License Lookup: New York
Office of the Professions. Search by name; see status, dates and any discipline.
The Rules, State by State
Where you have surgery decides which rules protect you. Here is what each of the seven states where Goals operates requires for liposuction and fat transfer in an office, what Florida requires, and how to look up any surgeon’s license. Goals follows the strictest version of these rules in every clinic.
Seven states · Links to the current rule text below
In short
Is There a Legal Limit on Liposuction?
Not a hard cap, in the seven states where Goals operates. New York guidance and California regulation say a case of 5,000 cc or more of total aspirate belongs in a hospital or an accredited setting.² ⁸ Maryland treats liposuction over 1,000 cc as cosmetic surgery.⁵ Florida caps office liposuction at 4,000 cc of fat.¹⁰ Every state publishes a free license search, linked below.
First, the surprise
What Most States Do Not Have
No state where Goals operates sets a hard legal cap on how much fat can be removed in one session. New York and California set thresholds for where a large case must be done. Maryland uses volume to decide what counts as cosmetic surgery. Florida is the exception, with a cap written into its rule.¹⁰ The limit that protects you most comes from the surgeon’s judgment and the professional advisories, which say large cases belong in a hospital or an accredited facility with overnight care.¹²
At a glance
Seven States, Side by Side
| Volume rule | Office surgery and anesthesia rule | |
|---|---|---|
| New York | No cap. Health Department guidance: no more than 5,000 cc of aspirate in an office unless the patient is monitored overnight in a hospital-type facility.² | Any office liposuction is office-based surgery and must happen in an accredited practice, with adverse events reported within three business days. Only liposuction under 500 cc of fat on local anesthesia is exempt.¹ |
| New Jersey | No numeric limit. | Rules for surgery, special procedures and anesthesia performed in an office setting, N.J.A.C. 13:35-4A.³ |
| Pennsylvania | No numeric limit. | The state licenses ambulatory surgical facilities. Facilities using only local anesthesia register and must be accredited. A physician’s office is excluded unless it has a distinct surgical unit.⁴ |
| Maryland | Liposuction under 1,000 cc of aspirate does not count as a cosmetic surgical procedure. Above that, the cosmetic surgery rules apply.⁵ | Cosmetic surgical facilities are regulated under Health-General Title 19, Subtitle 3C.⁵ |
| Georgia | No numeric limit. | The medical board publishes office-based surgery guidelines (2019) covering anesthesia, equipment and patient selection in physician offices. They are guidance, not a numeric volume cap.⁶ |
| Texas | No numeric limit. | Office-based anesthesia is regulated by the Texas Medical Board: standards, requirements by level of anesthesia, registration and inspections, 22 TAC Chapter 173.⁷ |
| California | 5,000 cc or more of total aspirate, or any liposuction under general anesthesia or IV sedation, must be done in a hospital or an approved accredited setting.⁸ | The same rule sets extraction and post-operative care standards for liposuction.⁸ |
| Florida, for comparison | A maximum of 4,000 cc of fat in an office. Gluteal fat under the skin only, ultrasound guidance, and three BBLs per surgeon per day.¹⁰ ⁹ | The surgeon must be present and may not delegate fat extraction or injection. One patient at a time. Offices are inspected unless accredited, Statute 458.328.¹¹ |
Volumes are total aspirate, fat plus fluid, unless the rule says fat. Rules change. Links to the current text are in the sources. This is general information, not legal advice.
License lookups
Check a License in Any of the Seven
Every state medical board publishes a free search. Look for an active license in the state where your surgery happens.
License Lookup: New Jersey
Division of Consumer Affairs. Choose the profession, then search by name or license number.
License Lookup: Pennsylvania
PALS, the state licensing system. Shows license status and disciplinary actions.
License Lookup: Maryland
Board of Physicians practitioner search, by last name or license number.
License Lookup: Georgia
Composite Medical Board. Shows issue date, expiration and any public orders.
License Lookup: Texas
Texas Medical Board. Physician profiles with license status and board actions.
License Lookup: California
Department of Consumer Affairs. Pick Medical Board of California, then search by name.
