Medical spas in Georgia

Georgia's rules mention Botox and fillers in only two places. One is the Board's unprofessional-conduct rule, which says it is unprofessional for a physician to delegate the injection of botulinum toxin or dermal fillers to medical assistants. The other is a sedation rule's definition of a "medispa".¹¹⁵ Injection is the practice of medicine, and it reaches nurses and physician assistants by delegation.

A physician assistant (PA) needs a Board-approved supervising physician and a Board-approved job description, which keeps the PA to the physician's scope and provides for immediate consultation. A PA need not be in the physician's presence.³

A nurse practitioner prescribes under a nurse protocol agreement with a physician, filed with the Board. The physician must be available for immediate consultation, observe the nurse practitioner's practice on site at least once a year in most settings, and review records quarterly.²⁴ A physician may not be an employee of an advanced practice nurse they must supervise outside listed settings.⁴

The Board of Nursing says cosmetic and aesthetic procedures, defined as neuromodulator and dermal filler injections, are within an RN's scope but not an LPN's. An RN needs an individualized order from a physician, nurse practitioner or PA with prescriptive authority, and a history and physical by one of them. The statement says standing orders are not an appropriate substitute.⁵

The Board's May 2026 IV statement also says licensees must clearly tell the public who their delegating, designating or supervising physician is, and how to contact that physician. The Board has said the statement is preliminary and not intended to create new law or policy.⁷⁸⁹

Ask who will inject you, what their licence is, and which physician is responsible for them.

Georgia's Composite Medical Board issues a Cosmetic Laser Practitioner licence at two levels, assistant and senior. An assistant must hold a current licence as a PA, LPN, nurse, esthetician or master cosmetologist, be 21, and have at least three laser or pulsed light course certificates. A senior must be a PA or nurse with three years of experience.¹⁰

Since 25 May 2026, "cosmetic laser services" covers nonablative light-based skin care, photo rejuvenation and hair removal with lasers or pulsed light, and energy-based procedures using ultrasound, cryolipolysis, microwave or radio frequency devices that are not intended to remove or vaporize the live epidermal surface.¹⁰¹³ Ablative lasers are outside this licence.

A facility other than a physician office must have an agreement with a consulting physician, file protocols with the Board, and post a sign naming the consulting physician, their board certification and specialty, their principal address, and whether they are on site. The patient must give written consent naming who will perform the service.¹⁰ The practitioner may not treat within one inch of the eye socket or inject anything.¹⁰

The sources do not settle who must hold the licence. The Act says it does not prohibit physicians, PAs, nurses, estheticians and others from engaging in their profession, and it also calls practice by someone not licensed as a cosmetic laser practitioner, "or otherwise licensed" to perform these services, harmful.¹¹¹² Ask what licence the person using the laser holds.

The cosmetology law defines esthetics as treating the face, neck, arms, torso or legs with the hands, apparatus or cosmetic preparations. It says esthetics does not include treating a dermatological condition, medical aesthetics or the use of lasers.¹⁴ We found no Georgia rule on peels or microneedling.

The Board of Nursing says an RN or LPN who is the only licensed professional evaluating and treating a patient in a drip bar or walk-in or mobile hydration clinic is practising beyond scope. IV hydration needs an individualized order and a history and physical, and standing orders are not an appropriate substitute.⁶

The Medical Board's May 2026 statement says a nurse practitioner or PA may evaluate, order and direct IV therapy only under a compliant protocol or job description. It says a clinic should not rely on RN or LPN-only evaluation, generic standing orders or menu-based treatment. This is a position statement, not a rule.⁷⁸⁹ Ask who will examine you before the drip, who ordered it, and who will place the IV.

We found no Georgia board statement on semaglutide or tirzepatide. A pharmacy rule bars distributing non-patient-specific compounded preparations for a practitioner's office use, though outsourcing facilities may provide them.¹⁸ The Medical Board's May 2026 statement warns against sterile compounding and drug-handling practices that do not satisfy Georgia pharmacy law.⁷ Ask whether your medicine is FDA-approved or compounded, and which pharmacy prepares it.

A pain management clinic licence exists, but it covers practices that advertise treatment of pain, or whose patients are mostly chronic pain patients on certain controlled substances.¹⁹

No Georgia statute or rule we read requires a med spa to have a medical director. The terms in use are consulting physician for laser facilities, delegating physician for nurse practitioners, and supervising physician for PAs.²³¹⁰

Georgia's professional corporation law says shares may be issued only to a person licensed in the profession.¹⁶ Whether Georgia requires every medical practice to be a professional corporation, or bars lay ownership of a practice, is not settled by any official source we read. Dividing fees for referring a patient is a ground for physician discipline.¹⁷

The Department of Public Health certifies body artists, and county health authorities permit studios. The law defines a tattoo to include microblading of the eyebrow.²⁰²¹²² The rules do not apply to a physician or a technician under a physician's direct supervision.²¹ Tattoo removal is limited to a licensed physician or a Georgia licensed cosmetic laser practitioner.²¹