What happens if a med spa in West Virginia operates without the right license?
Enforcement · part of The Practice Perimeter
Short answer
Unlicensed practice of medicine is a felony — a person never licensed, or whose license is expired over 90 days, inactive, suspended, revoked or surrendered, and not within a statutory licensure exception, faces up to $10,000, one to five years, or both.
It is unlawful for any person who does not hold an active, unexpired license issued pursuant to the article, or who is not practicing under the licensure exceptions set forth in the section, to engage in the practice of medicine and surgery or podiatry in the state, to represent that he or she is a physician, surgeon or podiatrist authorized to practice, or to use any title, word or abbreviation to indicate or induce others to believe that he or she is licensed; and a person found to be engaging in the practice of medicine who has never been licensed by the board, holds a license classified as expired for more than ninety days, or holds a license placed in inactive status, revoked, suspended or surrendered, is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned in a correctional facility for not less than one year nor more than five years, or both.
W. Va. Code §30-3-13(a), (h) · verified Sep 8, 2026 · regulatory monitoring, not legal advice
Related West Virginia rules
The board may deny an application for a license or other authorization to practice medicine and surgery or podiatry in this state and may discipline a physician or podiatrist licensed or otherwise lawfully practicing in this state who, after a hearing, has been adjudged by the board as unqualified.
W. Va. Code §30-3-14(c) · verified Sep 3, 2026
The board shall initiate an investigation if it receives notice that three or more judgments, or any combination of judgments and settlements resulting in five or more unfavorable outcomes arising from medical professional liability, have been rendered or made against the physician or podiatrist within a five-year period. The board may not consider any judgments or settlements as conclusive evidence of professional incompetence or conclusive lack of qualification to practice.
W. Va. Code §30-3-14(a)(2) · verified Sep 3, 2026
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Related West Virginia questions
- Can West Virginia shut down a med spa that is operating unlawfully?
- What can a practitioner in West Virginia be disciplined for?
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← All West Virginia 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).