Sometimes outright, often in part. Whether a nurse practitioner can own a med spa turns on two state rules: who may own the entity, and whether your NP license treats without a physician agreement. Florida exempts an APRN-owned clinic from licensure. California and New Jersey allow co-ownership with a physician. Texas and Georgia keep the medical entity with physicians.
Ownership and practice authority are two different statutes
Ownership lives in your state’s professional corporation statute and corporate practice of medicine rules. Practice lives in the nurse practice act: whether you need a protocol, collaborative agreement or physician delegation. A state can say yes to one and no to the other.
The NP scope of practice post covers ratios and chart review. This post covers ownership and where it meets scope.
State by state: who owns, and who must be in the structure
| State | May an NP own the entity? | Physician relationship for NP practice | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | Co-own only. A medical corporation needs a physician majority; an NP, as a registered nurse, may hold shares within a combined 49 percent cap for listed licensees. An NP may also own a nursing corporation | Standardized procedures, unless certified under the 4,600-hour pathway (in a setting where physicians practice) or the further three-year pathway (outside those settings) | Corp. Code 13401.5(a); B&P 2775, 2837.103, 2837.104; MBC Cosmetic Treatments FAQ |
| Florida | Yes. No physician-ownership rule, and an entity wholly owned by practitioners, including APRNs, is exempt from clinic licensure if an owner supervises the business | Written protocol with a physician. Autonomous practice after 3,000 hours, limited to primary care | Fla. Stat. 400.9905(4)(g); 464.0123; 458.348 |
| Texas | No joint ownership with physicians. APRNs are not among the licensees allowed to co-own with physicians | Prescriptive authority agreement with documented monthly meetings; cosmetic procedures under physician delegation | Bus. Orgs. Code 301.012; Occ. Code 157.0512; 22 TAC 169.26 |
| Georgia | No joint ownership with physicians. A professional corporation practices one profession, and the listed exceptions do not include APRNs | Nurse protocol agreement with a delegating physician | O.C.G.A. 14-7-4(a); 43-34-25(b) |
| New Jersey | Co-own. A physician may share a partnership, professional association or LLC with licensees in a closely allied field, and the rule names nursing. A plenary-licensed physician may not be employed by a limited licensee | Joint protocol. The 2026 exemption excludes elective aesthetic or cosmetic services | N.J.A.C. 13:35-6.16(f); N.J.S.A. 45:11-49 as amended by P.L.2026, c.6 |
| Pennsylvania | Possibly. A physician PC may include practitioners licensed to practice without referral or supervision, if their board permits. Whether a CRNP qualifies is a counsel question | Collaborative agreement with a Pennsylvania physician; prescriptive authority agreement filed with the Bureau | 49 Pa. Code 16.21, 21.282a, 21.285 |
| Tennessee | The medical spa statute covers any entity “however named or organized” and requires a named physician medical director or supervising physician | Supervising physician: 20 percent of charts every 30 days, remote site visit every 30 days | Tenn. Code 63-1-153, 63-7-123; Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0880-06-.02 |
| New York | A nursing entity, yes. A medical one, no. Professional corporation shares go only to licensees of the profession the corporation practices | Written practice agreement until 3,600 hours; collaborative relationships version takes effect July 1, 2030 | Bus. Corp. Law 1507(a); Educ. Law 6902(3) |
As of October 2026. These rules change, and the table is a starting point for counsel, not a filing.
Where an NP can own the clinic outright
Florida is the cleanest ownership answer. There is no physician-ownership rule, and section 400.9905(4)(g) exempts an entity “wholly owned by one or more licensed health care practitioners,” including APRNs under 464.012, from clinic licensure. One owner must supervise the business and answer for its compliance. Florida clinic licensure covers the rest of the exemption.
Florida’s practice rule is narrower. Autonomous practice under 464.0123 requires 3,000 clinical hours in the prior five years and is limited to “primary care practice, including family medicine, general pediatrics, and general internal medicine.” A med spa is a hard fit for that phrase. Otherwise you work under a physician protocol, and section 458.348(3)(c) requires an offsite supervising physician for a primarily aesthetic office to be board certified or board eligible in dermatology or plastic surgery, within 25 miles or a contiguous county, supervising only one other office.
