Does a med spa in Georgia need a medical director?
Oversight · part of The Practice Perimeter
Georgia licenses the people who operate cosmetic lasers, in two tiers, and requires the facility to have a consulting physician behind them. Separately, a physician delegates medical acts to a nurse by written protocol or to a physician assistant by a board-approved job description.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 360-35-.05 · verified Aug 17, 2026 · regulatory monitoring, not legal advice
The rest of what Georgia says on this
Every other rule we have verified under physician supervision & delegation, each linked to its primary source.
An assistant laser practitioner may perform cosmetic laser services under the supervision of a Board-licensed physician or a licensed senior laser practitioner. A senior laser practitioner may perform cosmetic laser services and may supervise assistant laser practitioners performing them.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 360-35-.05 · verified Aug 17, 2026
A consulting physician must be licensed in Georgia, have a principal place of business in Georgia or practice within 50 miles of the facility supervised, be trained in laser modalities (physics, safety, technique, indications, pre- and post-operative care, and treating complications), and be available for emergency consultation. The consulting physician establishes the protocols for the cosmetic laser services provided at a facility and files those protocols with the Board.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 360-35-.06 · verified Aug 17, 2026
An assistant laser practitioner license is open to someone holding a current license as a physician assistant, licensed practical nurse, nurse, esthetician, or master cosmetologist (or who previously held a license or certificate as a medical practitioner), who is 21 or older and holds at least three Board-approved laser/IPL course certificates taught by a licensed physician or a certified CME/CE educator.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 360-35-.02(2) · verified Aug 17, 2026
A senior laser practitioner license requires a current physician assistant or nurse license (or a previously held medical practitioner license), at least three years of clinical or technological medical experience, three years of licensure or national board certification as a medical practitioner, verification of licensure from every state where the applicant has held one, and at least two Board-approved laser/IPL CME certificates.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 360-35-.02(3) · verified Aug 17, 2026
Outside the laser rules, a physician delegates by one of two written instruments: a nurse protocol — a document mutually agreed and signed by a nurse and a licensed physician, delegating authority to perform certain medical acts including administering and ordering drugs — or a physician assistant job description approved for that assistant by the Board.
O.C.G.A. §43-34-23 · verified Aug 17, 2026
How other states answer this
All 7 states side by side →Related Georgia questions
- What must the supervising physician actually do in Georgia?
- Who may operate a cosmetic laser in Georgia?
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← All Georgia rules and changes · Med Spa Radar is regulatory monitoring and reference, not legal, medical, or compliance advice. Verify against the linked primary source and consult qualified counsel before acting — rules change and turn on your specific facts. Legislative data via LegiScan (CC BY 4.0).