Tennessee Advertising Rules for Health Practices
This brief summarizes how Tennessee regulates advertising by licensed medical, dental, chiropractic, and med spa practices. Every entry rests on a board rule or statute we fetched and read, cited inline; unverifiable topics were omitted.
Verified against Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners sources, 2026-07-02
Educational summary for practice owners. Not legal advice.
False, misleading, and unsubstantiated claims
The Board of Medical Examiners advertising rule prohibits any misrepresentation of a material fact and the knowing suppression, omission, or concealment of any material fact that would deceive the public. It also bars claims that a physician's services are professionally superior when that superiority cannot be substantiated. Advertising may not create an unjustified expectation concerning the potential results of any treatment.
Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0880-02-.13 (Advertising) checked 2026-07-02
Testimonials and bait-and-switch
The rule prohibits any personal testimonial attesting to a quality or competence of a service that is not reasonably verifiable. It also bars bait-and-switch advertising, defined as an alluring but insincere offer to sell a service the advertiser does not truly intend to sell. When suspicious circumstances exist, the Board may require the licensee to furnish data or other evidence about sales at the advertised fee.
Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0880-02-.13 (Advertising) checked 2026-07-02
Fee and discount advertising, name-in-ad, record retention
Under the medical board rule, fixed fees, fee ranges, and discounted fees may be advertised; a range must disclose the factors used in determining the actual fee, and a discounted fee must reflect the same quality and components of service as the regular fee. Advertised fees must be honored for the stated period or, if none is stated, for thirty days. Every advertisement must include the corporation, partnership, or individual licensee's name, address, and telephone number, and licensees must retain each advertisement for two years and produce it to the Board on request.
Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0880-02-.13 (Advertising) checked 2026-07-02
Med spa signage and advertising disclosure
By statute, any entity doing business as or advertised as a medical spa must display the name of its medical director or supervising physician and must indicate, by signage at the practice site and in its media and advertising, whether that physician is board certified (or eligible) by an ABMS or AOA member board or equivalent. If the physician holds no such certification, the lack of certification must likewise be disclosed. The statute defines advertising broadly to include websites, brochures, email, television, and radio.
Tenn. Code Ann. 63-1-153 (Medical spa signage) checked 2026-07-02
Med spa registration and physician supervision
The Board of Medical Examiners rule requires any medical spa offering cosmetic medical services in Tennessee to register with the Board before operating, with annual renewal. The medical director or supervising physician must be an MD or DO holding an active Tennessee license, maintain an active Tennessee medical practice, and assume responsibility for the cosmetic medical services provided. Operating a med spa without current registration is treated as unprofessional conduct and grounds for discipline against the physician.
Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0880-02-.24 (Medical Spa Registration) checked 2026-07-02
Dental specialty advertising and general-dentist disclosure
The Board of Dentistry rule permits a licensee to advertise a specialty only after obtaining Board certification for a specialty branch recognized under T.C.A. 63-5-112. A dentist with education and experience but no such certification may perform specialty services but may not use the terms specialty, specializing, specialist, or practice limited to; the advertisement must state that the services are being performed or provided by a general dentist, displayed as conspicuously as the branch advertised. The rule also bars unverifiable testimonials and unjustified-expectation claims, and requires each advertisement be retained for two years.
Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0460-02-.10 (Dentistry advertising) checked 2026-07-02
Chiropractic advertising standards
The Board of Chiropractic Examiners rule treats as unethical conduct the use of any personal testimonial attesting to a quality or competence that is not reasonably verifiable, unsubstantiated claims of superiority, and promotion of services beyond the licensee's ability to perform. It defines and prohibits bait-and-switch offers, requires that fee ranges disclose the factors used to determine the actual fee, requires each advertisement to carry the licensee's name, address, and telephone number, and requires advertisements be kept for two years.
Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0260-02-.20 (Chiropractic advertising) checked 2026-07-02
What this means by practice type
Med spas
A Tennessee med spa carries two layers of advertising duty beyond the general false-advertising rule: it must register with the Board of Medical Examiners and operate under a Tennessee-licensed MD or DO medical director, and it must disclose that director's name and board-certification status (or lack thereof) both on-site and across all media and advertising, including its website.(Tenn. Code Ann. 63-1-153; Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0880-02-.24)
Dental
Dental practices should treat specialty language as gated: without Board specialty certification, ads cannot use specialist or specializing and must state as conspicuously as the service that the work is provided by a general dentist. Testimonials must be reasonably verifiable, and ads should carry the practice name, address, and phone.(Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0460-02-.10)
Chiropractic
Chiropractic advertising rests on verifiability: testimonials that are not reasonably verifiable and superiority claims that cannot be substantiated are treated as unethical conduct, and free or discounted offers must not operate as bait for a different, higher-fee service. Each ad should identify the licensee by name, address, and phone.(Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0260-02-.20)
Longevity / GLP-1 / medical weight loss
Longevity and GLP-1 programs advertised by physician practices fall under the medical board rule: claims about outcomes may not create an unjustified expectation of results, benefit statements for procedures or products with significant risks should carry a realistic assessment of safety and efficacy, and promotional fees must be honored as advertised. Where such a program is delivered as a cosmetic or med-spa service, the med spa registration and supervising-physician disclosure duties also attach.
Telehealth posture
Under Tenn. Code Ann. 63-1-155, a provider delivering care by telehealth is held to the same standard of professional practice as a similar licensee providing the same services in person, and the statute creates no new standard of care. The Board of Medical Examiners FAQ states the practice of medicine occurs where the patient is located, so a provider treating patients located in Tennessee must be licensed in Tennessee, and a provider-patient relationship can be established through a telemedicine encounter. Prescribing by telemedicine remains subject to the Board's examination-before-prescribing rule and to federal controlled-substance limits.
Tenn. Code Ann. 63-1-155; TN BME Telemedicine FAQ checked 2026-07-02
Markets in Tennessee
Common questions
Can a Tennessee med spa or practice advertise discounts and promotional fees?
Yes, within limits. The medical board rule permits advertising fixed fees, fee ranges, and discounted fees, but a range must disclose the factors that determine the actual fee, a discount must reflect the same quality and components as the regular service, and the advertised fee must be honored for the stated period or for thirty days if none is stated. Bait-and-switch offers are prohibited.
Are patient testimonials allowed in advertising?
Only if they are verifiable. The medical, dental, and chiropractic board rules each prohibit any personal testimonial attesting to a quality or competence that is not reasonably verifiable, and bar unsubstantiated claims of superiority. A testimonial that implies results a typical patient should not expect can also run afoul of the rule against creating unjustified expectations.
What must a Tennessee med spa disclose about its physician in advertising?
By statute, a med spa must display the name of its medical director or supervising physician and indicate, in its signage and in all media and advertising, whether that physician is board certified by a recognized board or, if not, that certification is lacking. The spa must also be registered with the Board of Medical Examiners and operate under a Tennessee-licensed MD or DO.
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.