What must the supervising physician actually do in Michigan?

The rest of what Michigan says on this

Every other rule we have verified under physician supervision & delegation, each linked to its primary source.

• A licensee may delegate to a licensed OR UNLICENSED individual who is otherwise qualified by education, training, or experience the performance of selected acts, tasks, or functions — provided they fall within the scope of practice of the licensee’s own profession and are performed under the licensee’s supervision. Michigan does not restrict delegation to licensed people the way several states in this corpus do. (Michigan Compiled Laws complete through PA 12 of 2025.)

  Mich. Comp. Laws § 333.16215(1) · verified Sep 2, 2026 · read at Internet Archive snapshot — evidence of a page, not the current rule

• ⚠️ AND HERE IS THE LIMIT THAT DOES THE WORK. A licensee SHALL NOT delegate an act, task, or function if, under standards of acceptable and prevailing practice, it requires the level of education, skill, and judgment required of the licensee. The test is the act’s difficulty, not the delegate’s job title — so a well-trained unlicensed person is eligible for some things and no amount of training makes them eligible for others.

  Mich. Comp. Laws § 333.16215(1) · verified Sep 2, 2026 · read at Internet Archive snapshot — evidence of a page, not the current rule

• Surgical instrumentation is the bright line. A physician SHALL delegate an act involving a procedure that requires the use of SURGICAL INSTRUMENTATION only to an individual licensed under the article. The narrow exceptions — medical students and physician-assistant students — require the procedure to be DIRECTLY SUPERVISED by a physician who is PHYSICALLY PRESENT during it.

  Mich. Comp. Laws § 333.16215(2) · verified Sep 2, 2026 · read at Internet Archive snapshot — evidence of a page, not the current rule

• The boards hold a reserve power over all of it: a board may promulgate rules to further prohibit or restrict delegation of specific acts where it determines the delegation constitutes or may constitute a danger to the health, safety, or welfare of the patient or public, and may specify categories of individuals for whom CLOSER SUPERVISION is required.

  Mich. Comp. Laws § 333.16215(5) and (6) · verified Sep 2, 2026 · read at Internet Archive snapshot — evidence of a page, not the current rule

• And lawful delegation is a defense, stated as one: an individual who performs acts delegated pursuant to this section DOES NOT VIOLATE the part that regulates the scope of practice of that health profession. Section 16294’s felony for unlicensed practice opens “Except as provided in section 16215” — the two provisions are written to fit together.

  Mich. Comp. Laws § 333.16215(7) · verified Sep 2, 2026 · read at Internet Archive snapshot — evidence of a page, not the current rule

• ✅ MICHIGAN ANSWERS THIS WITH A HARD DEPTH CEILING, IN ONE SENTENCE. Having listed the skin care services an esthetician or cosmetologist may perform, the statute closes: “AS APPLICABLE, A SKIN CARE SERVICE DESCRIBED IN SUBSECTION (2) MUST BE LIMITED TO AN INDIVIDUAL’S STRATUM CORNEUM.” Microneedling is designed to puncture past that layer, and it appears nowhere in the list of permitted services.

  Mich. Comp. Laws § 339.1210(3) · verified Sep 2, 2026

• And the permitted list is specific about how far a device may go: exfoliation is “EXFOLIATING ONLY THE DEAD SKIN CELLS OF AN INDIVIDUAL, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IN THE PERFORMANCE OF DERMAPLANING OR MICRODERMABRASION”, and for that “an esthetician or cosmetologist may use a product, chemical, mechanical device, electrical service, or CLASS 1 MEDICAL DEVICE to exfoliate the dead skin cells.” Light work is bounded too — cleansing or stimulating the skin may use “NONINVASIVE LIGHT”. Every device permission in the section is tied to a depth or a class.

  Mich. Comp. Laws § 339.1210(2)(b), (2)(e) · verified Sep 2, 2026

• The license itself is defined by that list and nothing else: “ESTHETICIAN” MEANS “AN INDIVIDUAL WHO PERFORMS OR OFFERS TO PERFORM SKIN CARE SERVICES”, and “SKIN CARE SERVICES” in turn “INCLUDES THE SERVICES OR COMBINATION OF SERVICES DESCRIBED IN SECTION 1210(2).” The definition is a pointer, so the enumerated list is the whole scope.

  Mich. Comp. Laws § 339.1201(j), (u) · verified Sep 2, 2026

• A licensee, registrant, or other individual shall not perform any procedure using a laser for dermatological purposes unless the procedure is performed under the supervision of a licensed physician, and unless the patient has knowledge of and consents to the procedure being performed by that individual. The supervision requirement does not apply to a licensed physician, to a licensed physician's assistant who performs such a procedure in a health care facility, or to a certified nurse practitioner who performs such a procedure in a health care facility. Practice of dermatology means the diagnosis and treatment of medically necessary and cosmetic conditions of the skin, hair, and nails by various surgical, reconstructive, cosmetic, and nonsurgical methods.

  Mich. Comp. Laws § 333.16276(1)–(3), (5)(b) · verified Sep 8, 2026 · read at Internet Archive snapshot — evidence of a page, not the current rule

How other states answer this

• Alabama
• Alaska
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• California
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• District of Columbia
• Florida
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Illinois
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Montana
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• North Carolina
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Pennsylvania
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Washington
• Wisconsin

Related Michigan questions

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• Who may operate a cosmetic laser in Michigan?
• Can a medical assistant give injections in Michigan?
• May an esthetician or laser technician perform microneedling in Michigan?