Who may operate a cosmetic laser in Florida?
Oversight · part of The Practice Perimeter
Short answer
Only if appropriately trained and under a physician's direct supervision — that is the rule for laser or light-based hair removal by a non-physician; other laser uses aren't addressed. An office whose only service is APRN/PA laser hair removal is exempt.
Laser and light-based hair removal is carved OUT of that regime and handed a stricter one. Any protocol for electrolysis or electrology using laser or light-based hair removal or reduction by a person other than a physician must require that person to be appropriately trained and to work only under the DIRECT supervision and responsibility of a physician licensed under chapter 458 or 459.
Fla. Stat. §458.348(2) · verified Sep 1, 2026 · regulatory monitoring, not legal advice
Related Florida rules
There is one narrow exit, and it is narrower than it looks. Neither the direct-supervision rule in (2) nor the offsite-supervision standards in (3) apply to an office at which the EXCLUSIVE service performed is laser hair removal by an advanced practice registered nurse or physician assistant. Add any other service — a neurotoxin, a filler, a peel — and the exemption is gone, because it is written on the office, not on the procedure.
Fla. Stat. §458.348(3)(e) · verified Sep 1, 2026
Delegating professional responsibilities to a person the physician knows (or should know) is not qualified by training, experience, or licensure is a disciplinable offense.
Fla. Stat. §458.331(1)(w) · verified Jul 26, 2026
How other states answer this
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- District of Columbia
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Related Florida questions
- Does a med spa in Florida need a medical director?
- What must the supervising physician actually do in Florida?
- Can a medical assistant give injections in Florida?
- May an esthetician or laser technician perform microneedling in Florida?
Get Florida changes as they publish
We scan the Florida 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 Florida 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).