Can a non-physician own a med spa in Maryland?
Ownership · part of The Practice Perimeter
Maryland confines a professional corporation to a single profession and to the professional service named in its articles, and its Medical Practice Act contemplates a physician practicing within or as a professional corporation — so the corporate form is available, but it is not a route to mixing a medical practice with an unrelated business. Maryland’s self-referral law is the financial-arrangement rule on record: except as the section itself provides, a health care practitioner may not refer a patient, or direct an employee or contractor to refer a patient, to a health care entity in which the practitioner or the practitioner with immediate family owns a beneficial interest, in which immediate family owns 3 percent or more, or with which any of them has a COMPENSATION ARRANGEMENT — defined as any agreement or system involving any remuneration between the practitioner or an immediate family member and a health care entity. Whether a particular med spa owner is a “health care entity” under that law, and whether any of its exceptions apply, is not surveyed by these claims.
Drawn from 7 verified rules in this section · regulatory monitoring, not legal advice
- Md. Code, Corps. & Ass’ns §5-102(a)(1) · Sep 3, 2026
- Md. Code, Corps. & Ass’ns §5-102(a)(1) · Sep 3, 2026
- Md. Code, Corps. & Ass’ns §5-104(a) · Sep 3, 2026
- Md. Code, Health Occ. §14-101(i) · Sep 3, 2026
- Md. Code, Health Occ. §1-302(a) (Referrals by health care practitioners — prohibited) · Sep 7, 2026
- Md. Code, Health Occ. §1-301(c)(1) (“Compensation arrangement” defined) · Sep 7, 2026
- Md. Code, Health Occ. §1-301(l)(1)-(2)(i) (“Referral” defined) · Sep 7, 2026
The rest of what Maryland says on this
Every other rule we have verified under ownership & corporate practice of medicine, each linked to its primary source.
Except as permitted under subsection (b) of this section, a corporation may be a professional corporation solely for the purpose of rendering professional services within a single profession.
Md. Code, Corps. & Ass’ns §5-102(a)(1) · verified Sep 3, 2026
A professional corporation may not render a professional service or engage in an activity other than the professional service authorized by its articles of incorporation.
Md. Code, Corps. & Ass’ns §5-104(a) · verified Sep 3, 2026
Licensee means an individual to whom the Board issues a license, including an individual practicing medicine within or as a professional corporation or professional association.
Md. Code, Health Occ. §14-101(i) · verified Sep 3, 2026
Under Maryland’s self-referral law, a health care practitioner may not refer a patient, or direct an employee of or person under contract with the health care practitioner to refer a patient to a health care entity: (1) In which the health care practitioner or the practitioner in combination with the practitioner’s immediate family owns a beneficial interest; (2) In which the practitioner’s immediate family owns a beneficial interest of 3 percent or greater; or (3) With which the health care practitioner, the practitioner’s immediate family, or the practitioner in combination with the practitioner’s immediate family has a compensation arrangement. The section opens with an exception clause: “Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section”.
Md. Code, Health Occ. §1-302(a) (Referrals by health care practitioners — prohibited) · verified Sep 7, 2026
“Compensation arrangement” means any agreement or system involving any remuneration between a health care practitioner or the immediate family member of the health care practitioner and a health care entity.
Md. Code, Health Occ. §1-301(c)(1) (“Compensation arrangement” defined) · verified Sep 7, 2026
“Referral” means any referral of a patient for health care services. “Referral” includes: (i) The forwarding of a patient by one health care practitioner to another health care practitioner or to a health care entity outside the health care practitioner’s office or group practice;
Md. Code, Health Occ. §1-301(l)(1)-(2)(i) (“Referral” defined) · verified Sep 7, 2026
How other states answer this
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- 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 Maryland questions
- What business structure does a med spa need in Maryland?
- In Maryland, may a non-clinical owner or manager be paid a share of revenue?
Get Maryland changes as they publish
We scan the Maryland 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 Maryland rules and changes · MedSpaRadar 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).