The Medical Board fictitious name permit for med spas
Does a California med spa need a fictitious name permit to use a brand name?
- Confirm the practice will use a name other than the physician's own
- Form the medical corporation first, since the Articles go with the application
- Pick a name that is not misleading and not close to an existing permit
- Complete the Medical Board application and attach the Articles of Incorporation
- Pay the $70 fee and allow four to six weeks for processing
- Hold signage, the website and ads under the name until the permit issues
- Calendar the $50 renewal every two years
Any spa-style name on a physician practice requires the permit
A California physician or medical corporation that practises or advertises under any name other than the physician's own needs a fictitious name permit from the Medical Board.
Business and Professions Code 2285 makes the use of a fictitious, false or assumed name in any public communication, advertisement, sign or announcement of a practice, without a permit issued under section 2415, unprofessional conduct. It applies whether the name is used by one physician, a group, or a professional corporation.
For a med spa that means nearly every brand, because a name describing skin, light or aesthetics is by definition not the physician's own name. The permit belongs to the practice, which is one reason the MSO page keeps the public-facing brand on the physician side.
B&P 2285Under B&P 2285, using a fictitious name in any public communication, advertisement or sign for a medical practice without a permit issued under section 2415 is unprofessional conduct. — California Legislative Information, retrieved 2026-09-27
The permit fee, the processing time and the renewal
The Medical Board charges $70 to apply, takes roughly four to six weeks to process a new application, and requires a $50 renewal every two years.
A renewal paid more than 30 days late carries a $20 delinquent fee, and the Board states renewals take six to eight weeks to process. Business and Professions Code 2415 places fictitious name permits under the same renewal provisions as licenses, so a lapsed permit is treated like any other lapsed credential.
Put the renewal date in the same calendar as the Statement of Information and the franchise tax, covered on the taxes and annual filings page.
| Item | Fee or time |
|---|---|
| Application fee | $70 |
| Initial processing | About 4 to 6 weeks |
| Renewal, every two years | $50 |
| Delinquent renewal, over 30 days late | $20 extra |
| Renewal processing | About 6 to 8 weeks |
$70The Medical Board charges a $70 fictitious name permit application fee and a $50 renewal fee every two years, plus $20 if renewal payment is over 30 days late. — Medical Board of California, retrieved 2026-09-27
B&P 2415B&P 2415 makes fictitious-name permits subject to the Medical Practice Act's license renewal provisions beginning at section 2421. — California Legislative Information, retrieved 2026-09-27
The corporation must exist before you can apply
The fictitious name permit application asks for the corporation's name and number and a copy of its Articles of Incorporation, so file the medical corporation first.
The Medical Board uses the Articles to confirm the applicant is an active California professional corporation. That makes the sequence fixed: Articles with the Secretary of State, then the permit application, then signage and advertising. A practice that orders its sign before the Articles are filed is working in the wrong order.
The Articles themselves cost $100 on Form ARTS-PC. The filing walk-through is in the setup guide, and the reason the practice must be a corporation and not an LLC is on the entity page.
The Medical Board requires copies of the Articles of Incorporation with a fictitious name permit application to verify the entity is a California professional corporation. — Medical Board of California, retrieved 2026-09-27
$100Articles of Incorporation of a Professional Corporation cost $100 to file with the California Secretary of State. — California Secretary of State, retrieved 2026-09-27
Choosing a name the Board will approve
The Board will refuse a name that is deceptive, misleading or confusing, or one too similar to a permit it has already issued, so check before you commit to branding.
A name implying a specialty the physicians do not practise, or suggesting the business is something other than a medical practice, invites a refusal. So does a name close to an existing practice's permit. The Board cites the statutory standard in Business and Professions Code 2415(b)(3).
Have a second-choice name ready. Four to six weeks is a long wait to learn the first choice was refused, and the brand, domain and signage all hang on the answer.
The Medical Board states that a fictitious name may not be deceptive, misleading or confusing, or similar to a name it has previously issued. — Medical Board of California, retrieved 2026-09-27
The county fictitious business name is a separate filing
The Medical Board permit is not the only name filing a med spa may need; a business using a brand name also files a fictitious business name statement within 40 days of starting.
Business and Professions Code 17910 requires a fictitious business name statement no later than 40 days after the registrant starts to transact business under the name. For a two-entity med spa, the management LLC trading under a brand is the usual case, because the LLC does not practise medicine and so has no Medical Board permit to hold.
Keep the two filings straight: the Board permit authorises the practice to practise and advertise under a name, and the county statement records who is behind a trade name. The MSO page covers which entity should own the brand in the first place.
40 daysB&P 17910 requires a fictitious business name statement no later than 40 days after the registrant starts to transact business under the name. — California Legislative Information, retrieved 2026-09-27
Every advertisement then has to carry the approved name
Once the permit issues, every advertisement for the practice must use either the physician's own name or the approved fictitious name, never an unapproved variant.
Business and Professions Code 2272 makes advertising the practice of medicine without using the licensee's own name or an approved fictitious name unprofessional conduct. A social media handle, a promotional flyer and a booking page are all advertising for this purpose.
Keep one spelling of the permitted name and use it everywhere. The other advertising limits, on prices, photos and superiority claims, are on the advertising rules page.
B&P 2272Under B&P 2272, advertising the practice of medicine without using the licensee's own name or approved fictitious name is unprofessional conduct. — California Legislative Information, retrieved 2026-09-27
Questions
Is the Medical Board permit the same as a county fictitious business name?
No. The county fictitious business name statement is a general business filing. The Medical Board permit is the one that authorises a physician practice to practise under a name. A medical corporation using a brand name needs the Board permit.
Do nurses employed by the practice need their own permit?
No. B&P 2285 allows licensees employed by a group or professional corporation that holds the permit to use the entity's approved name in their public communications.
What happens if the permit lapses?
The permit follows the Board's renewal rules, so a lapsed permit is a lapsed credential. Advertising under the name while it is lapsed exposes the physician to the same unprofessional conduct finding as never having one.