2026-07-02
Common questions
Can a New Jersey med spa advertise discounts or free consultations?
Yes, but under strict conditions in N.J.A.C. 13:35-6.10. A discounted-fee ad must state both the reduced fee and the physician's usual fee, and that usual fee must have been charged for at least 90 days. Free-service offers must disclose the charges for associated services, the practice may not bill for any service within 72 hours of the free service, and the ad must be filed with the Board within 30 days with patient records of the promotion kept for seven years.
Are patient testimonials allowed in New Jersey healthcare advertising?
In a limited form. The medical board bars testimonials that attest to quality or competence beyond what a patient can assess, and permitted testimonials must state that the procedure may not be suitable for every patient and that no medical procedure is risk free, with paid testimonials labeled as compensated and a notarized truthfulness statement kept on file for three years. The dental rule prohibits testimonials attesting to technical quality outright, and the chiropractic rule requires testimonials to arise from a real provider relationship with factual claims substantiated.
Who can own a med spa or medical practice in New Jersey?
N.J.A.C. 13:35-6.16 requires medical practices to be owned solely by one or more licensed health care professionals, with physician employment by general business corporations limited to settings such as licensed facilities, nonprofits, educational institutions, and insurers. The board's published rules do not address the term med spa directly, so nonclinical spa services are typically structured separately, a point to confirm with New Jersey 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.