How to Verify a Plastic Surgeon
The four checks, in order, with what a good result looks like.
What Goals does
One Standard in Every State
Awake, Under Local Anesthesia
No general anesthetic, so the rules built around sedation rarely apply to us. We accredit every room anyway.
Volume One Session Can Carry
We stay well inside the professional advisories. Large plans are staged over more than one day, never forced into one.¹²
AAAHC in Every Clinic
Accreditation is the law for office surgery in New York. We hold it in all seven states.
Fat Under the Skin Only
The task-force rule, and Florida’s law, followed everywhere we operate.¹³ ¹⁰
FAQ
Questions About the Rules
Not in the seven states where Goals operates. New York guidance and California regulation set 5,000 cc of total aspirate as the point where a case must move to a hospital or accredited setting. Florida caps office liposuction at 4,000 cc of fat.
Yes. Office liposuction and fat transfer are office-based surgery under New York law, which means an accredited practice and adverse-event reporting. Goals’ New York clinics hold that accreditation.
Florida, after its 2019 to 2023 reforms: a fat cap, ultrasound guidance, three BBLs per surgeon per day, and a surgeon who may not delegate. We follow those standards in every state.
Yes. Fat under the skin only, a surgeon who stays in the room, one patient at a time, and an accredited facility are our rules everywhere.
Everything the cannula removes: fat plus the tumescent fluid that was put in. Five liters of aspirate is not five liters of fat.
Ask which body accredits it, then search that body’s public directory. AAAHC publishes one online. Our safety page explains how.
Related guides
Keep Reading
How to Verify a Plastic Surgeon
Four free checks in ten minutes, with the links.
The BBL Death Rate, Explained
Every figure, sourced, and what changed when the fat stayed under the skin.
Our Safety Standards
Accreditation, vetting, training and the limits we keep, in writing.
Get started
Ask Us About Your State
Free consultation, no obligation. Ask which rules apply at the clinic you choose, and how we go beyond them.
Prefer to talk now? (833) 462-5769
References
Sources
The numbered references for the figures and rules cited on this page, checked October 17, 2026.
- New York Public Health Law §230-d, Office-based surgery: accreditation of practices performing office-based surgery, adverse event reporting, and the exemption for liposuction under 500 cc of fat on unsupplemented local anesthesia.
- New York State Department of Health. Office-Based Surgery guidance on the performance of liposuction and fat grafting (revised April 2024).
- New Jersey Administrative Code 13:35-4A, Surgery, Special Procedures and Anesthesia Services Performed in an Office Setting.
- Pennsylvania Code, Title 28, Chapter 551, Ambulatory Surgical Facilities: general information, licensure and registration.
- Maryland Code, Health-General §19-3C-01, definitions for cosmetic surgical facilities, excluding liposuction that removes less than 1,000 cubic centimeters of aspirate.
- Georgia Composite Medical Board. Office-based surgery guidelines (updated April 15, 2019).
- Texas Administrative Code, Title 22, Part 9, Chapter 173, Office-Based Anesthesia Services: standards, requirements by level of anesthesia, registration and inspections.
- California Code of Regulations, Title 16, §1356.6, Liposuction Extraction and Postoperative Care Standards.
- Florida Administrative Code, Emergency Rule 64B8ER22-3, Standard of Care for Office Surgery (effective June 14, 2022).
- Florida Administrative Code, Rule 64B8-9.009, Standard of Care for Office Surgery.
- Florida Statutes §458.328 (2023), Office surgeries, as amended by CS/CS/HB 1471, effective July 1, 2023.
- Iverson RE, Lynch DJ; American Society of Plastic Surgeons Committee on Patient Safety. Practice advisory on liposuction. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2004;113(5):1478-1490.
- Multi-Society Task Force for Safety in Gluteal Fat Grafting. Urgent warning to surgeons performing fat grafting to the buttocks (July 2018).
This page is general information published by Goals Aesthetics & Plastic Surgery. It is not legal or medical advice. Rules and statutes change; the linked texts are the current authority. Every operation carries risk, and results vary from person to person.