Who may operate a cosmetic laser in Minnesota?
Oversight · part of The Practice Perimeter
A person is “practicing medicine” if the person offers or undertakes to perform any surgical operation including any invasive or noninvasive procedures involving the use of a laser or laser assisted device, upon any person. Minnesota is one of the few states to put lasers in the STATUTE rather than a board rule, and the word “noninvasive” closes the usual argument that a surface treatment is not a medical act.
Minn. Stat. § 147.081, subd. 3(4) · verified Sep 2, 2026 · regulatory monitoring, not legal advice
Related Minnesota rules
⚠️ and unlicensed practice is a crime, not a license matter. Any person violating the prohibition on practicing medicine without a license is guilty of a gross misdemeanor. For a Minnesota med spa this is the practical difference: an unlicensed operator running a laser is not facing a board complaint, they are facing a criminal charge.
Minn. Stat. § 147.081, subd. 2 · verified Sep 2, 2026
Minnesota's cosmetology rules set out a separate advanced practice esthetics scope: “Subp. 5. Advanced practice esthetic services. The practice of advanced practice (AP) esthetics is the cosmetic treatment of the epidermal layer of the skin. AP esthetics includes esthetic services in subpart 2 and:” the services listed in that subpart. That list includes “skin needling,” along with advanced exfoliation and advanced skin care treatments. The same subpart also provides that laser, as identified in Minnesota Statutes, section 147.081, subdivision 3, as the practice of medicine, “is not an advanced practice esthetic service.”
Minn. R. 2105.0105, subp. 5 · verified Sep 20, 2026
How other states answer this
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Michigan
- 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 Minnesota questions
- Does a med spa in Minnesota need a medical director?
- Can a medical assistant give injections in Minnesota?
- May an esthetician or laser technician perform microneedling in Minnesota?
Get Minnesota changes as they publish
We scan the Minnesota 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 Minnesota 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).