What are state medical board advertising rules?

Every state licenses physicians through a medical board or similar body, and dentists, nurses, chiropractors and other professions through their own boards. These boards discipline licensees for unprofessional conduct, and false or misleading advertising is commonly listed as unprofessional conduct in state law or board rules.

Typical rules include: no statements that are false, misleading or not supported by evidence; no guarantees of cures or results; no claims of superiority that cannot be verified; accurate use of titles, degrees and specialty claims; and limits on saying "board certified" unless the certifying body meets the state's standard, often with a requirement to name it. Some states regulate testimonials, before-and-after photos, discounts, fee advertising or the identification of the licensee responsible for an ad. Some require advertising records to be kept for a set period.

Boards usually act through complaints, so a competitor or patient complaint about an ad can start an investigation.

Practices often assume an agency is responsible for compliance. In most states the licensee remains accountable for advertising done on their behalf. Another mistake is copying ad language from a practice in another state, where the rules differ. Specialty-specific rules also matter: plastic surgery and aesthetic claims, for example, often draw scrutiny on board certification and results.

Board rules sit alongside federal law, such as the FTC Act, and platform policies. This glossary entry is a summary, not legal advice. Rules change through legislation and rulemaking, so check the current text from your state board and confirm with your compliance or legal team. A simple control helps: one named person at the practice signs off on every new ad, bio and landing page, and the approved version is saved with the date it went live.