North Dakota Advertising Rules for Healthcare Practices
This brief summarizes North Dakota's advertising standards for medical, dental, chiropractic, and aesthetic practices. Every rule below was verified against the state statute or administrative code text on the date shown; unverifiable topics are omitted.
Verified against North Dakota Board of Medicine sources, 2026-07-02
Educational summary for practice owners. Not legal advice.
False or deceptive physician advertising
North Dakota's medical practice act lists 'the advertising for the practice of medicine in an untrue or deceptive manner' as a ground for disciplinary action against a physician, alongside 'the making of false or misleading statements about the physician's skill or the efficacy of any medicine, treatment, or remedy.' The statute also makes it a disciplinary ground to represent to a patient that a manifestly incurable condition, sickness, disease, or injury can be cured. Sanctions available to the board include revocation, suspension, probation, censure, and fines up to five thousand dollars per disciplinary action under NDCC 43-17-30.1.
NDCC 43-17-31 (ch. 43-17, Physicians) checked 2026-07-02
Physician fee splitting and referral compensation
NDCC 43-17-31 makes 'the payment or receipt, directly or indirectly, of any fee, commission, rebate, or other compensation for medical services not actually or personally rendered, or for patient referrals' a ground for discipline, with an exception for lawful distributions of professional partnerships, corporations, limited liability companies, or associations. The same section lists aiding or abetting the practice of medicine by an unlicensed person, and obtaining any fee by fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation. Practices structuring referral or commission arrangements around advertised promotions should review these provisions with counsel.
NDCC 43-17-31(1)(q) checked 2026-07-02
Dental advertising: identity, specialty claims, and superiority claims
NDAC 20-02-01-01 permits dentist advertising but prohibits advertising that is false, deceptive, or misleading. All advertising must contain the legal name of the dentist (or the true name of the partnership or corporation) and the location or locations of the practice. A dentist may not use the term 'specialist' or any variation unless the dentist completed a qualifying accredited postdoctoral program of two or more years or is a diplomate of a board-approved certifying body; a general dentist advertising a limited practice must state the services are provided by a general dentist. No dentist may advertise that the dentist, staff, or services are superior to another licensed dentist unless the claim can be substantiated, with the burden of proof on the advertiser, and radio or television ads must be retained for one year after their last use.
NDAC 20-02-01-01, Advertising checked 2026-07-02
Chiropractic advertising: guarantees, unsubstantiated claims, and free-service offers
NDAC 17-03-01-01(20) defines advertising or soliciting 'that is not in the public interest' as unprofessional conduct, including advertising that is false, fraudulent, deceptive, or misleading; advertising that guarantees any service or result; claims about services, products, cost, or price that cannot be substantiated; unsubstantiated claims of professional superiority; claims of a secret treatment method not divulged to the board; and 'advertising no out-of-pocket expenses or practicing same.' The term 'specialist' may be used only by licensees holding a current diploma or certification in a specialty area from listed or board-approved certifying bodies.
NDAC 17-03-01-01(20), Unprofessional Conduct checked 2026-07-02
Chiropractic marketing records and prepaid care plans
Under NDAC 17-03-01-02, chiropractors are responsible for any representations made in marketing, whether done personally or through a professional company, and must keep marketing records for two years including the script used, who conducted the marketing, and the dates it ran. Separately, NDAC 17-03-01-05 heavily regulates prepaid care plans of five hundred dollars or more per year: funds must sit in a designated escrow account, a signed written plan is required, the plan must state that no treatment is guaranteed to produce a particular clinical outcome, and the patient holds a non-waivable three-business-day cancellation right. Failure to comply is unprofessional conduct.
NDAC 17-03-01-02 and 17-03-01-05 checked 2026-07-02
Dental practice ownership and injectable permits
NDAC 20-02-01-15 implements NDCC 43-28-25 and states it is a class A misdemeanor for any person except a dentist to own more than forty-nine percent of an office practice or business at which dentistry is performed, with annual ownership accounting statements due to the board. The same chapter, NDAC 20-02-01-11, requires a board-issued dermal fillers permit or botulinum toxin permit before a dentist may administer those products, limited to 'functional, therapeutic, and aesthetic dental treatment purposes' within the statutory definition of the practice of dentistry, and conditioned on specified accredited or board-approved training.
