Licensing planning guide

Oregon med spa
licensing guide.

Advanced esthetics certification and a referral agreement.

Prepared by Prospyr · Sources checked September 15, 2026

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What to know in Oregon

Start with these state-specific findings, then use the checklist below to review the rest of your practice. The linked authorities explain the conditions and exceptions behind each point.

01

Advanced esthetics has a separate certification pathway

Oregon’s Health Licensing Office sets certification and examination requirements for advanced estheticians. A basic esthetics license or vendor training should not be treated as equivalent to that certification.

Source: Oregon Health Authority: Certified Advanced Estheticians — Certification Information
02

The required agreement is for referral

OHA explains that the collaborative agreement under ORS 676.655 and OAR 819-030-0020 provides a licensed healthcare professional to whom the advanced esthetician can refer a client. It is not a general grant of medical scope or prescribing authority.

Source: Oregon Health Authority: Certified Advanced Estheticians — Certification Information

Your next steps

  1. Verify advanced-esthetics certification and the required referral agreement for each relevant practitioner.
  2. Keep medical services, injectables and non-ablative advanced-esthetics services in separate scope reviews.

Questions to resolve before opening

  • Does the proposed treatment fall within advanced non-ablative esthetics or medical practice?
  • Is the referral agreement current and appropriate, and are additional medical-practice requirements triggered?

Bring your actual ownership chart, service menu, devices and staff credentials to the relevant board or healthcare counsel. The same answer may not apply to a different procedure or business model.

A practical licensing checklist

These planning steps complement the Oregon highlights. They are a workflow for investigation, not a claim that every listed permit applies to every practice.

01

Ownership & clinical control

Identify the owners of the clinical entity, who employs clinicians, who controls medical decisions and how management fees are paid. Ask healthcare counsel to confirm the entity and any professional-ownership or fee-splitting limits before signing agreements.

02

People & procedures

List the person who evaluates, prescribes, performs and supervises each treatment. Verify the actual professional license, restrictions, procedure training and required agreements. A course certificate alone does not establish a legal scope of practice.

03

Premises, devices & products

Check clinic or establishment licensing, local zoning and occupancy, device registration, drug purchasing and storage, and any laboratory or body-art services. Adding a procedure or location can change the applicable requirements.

04

Patient care & opening file

Document consent, assessment, treatment orders, emergency escalation, infection prevention and record access. Assign an owner to every unresolved question and keep the authority supporting the final decision.

Official sources & scope

A source-based planning guide for practice owners, not legal advice or a license approval. The state highlights cover the issues identified below; the workbook helps you resolve additional ownership, scope and facility questions with the relevant boards and qualified counsel. Requirements depend on your services, staff and business structure.

No attorney review is claimed. Report an update.

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