Who may operate a cosmetic laser in New Mexico?
Oversight · part of The Practice Perimeter
Short answer
Several license types — a trained physician (laser use is the practice of medicine), a certified medical assistant using non-incisive, non-ablative devices with the physician on site and a written protocol, and APRNs or delegated RNs/LPNs.
A physician who is trained in the safety and use of medical therapeutic or cosmetic devices may supervise medical assistants who perform hair removal and other therapeutic or cosmetic procedures using devices that use waveform energy, provided the supervising physician first provides the patient history, physical examination, diagnosis, treatment protocol, and preparation of the medical record; reviews any adverse outcomes or changes in the treatment protocol; assures the patient is informed that the individual performing the procedure is a medical assistant under the physician's supervision; provides emergency and follow-up instructions; and prepares a written protocol for the medical assistant to follow when using the device.
16.10.13.8 NMAC (Use of medical therapeutic and cosmetic devices — supervision of medical assistants) · verified Sep 8, 2026 · regulatory monitoring, not legal advice
Related New Mexico rules
Licensees may work in an aesthetic healthcare facility only if the facility employs a clinical supervisor who is an APRN or other licensed independent healthcare practitioner reasonably known to possess the appropriate education, training, and skills to safely perform all aesthetic healthcare procedures offered in the facility.
16.12.14.8(B) NMAC (Nursing Practice in Aesthetic Healthcare Facilities, eff. 2024-05-21) · verified Sep 4, 2026
develops or approves and implements written protocols for all aesthetic healthcare procedures performed at the aesthetic healthcare facility. The protocols must provide sufficient and specific details, including guidance on identifying and responding to adverse events, to assure that making independent healthcare decisions does not become the responsibility of individuals without the appropriate scope of practice to make such decisions.
16.12.14.9(B)(5) NMAC (Clinical supervisor) · verified Sep 4, 2026
How other states answer this
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Related New Mexico questions
- Does a med spa in New Mexico need a medical director?
- What must the supervising physician actually do in New Mexico?
- Can a medical assistant give injections in New Mexico?
- May an esthetician or laser technician perform microneedling in New Mexico?
Get New Mexico changes as they publish
We scan the New Mexico 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 New Mexico 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).