Wisconsin Advertising Rules for Health and Wellness Practices
This brief summarizes how Wisconsin regulates advertising by licensed medical, dental, and chiropractic practices, including med spas and longevity clinics. Every entry is drawn from a primary board rule that was read and cited. It is educational information, not legal advice.
Verified against Wisconsin Medical Examining Board (Wis. Admin. Code ch. Med 10) sources, 2026-07-02
Educational summary for practice owners. Not legal advice.
False, misleading, or deceptive advertising (physicians)
Wis. Admin. Code Med 10.03(1)(k) lists engaging in false, misleading, or deceptive advertising as unprofessional conduct for physicians. The provision sets a general truthfulness standard rather than a list of prohibited words, so any public claim a physician-led practice makes about services, results, or credentials is measured against whether it is accurate and not deceptive. Conduct found unprofessional under Med 10 can support disciplinary action by the Medical Examining Board.
Wis. Admin. Code Med 10.03(1)(k) checked 2026-07-02
Specialty and board-certification claims (physicians)
Wis. Admin. Code Med 10.03(1)(i) makes it unprofessional conduct to represent or claim that a physician holds a medical specialty certification from a recognized certifying organization, such as a member board of the American Board of Medical Specialties or the American Osteopathic Association, when that is not true. A practice advertising a provider as a specialist or as board certified should be able to tie the claim to an actual recognized certification.
Wis. Admin. Code Med 10.03(1)(i) checked 2026-07-02
Dental advertising and advertised prices
Wis. Admin. Code DE 6.02 defines unprofessional advertising for dentists to include publishing statements in any media that are false, fraudulent, or deceptive, and refusing to honor an advertised price for a service during the period stated in the advertisement. It also requires that anything of value given to media representatives in return for professional publicity be disclosed to the public. Price and promotional claims should be honored as advertised and be capable of substantiation.
Wis. Admin. Code DE 6.02 (Dentistry Examining Board) checked 2026-07-02
Patient identity and named practitioners in dental ads
Wis. Admin. Code DE 6.02 lists as unprofessional advertising the use of a patient's identity or identifiable information without permission, and the use in advertising of the name of a dentist or dental therapist who has not been associated with the advertising practice for the past year. A practice using patient photos, names, or stories should secure permission, and should not keep a departed provider's name in active advertising.
Wis. Admin. Code DE 6.02 (Dentistry Examining Board) checked 2026-07-02
Chiropractic advertising and claims of results
Wis. Admin. Code Chir 6.02(15) treats advertising as false, deceptive, or misleading if it misrepresents fact, fails to disclose material facts, or is intended to or likely to create false or unjustified expectations of favorable results. It also requires prominent disclosure of the complete details of all variables and material factors relating to any advertised fee, and prohibits advertising that implies chiropractic services will produce emotional or spiritual benefits.
Wis. Admin. Code Chir 6.02(15) checked 2026-07-02
What this means by practice type
Med spas
Injectables, lasers, and similar cosmetic procedures are the practice of medicine and fall under the physician-conduct rules. Advertising that names a provider as a specialist or as board certified is governed by Med 10.03(1)(i), and all service and results claims are measured against the false, misleading, or deceptive standard in Med 10.03(1)(k). Marketing should describe who actually performs and supervises procedures without implying credentials a provider does not hold.(Wis. Admin. Code Med 10.03(1)(i) and (k))
Dental
Under DE 6.02, advertised prices must be honored for the period stated, patient identity or images may not be used without permission, and a departed dentist's name should not remain in active advertising. Compensation given for professional publicity must be disclosed to the public.(Wis. Admin. Code DE 6.02)
Chiropractic
Chir 6.02(15) bars advertising that creates false or unjustified expectations of favorable results or that implies emotional or spiritual benefits, and it requires that any advertised fee disclose all material variables. Claims of specialization require the postgraduate training the rule specifies.(Wis. Admin. Code Chir 6.02(15))
Longevity and GLP-1
Programs that prescribe by telemedicine are held to the same standard of care as in-person care under Med 24.05, and Med 24.07(2) states that treatment recommendations, including issuing a prescription, based only on a static electronic questionnaire do not meet the standard of minimally competent practice. Weight-loss and longevity outcome claims remain subject to the false, misleading, or deceptive standard in Med 10.03(1)(k).(Wis. Admin. Code Med 24.05 and 24.07)
Telehealth posture
Wis. Admin. Code Med 24.05 provides that a physician is held to the same standards of practice and conduct, including patient confidentiality and recordkeeping, whether services are provided in person or by telemedicine, and Med 24.03 states that a physician-patient relationship may be established through telemedicine. Med 24.07(2) adds that treatment recommendations, including issuing a prescription, based only on a static electronic questionnaire do not meet the standard of minimally competent medical practice. Advertising for telehealth services should reflect these equivalent-standard requirements.
Wis. Admin. Code ch. Med 24 (Telemedicine) checked 2026-07-02
Common questions
Can med spas advertise discounts and promotional prices in Wisconsin?
The Medical Examining Board's published rules do not set a specific discount-advertising formula for physician-led practices; the governing standard in Med 10.03(1)(k) is that advertising, including price and promotional claims, not be false, misleading, or deceptive. The Dentistry Examining Board separately requires under DE 6.02 that an advertised price be honored during the period stated in the advertisement. As a practical matter, promotional claims should be accurate, current, and honored as advertised.
Are patient testimonials and before-and-after photos allowed?
The Medical Examining Board's advertising rules do not address testimonials or before-and-after photos by name, so such content is measured against the general false, misleading, or deceptive standard in Med 10.03(1)(k). The Dentistry Examining Board is more specific: DE 6.02 lists using a patient's identity or identifiable information without permission as unprofessional advertising. For chiropractic, Chir 6.02(15) bars advertising that creates false or unjustified expectations of favorable results.
Can a provider advertise as a specialist or as board certified?
Only when the claim is accurate. Med 10.03(1)(i) makes it unprofessional conduct for a physician to claim a specialty certification from a recognized certifying board when it is not true. The dental and chiropractic rules similarly restrict claims of specialization to providers with the recognized postgraduate training their rules specify, under DE 6.02 and Chir 6.02(15).
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.