What it costs to open a med spa in California

State filing fees for a med spa total a few hundred dollars

The state and Medical Board fees to form and name a California med spa practice come to about $195 before any annual tax; the build-out and equipment cost far more.

That figure is the $100 professional corporation filing, the $25 first Statement of Information and the $70 fictitious name permit. A two-entity structure with a management LLC adds $70 to form the LLC and $20 for its first Statement of Information. The EIN and the seller's permit are free.

The table below lists each published fee with its source. It leaves out costs this site cannot source to a published schedule: the lease, lasers and injectables inventory, professional liability premiums, local business taxes and legal fees. Those are where the real budget goes, and they vary too widely to state as a single figure.

$100The California Secretary of State charges $100 to file Articles of Incorporation of a Professional Corporation. — California Secretary of State, retrieved 2026-09-27

$70The Medical Board of California charges a $70 application fee for a fictitious name permit. — Medical Board of California, retrieved 2026-09-27

The $800 minimum tax is the largest recurring state cost

Each California corporation and LLC owes a minimum of $800 a year to the Franchise Tax Board, which dwarfs the formation fees over the life of the business.

Revenue and Taxation Code 23153 sets the corporate minimum at $800 and exempts a new corporation for its first taxable year. The management LLC, if there is one, has no first-year exemption today: section 17941's exemption applied only to LLCs organised from 2021 through 2023.

So a single-entity practice pays nothing in minimum tax in year one and $800 from year two. A two-entity structure pays $800 for the LLC in year one and $1,600 a year across both entities afterwards, before any tax on actual income.

$800Revenue and Taxation Code 23153 sets an $800 minimum franchise tax and exempts a newly incorporated corporation for its first taxable year. — California Legislative Information, retrieved 2026-09-27

The first-year exemption from the California LLC annual tax applied only to LLCs organized from 1 January 2021 to before 1 January 2024. — California Legislative Information, retrieved 2026-09-27

Free filings that third parties will try to charge for

The EIN and the seller's permit cost nothing from the government, and the Statement of Information costs $25 or $20; anyone charging much more is a middleman.

The IRS states that you never have to pay a fee for an EIN. The CDTFA describes seller's permit registration as free. The Secretary of State has published an alert about companies soliciting Statement of Information filings for a service fee nearly ten times the state fee.

None of this means a service is never worth paying. It means the price of the service should be judged as the price of the drafting and reminders, not confused with a government fee. The formation-services page lists what each service publishes.

$0The IRS states that you never have to pay a fee for an EIN. — Internal Revenue Service, retrieved 2026-09-27

$0The CDTFA describes registering for a seller's permit online as free. — California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, retrieved 2026-09-27

Renewal fees to budget from year two

From the second year, budget for the corporation's annual $25 Statement of Information, the $50 fictitious name permit renewal every two years, and the minimum tax.

The Medical Board's fictitious name permit renews every two years at $50, with a $20 delinquent fee if payment is more than 30 days late. The corporation's Statement of Information recurs every year; the LLC's recurs every two years at $20.

These are small figures, which is exactly why they get missed. The dates, rather than the amounts, are what the taxes and annual filings page is for.

$50The Medical Board's fictitious name permit renews every two years for $50, with a $20 delinquent fee if payment arrives more than 30 days late. — Medical Board of California, retrieved 2026-09-27

$25 / $20The Statement of Information fee is $25 for California stock corporations and $20 for limited liability companies. — California Secretary of State, retrieved 2026-09-27

No state clinic license fee for a physician-owned office

A physician-owned med spa operating as the practitioners' own office generally pays no state clinic licensing fee, because California exempts such offices from clinic licensure.

Health and Safety Code 1206(a) exempts any place owned or leased and operated as an office by licensed health care practitioners for the practice of their profession, regardless of the public name. That removes what would otherwise be a significant licensing line from the budget.

The exemption only works if the ownership is right, which is one more reason the structure question comes first. It also does not cover local obligations: city business taxes and building permits for the build-out are set locally and are not in the table above.

H&S 1206(a)Health and Safety Code 1206(a) exempts from clinic licensure an office owned or leased and operated by licensed health care practitioners, regardless of the name used publicly. — California Legislative Information, retrieved 2026-09-27

The cost that is not a fee is getting the structure wrong

The most expensive mistake is not a filing fee but an unlawful structure, which can bring a fine of up to $10,000 under the unlicensed practice statute and put the physician's license at risk.

Business and Professions Code 2052 sets a fine of up to $10,000, imprisonment, or both for practising medicine without a license, and applies it to those who aid or abet it. A lay-owned spa with a hired medical director is the classic case. Against that exposure, a few hours of health care counsel at formation is a small line in the budget.

Before committing to a lease, read who can own a med spa and confirm the ownership plan fits. Then file in the order in the setup guide.

$10,000B&P 2052 makes practising medicine without a license punishable by a fine of up to $10,000, imprisonment, or both. — California Legislative Information, retrieved 2026-09-27

Questions