NDAC 20-02-01-11 and 20-02-01-15 checked 2026-07-02
What this means by practice type
Med spas
North Dakota's published board materials reviewed for this brief do not include a standalone med spa or IV-therapy guidance document. Med spa advertising therefore runs through the general physician discipline statute: claims about the efficacy of any medicine, treatment, or remedy must not be false or misleading, untrue or deceptive advertising is a disciplinary ground, and aiding or abetting the practice of medicine by an unlicensed person is separately sanctionable. Marketing that implies non-physician staff independently provide medical services deserves careful review against those provisions.(NDCC 43-17-31)
Dental
Dental ads in North Dakota face the most specific rules in this brief: legal name and location required in every ad, strict criteria before 'specialist' language, substantiation required for any superiority claim, and one-year retention of broadcast ads. Practices marketing Botox or dermal filler services should confirm the treating dentist holds the required board permit and keep the advertised use within the practice of dentistry as defined by statute.(NDAC 20-02-01-01 and 20-02-01-11)
Chiropractic
Chiropractic marketing is the most tightly constrained on pricing: advertising no out-of-pocket expenses is expressly prohibited, guarantees of any service or result are prohibited, and any cost or price claim must be substantiable by the licensee. Package or membership pricing of five hundred dollars or more per year triggers the prepaid care plan rules, including escrow and a mandatory no-guaranteed-outcome statement. Keep every marketing script and vendor record for two years.(NDAC 17-03-01)
Longevity and GLP-1
Longevity clinics marketing weight-loss or anti-aging protocols in North Dakota are constrained by the same physician statute: false or misleading statements about the efficacy of any medicine, treatment, or remedy are a disciplinary ground, as is representing that a manifestly incurable condition can be cured. GLP-1 programs delivered remotely must also satisfy the telemedicine examination standard in NDCC 43-17-44; a static online questionnaire or an audio-only conversation does not meet the standard of care for an initial evaluation.(NDCC 43-17-31 and 43-17-44)
Telehealth posture
NDCC 43-17-44 holds licensees to the same standard of care and ethical standards whether practicing in person or by telemedicine. Before initially diagnosing or treating a patient, an examination or evaluation must be performed, and it may be done entirely through telemedicine only if it is equivalent to an in-person examination; an examination consisting only of a static online questionnaire or an audio conversation does not meet the standard of care. Under NDCC 43-17-45, opioids may not be prescribed through telemedicine except as FDA-approved medication assisted treatment for opioid use disorder or to hospital or long-term care patients.
NDCC 43-17-44 and 43-17-45 checked 2026-07-02
Common questions
Can a med spa or clinic advertise discounts and promotions in North Dakota?
For physician-supervised practices, the board's published rules do not address discount advertising directly; the governing standards are that advertising may not be untrue or deceptive and efficacy claims may not be false or misleading under NDCC 43-17-31. Chiropractors face explicit limits: advertising no out-of-pocket expenses is prohibited, and any price claim must be substantiable. Prepaid chiropractic packages of five hundred dollars or more per year trigger escrow, written-plan, and refund requirements under NDAC 17-03-01-05.
Are patient testimonials and before-and-after photos allowed in North Dakota?
The statutes and board rules reviewed for this brief do not directly address testimonials or before-and-after photos for physicians, dentists, or chiropractors. They would be evaluated under the general standards: physician advertising may not be untrue or deceptive, dental advertising may not be false, deceptive, or misleading, and chiropractic advertising may not guarantee any result or make unsubstantiable claims. A testimonial implying a guaranteed outcome is the clearest risk under the chiropractic rule.
Who can own a healthcare practice in North Dakota?
Dentistry has an explicit rule: under NDAC 20-02-01-15, implementing NDCC 43-28-25, it is a class A misdemeanor for any person except a dentist to own more than forty-nine percent of a dental office practice or business, with annual ownership reporting to the board. For medical practices, the physician chapter reviewed here does not state a comparable ownership cap, but NDCC 43-17-31 prohibits fee splitting and compensation for referrals, which shapes how non-physician investors can participate in revenue. Ownership structuring is a question for North Dakota 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.