Can a non-physician own a med spa in California?
Ownership · part of The Practice Perimeter
California strongly bars the corporate practice of medicine. This is the opposite of a permissive-ownership state.
Drawn from 9 verified rules in this section · regulatory monitoring, not legal advice
- Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 650(a) · Sep 2, 2026
- Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 650(b) · Sep 2, 2026
- Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §2400 · Jul 26, 2026
- Cal. Corp. Code §13401(d) · Sep 1, 2026
- Cal. Corp. Code §13401.5(a) · Sep 1, 2026
- Cal. Corp. Code §13401.5(a) · Sep 1, 2026
- Medical Board of California — Medical Spas guidance · Jul 26, 2026
- Cal. SB 351 (2025), Health & Safety Code §§1190–1192 · Jul 26, 2026
- Medical Board of California — Medical Spas guidance (Management services organizations) · Sep 8, 2026
Related California rules
⚠️ California’s ban is broad and expressly survives co-ownership. The offer, delivery, receipt or acceptance by a licensee of “any rebate, refund, commission, preference, patronage dividend, discount, or other consideration, whether in the form of money or otherwise, as compensation or inducement for referring patients, clients, or customers” is unlawful — “irrespective of any membership, proprietary interest, or coownership in or with any person to whom these patients … are referred”. Shared ownership is not a defense.
Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 650(a) · verified Sep 2, 2026 · read at Public.Law — California Codes
⚠️ AND THIS IS THE MSO percentage-fee question answered in a sentence. “The payment or receipt of consideration for services other than the referral of patients that is based on a percentage of gross revenue or similar type of contractual arrangement shall not be unlawful if the consideration is commensurate with the value of the services furnished or with the fair rental value of any premises or equipment leased or provided” by the recipient to the payer. A percentage-of-revenue management fee is lawful in California where it is commensurate with value — and unlawful where it is not.
Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 650(b) · verified Sep 2, 2026 · read at Public.Law — California Codes
How other states answer this
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Related California questions
- What limits does California place on a med spa's business structure?
- Can a management company run the business side of a med spa in California?
- Can private equity invest in a med spa in California?
- In California, may a non-clinical owner or manager be paid a share of revenue?
Get California changes as they publish
We scan the California legislature and licensing boards daily, plus the FDA and the Federal Register. Free weekly Brief — what changed, in plain language, with the source.
Free · unsubscribe in one click · we never sell your address
← All California rules and changes · MedSpaRadar is regulatory monitoring and reference: it summarizes public laws, regulations and agency actions and links each to its source. It is not legal, medical, or compliance advice, and using it creates no attorney-client relationship. A summary can lag its source or leave out detail, and monitoring itself can be interrupted — so an absence of alerts means nothing reached you, not that nothing happened. Read the cited source, check its effective date, and confirm any change to your operations or clinical practice with qualified health-law counsel and your medical director. Legislative data via LegiScan (CC BY 4.0).