New York lets you own an entity that practices nursing, and Education Law 6902(3) removes the written practice agreement once you pass 3,600 hours. California lets you own a nursing corporation, and a nurse practitioner certified under 2837.104 may practice outside standardized procedures and outside physician settings. The Medical Board’s cosmetic FAQ still says the business “must be a physician-owned medical practice,” and it does not address that newer category. If you plan a California NP-owned aesthetic practice, get a written opinion first.
Where an NP can co-own with a physician
California lets you hold shares in a medical corporation alongside a physician, within the 49 percent combined cap in Corporations Code 13401.5. The physician keeps the majority.
New Jersey treats nursing as a closely allied field, so a physician and an APN may share a partnership, professional association or LLC under N.J.A.C. 13:35-6.16(f)(2). The same rule blocks the reverse arrangement: a plenary-licensed physician may not be employed by a practitioner with a limited scope of license. An APN-owned company that hires a physician to sign is the structure New Jersey rules out.
Where the physician stays in the structure
In Texas, section 301.012 lists who may co-own a professional entity with physicians: osteopaths, podiatrists, chiropractors, PAs, optometrists and several mental health licensees. APRNs are not on the list. On practice, prescribing runs through a prescriptive authority agreement under 157.0512, and 22 TAC 169.26 says an APRN performing a cosmetic procedure acts “under the delegation of a physician.”
Georgia allows one profession per professional corporation, and its exceptions do not reach APRNs. An APRN orders drugs and treatments under a nurse protocol agreement with a delegating physician.
New Jersey’s 2026 law deserves its own line. P.L.2026, c.6, approved March 30, 2026, lets an APN with more than 5,000 hours in primary or behavioral health practice without a joint protocol, provided the APN “is not providing elective aesthetic or cosmetic services.” An aesthetic NP in New Jersey still needs a joint protocol.
Where the medical entity must stay with physicians, the usual route is the PC-MSO model: a physician owns the professional corporation, and you own the management company that holds the lease, equipment and marketing. How a friendly PC and MSO fit together covers the documents.
Why NP owners still contract a physician
Ownership is often the easy half. Florida’s autonomy stops at primary care, New Jersey’s exemption stops at aesthetics, and Texas requires physician delegation for cosmetic procedures. Add a second state and the answer changes again, which is why the nurse practitioner versus physician comparison matters most at expansion.
Many NP owners keep a physician even where the law would let them go without: protocol sign-off for services outside their training, a delegating license for RNs on staff, and the named physician carriers and pharmacies ask for. In MDside’s model, your NPs keep treating within their own license. The physician adds the authority the state or menu requires and does the work: protocols, chart review, adverse events. If you are an RN rather than an NP, the RN ownership post covers your version.
What this means for you
Answer the ownership question and the practice question separately, then check both against your actual menu. In Florida and New York you may own the entity, but autonomy and aesthetics do not line up neatly. In California and New Jersey you can co-own with a physician. In Texas and Georgia, plan for a physician-owned entity and own the management company. MDside supplies physicians, the PC-MSO structure and good faith exams for med spa owners, including NP-founded practices.
Related reading
Frequently asked questions
Can a nurse practitioner own a med spa in Florida?
Yes, as owner of the business. Florida has no physician-ownership rule, and an entity wholly owned by licensed practitioners, including APRNs, is exempt from clinic licensure if an owner supervises the business. Practice is separate: autonomous APRN practice requires 3,000 hours and is limited to primary care, so most aesthetic NPs still work under a physician protocol.
Can a nurse practitioner own a med spa in California?
Not the medical practice outright. A medical corporation needs a physician majority, and an NP may hold shares within a combined 49 percent cap for listed non-physician licensees. An NP may own a nursing corporation, and NPs certified under Business and Professions Code 2837.104 may practice outside standardized procedures. Aesthetic practice under that pathway has no board guidance yet.
Can a nurse practitioner own a med spa in Texas?
Not jointly with a physician in a professional entity, because APRNs are not among the licensees section 301.012 allows. Texas APRNs prescribe through a prescriptive authority agreement and perform cosmetic procedures under physician delegation. The usual structure is a physician-owned practice with the NP owning the management company.
Do NPs in full practice states need a physician for a med spa?
Sometimes. Full practice rules can carve out aesthetics or limit independence to primary care. New Jersey’s 2026 exemption excludes elective aesthetic or cosmetic services, and Florida’s autonomous practice covers only primary care. Check the carve-outs for your state before dropping a physician agreement.
This is general information, not legal advice. Rules vary by state and change. Confirm your own facts with counsel.