Aesthetic clinic requirements for starting out in the UK

Who can do what in an aesthetics clinic

The clinical side decides almost everything else, so start here. The rules differ for prescription-only medicines and everything else.

Botulinum toxin is a prescription-only medicine

Toxin can only be prescribed by a doctor, a dentist, or a nurse or pharmacist who is an independent prescriber. Under the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, anyone injecting a prescription-only medicine must either be one of those prescribers or be acting under a prescriber's directions. So if you are not a prescriber yourself, your clinic needs a working arrangement with one, and they remain accountable for the prescription.

The face-to-face consultation rules

The regulators for doctors, nurses and pharmacists all expect the prescriber to see the patient in person before prescribing for a cosmetic treatment:

• Doctors: GMC guidance says you must physically examine a patient before prescribing injectable cosmetic medicines, and must not prescribe them by phone, video or online.
• Nurses and midwives: since 1 June 2025, the NMC requires a face-to-face consultation before prescribing for any non-surgical cosmetic procedure, including follow-ups. Phone, video, email and consultation through a third party are not acceptable.
• Pharmacists: GPhC guidance expects a physical examination to support the prescribing decision.

In practice, a "remote prescriber" model, where a prescriber signs off patients they never meet, is no longer an option. Build your diary around the prescriber being in the room.

Fillers and other treatments

Dermal fillers are not prescription-only medicines, and in England the law doesn't currently restrict who can inject them, apart from the under-18 ban below. That will change with licensing. Bear in mind that hyaluronidase, used to dissolve filler when something goes wrong, is prescription-only, so any clinic offering filler needs a prescriber it can reach quickly.

The licensing scheme for non-surgical cosmetics in England

The Health and Care Act 2022 gave the government the power to license non-surgical cosmetic procedures in England. In August 2025 it published its response to the 2023 consultation, which set out a three-tier approach:

• Green (lowest risk): any practitioner who is licensed and meets agreed standards.
• Amber (medium risk): includes toxin, lip fillers and facial dermal fillers. These will come under local authority licensing, with practitioner and premises licences and standards for training, infection control and insurance. The proposals also had non-healthcare practitioners working with oversight from a named regulated healthcare professional, though the detail is still to be decided.
• Red (highest risk): for example fillers injected into the breasts, buttocks or genitals, including the so-called liquid BBL. These would be limited to qualified healthcare professionals working for CQC-registered providers.

Where it stands in October 2026: none of this is in force yet, and the government has not given a start date. It said it would consult first on restricting the highest-risk procedures, with that consultation due in early 2026, and on licensing for green and amber procedures after that. In February 2026 the Women and Equalities Committee urged it to move faster. We could not confirm that the 2026 consultation has been published, so check gov.uk before you rely on this section.

What it means for you now: set up as if licensing were already here. Train properly, keep records, have clear prescriber and complications arrangements, and choose premises that would pass an inspection. Clinics that do that will find the switch to licensing a formality.

CQC registration for an aesthetics clinic: when it applies

CQC registration depends on what you do, not on your job title or what you call your clinic. In England, CQC does not regulate the following when they are done purely to change appearance:

• Toxin and dermal filler injections
• Chemical peels
• Laser and IPL treatments such as hair removal or skin rejuvenation

You are likely to need registration if you do any of these:

• Surgical procedures, which CQC defines as cosmetic procedures where instruments or equipment go into the body, such as liposuction. Its surgical procedures guidance specifically excludes injections under the skin to enhance appearance.
• Treating a medical condition, such as toxin for excessive sweating (hyperhidrosis) or migraine. That counts as treatment of disease, disorder or injury.
• Medical weight loss, such as prescribing weight-loss injections. CQC treats this as a regulated activity.

Many clinics run regulated and unregulated treatments side by side, with only some services registered. Registration takes time and has fees, so if you are unsure whether a treatment you plan to offer is in scope, ask CQC before you start offering it. Red-tier procedures will also move into CQC regulation once the new rules arrive.

Outside England: the rules are different. In Scotland, independent clinics where doctors, dentists, nurses, midwives, pharmacists or dental care professionals provide services must register with Healthcare Improvement Scotland. Wales has its own special procedures licensing. Check the regulator for your nation.

Local authority licensing, including London special treatment licences

Your council may need to license you, depending on where you are and what you offer.

