Scotland became the first part of the UK to license non-surgical cosmetic procedures in May, when the Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Act received Royal Assent. The Act creates criminal offences for providers who break its rules. It also bans some procedures outright for under-18s and says treatments must take place in approved premises. England has promised a scheme of its own. More than a year after the government published its plans, it still hasn’t said when.

Westminster is under pressure to move. In February, MPs on the Women and Equalities Committee called for mandatory licensing of lower-risk procedures and an immediate ban on liquid BBLs, saying regulation had failed to keep pace with demand. Demand isn’t slowing either. The committee’s report cites evidence that 52 per cent of women aged 18 to 34 would consider a cosmetic procedure in future.

That leaves owners of clinics and salons in England in an awkward spot. A device bought this year will still be on finance, and hopefully still earning, when the new rules arrive. So payback is only half the question before signing. The other half is whether you’ll still be able to use and insure the device once a licence is required.

What England’s scheme is likely to look like

The Department of Health and Social Care published its plans in August 2025, two years after consulting on them. Practitioners would need mandatory training and indemnity insurance. Premises would have to meet hygiene standards, and every procedure would be limited to over-18s unless there’s medical oversight.

Treatments would be graded green, amber or red by risk. Green covers lower-risk work such as microneedling and IPL, which any practitioner could carry out with a personal licence. A licence held by the business alone wouldn’t be enough. Amber covers botulinum toxin and semi-permanent dermal fillers, which non-healthcare practitioners could still perform, but only under the oversight of a named, regulated healthcare professional. Red procedures, including non-surgical BBLs and thread lifts, would be limited to regulated healthcare professionals working from CQC-registered premises.

Councils would issue the green and amber licences. There’s still no timetable, though some lawyers expect the scheme to be formalised by mid-2027, possibly with a transition period like Scotland’s.

Why licensing belongs in the buying decision

Most owners file licensing under paperwork to deal with later. If you’re about to buy a device, it’s a buying question today.

A professional laser or IPL system is often the biggest single investment a clinic or salon makes, and most are financed over four or five years. The rules on who can use it, and where, will probably change before the last payment goes out. Training that came with the machine may not count once licences are personal. Insurers will also look harder at the device and the evidence behind it once cover becomes a legal requirement.

Nobody yet knows exactly which courses will qualify. That’s the reason to ask the questions below now, while you still have a choice of supplier.

Five checks before you sign

1. Ask what the training actually covers

A certificate of attendance proves you were in the room. It doesn’t show what you were taught or to what standard, and under a personal licence that gap could matter. For lasers and IPL, ask whether the course includes or sits alongside a recognised laser safety qualification such as Core of Knowledge. Get the syllabus in writing.

2. Check the device’s paperwork

Ask for the UKCA or CE documentation and for the clinical studies behind any results quoted in the brochure. Your insurer is likely to want the same things. If a supplier takes a fortnight to find them, expect the after-sales service to run at a similar pace.

3. Find out what happens when it breaks

Warranty length and service intervals are easy to compare. Repair response times are where suppliers really differ, so get them in writing and ask whether you’ll have a loan unit while yours is away. A financed machine sitting in a workshop still costs you a repayment every month.

4. Get a cost per treatment

Two machines with the same list price can cost very different amounts to run. Consumables and handpiece replacements are usually where the gap opens up. Ask each supplier for a cost per treatment in writing and build it into your pricing before you commit.

5. Ask who helps with the safety paperwork

Lasers and IPL normally need local rules, a risk assessment and access to a Laser Protection Adviser. Setting that up alone can take weeks. A supplier that does it with you saves the time and leaves you with the file an insurer, and eventually a licensing officer, will ask to see.

Running the numbers

Owners often expect the maths to be harder than it is. What decides it is how busy the device is.

Take an illustrative laser hair removal system costing £25,000, financed over 48 months at about 9 per cent APR. That’s roughly £620 a month. Servicing, a higher insurance premium and consumables might add another £150, so call the fixed cost £770.

Price an average session at £75. Take off around £10 for practitioner time and consumables, and each one contributes about £65. The device breaks even at roughly 12 sessions a month, which is three a week. At two a day, or around 40 a month, it brings in about £2,600, leaving £1,830 after fixed costs.

Laser hair removal helps itself here, because clients usually book a course of six to eight sessions. When comparing laser hair removal devices, put each supplier’s real figures into the same sum. A cheaper machine with pricier consumables or slow repairs can easily cost more over five years than a better-supported one.

Getting ahead of the rules

Put the same five questions to every supplier on your shortlist, whether that’s a UK distributor such as Aesthetic Medical Partnership or a manufacturer selling direct, and compare the answers side by side.

England’s scheme won’t arrive overnight, and some of the detail will shift before it does. Scotland has already shown roughly what it will look like, though. Buying with that in mind costs very little now. Finding out later that a financed machine doesn’t fit the rules costs a great deal more.

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