Esthetician Cheat Sheet for Virginia
Requirements for Supervising Physician agreements in Virginia, plus a free agreement builder tailored to Virginia law.
Provider supervision requirements in Virginia
Updated 2026-08-12
Provided for educational and research purposes only — this is not legal advice. Laws and regulations change frequently, and this content may contain errors or omissions. Always confirm current requirements with a licensed attorney before relying on this for compliance decisions.
No provider type below has a codified chart-review percentage, countersignature rule, or numeric proximity radius — all are left to the practice agreement. CPOM (ownership) is governed by Title 13.1's PC/PLLC statutes, which explicitly list APRNs (NP/CRNA/CNM/CNS) as eligible independent owners but do not enumerate PAs — the PA ownership pathway is an inference from that omission, not a confirmed holding. Virginia has no independent corporate-practice-of-medicine common-law doctrine (a 1992 AG opinion, secondary-sourced only).
Esthetician
Licensed estheticians/master estheticians (Va. Code Title 54.1 Ch. 7; 18VAC41-70) practice independently within their scope — master estheticians additionally perform chemical exfoliation and microdermabrasion. No physician involvement required. § 54.1-700 defines 'esthetics' as 'nonlaser' devices only and excludes any practice of medicine — laser/IPL is excluded by statute itself, not merely supervision-gated. Physician-delegated laser hair removal (18VAC85-20-91) is performed under the Board of Medicine's delegation authority, not under the cosmetology license — the esthetics license never confers laser authority.
Proximity
physician-delegated laser hair removal (outside the esthetics license's own scope): Available remotely (no on-site requirement)
18VAC85-20-91: the delegating physician must be 'readily available' at the time the procedure is performed — physical presence is not required, but the physician must personally see/evaluate any patient who develops a complication. No fixed mile/minute radius or ratio cap is codified.Chart review
Not codified — left to the practice agreement
Prescriptive authority
Covered by practice agreement · no controlled-substance authority
Estheticians do not have prescriptive authority and do not hold DEA registration; this category does not apply to their scope of practice.Practice ownership (CPOM)
Non-licensee ownership permitted — Estheticians are not licensed under Title 54.1 Chapter 29 and are not mentioned in § 13.1-543 (Professional Corporations) or § 13.1-1102 (PLLCs) — an esthetician cannot be a shareholder/member of the clinical PC/PLLC performing delegated medical procedures. A non-clinical business (basic esthetics/skincare, or an MSO structure) may be esthetician-owned without restriction.
Business ownership and clinical-procedure authority are separate questions.Supervision ratio
Not codified — left to the practice agreement
Meeting cadence
Not codified — left to the practice agreement
Written agreement
Not required
Unconditional for the esthetician's own licensed scope. Laser and IPL work is excluded from that scope by statute, so the esthetics license does not reach it regardless of any agreement.Legal sources
Va. Code §§ 13.1-543, 13.1-1102 — Professional Corporation / PLLC ownership eligibility
Va. Code § 54.1-2902 — Unlawful to Practice Without a License
$400–$600/mo
Estimated Esthetician supervision cost in Virginia
Available Supervising Physicians in Virginia
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