• Outside London: under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982, you and your premises must be registered with the council if you offer tattooing, semi-permanent skin colouring (which includes microblading and lip blush), cosmetic piercing, electrolysis or acupuncture. Councils generally say toxin and fillers fall outside this for now.
• In London: most boroughs (not the City of London) require a special treatment licence instead, covering a wider list of treatments. Each borough decides which treatments it covers, so ask yours. There are exemptions, for example where treatment is carried out by or under the supervision of a GMC-registered doctor, and some boroughs exempt members of approved professional bodies.

The gov.uk licence finder will point you to your council. Call the licensing team, tell them exactly which treatments you plan to offer, and get their answer in writing. Fees, inspections and renewal periods vary from council to council.

JCCP and Save Face registers, and the insurance you need

Voluntary registers

Neither register is a legal requirement, but both are accredited by the Professional Standards Authority, and clients increasingly check them.

• JCCP (the Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners) has two parts: Part A for regulated healthcare professionals (GMC, NMC, GDC, GPhC and HCPC registrants) and Part B for non-healthcare practitioners who meet its entry requirements, such as beauty therapists qualified at Level 4 and above.
• Save Face is a register of doctors, nurses and dentists who provide non-surgical cosmetic treatments, working from clinics that have been inspected against its standards.

Accreditation means the register itself meets the PSA's standards. It is not a licence, and it doesn't mean the PSA has assessed each individual practitioner.

Insurance

Aesthetics insurance is specialist, and an ordinary beauty policy may not cover injectables. When you compare policies, check:

• Every treatment you offer is named, and your qualifications for each are accepted
• It covers treatment risk (malpractice), plus public liability and product liability if you sell skincare
• Your prescriber arrangements meet the insurer's conditions
• How complications are handled, including access to hyaluronidase
• Whether it is written on a claims-made basis, and if so what run-off cover you need when you stop or switch

Prices vary a lot with treatments and qualifications, so get quotes for exactly what you plan to offer.

Premises, and naming your aesthetic clinic

Premises

You don't need your own building to start. Many practitioners begin by renting a treatment room in a salon, dental practice or clinic. Whatever you choose, it should have:

• A private treatment room with wipeable surfaces and a clinical hand-wash sink
• A medicines fridge with daily temperature records, if you store toxin
• Sharps bins, and a contract for clinical waste collection with a licensed carrier
• An emergency kit and a written plan for complications, including anaphylaxis and vascular occlusion
• A lease or room agreement that allows the treatments you plan to offer

Names for an aesthetic clinic

Some words need permission before Companies House will register them. Its list of sensitive words includes "nurse" and "nursing" (NMC approval needed), "health centre" and "dental". "Clinic" is not on it. Beyond that:

• Avoid toxin brand names, or "tox", in your clinic name. The ASA treats indirect references to a prescription-only medicine as advertising it, and a name appears in every post and ad you publish.
• Your own name, or your town plus a plain description, tends to be the easiest to find and trust.
• Check the trade mark register and that the domain and social handles are free before you commit.

Advertising rules, your website and booking

This is where most new aesthetics clinics get into trouble. The law bans advertising prescription-only medicines to the public (regulation 284 of the Human Medicines Regulations, explained in the MHRA's Blue Guide), and the CAP Code applies the same rule to all marketing, including your website and your own social posts. The ASA's guidance on advertising Botox is the one to read. In short:

• Promote the consultation, not the medicine: "a consultation for lines and wrinkles" rather than a named product.
• No toxin on your homepage, no toxin price promotions, and no hashtags such as #botox.
• "Wrinkle-relaxing injections" is treated as an indirect reference. "Anti-wrinkle treatments" is only acceptable if you also offer non-prescription options.
• No before and after photos for toxin. For fillers and other treatments, they must be genuine, unedited and backed by consent.

A website and booking that work together

Most clients find aesthetic clinics on Instagram, then check the website before they book. It should show who carries out each treatment and their qualifications, give each treatment its own page (written inside the rules above), and make booking a consultation easy, ideally with a deposit taken through a system such as Fresha, Phorest or Pabau. Our guide to aesthetic clinic software compares the options.

Set up your Google Business Profile at the same time, because people still search for treatments near them. Our pages on aesthetic clinic websites and aesthetic clinic marketing go into what that involves.