Is that laser Health Canada licensed? How to check before you buy
The short answer. Medical devices sold in Canada must hold a licence issued by Health Canada, and every licensed device is listed in a public database you can search yourself in about three minutes. Do it before the conversation about price, not after.
The licence attaches to the device and its manufacturer — not to the person selling it to you. A seller can be entirely legitimate and the specific unit still not be licensed for sale here.
This is the cheapest piece of diligence in the whole equipment process and the one most often skipped, usually because the buyer assumes someone else has already done it. An unlicensed device can leave you unable to use it, unable to insure it, and unable to get it serviced — three problems that arrive together, after the money has gone.
What “licensed” actually means
Health Canada regulates medical devices and issues licences for those sold in Canada. Devices are grouped into classes according to risk, and the class determines what the manufacturer had to demonstrate to obtain the licence. Where a particular aesthetic device sits depends on the device itself and the claims made for it, which is precisely why the public listing — not the brochure — is the authority.
Licensed devices appear in the Medical Devices Active Licence Listing, known as MDALL. “Active” is the operative word: a licence can lapse, and a device that was licensed once is not necessarily licensed now.
Separately, equipment that emits radiation carries obligations under the Radiation Emitting Devices Act, which governs the sale and import of the equipment itself. The two are different requirements and satisfying one says nothing about the other.
How to check, in three minutes
- Get the exact identifiers from the quote — the device name as the manufacturer writes it, the model, and the manufacturer’s legal name. A distributor’s marketing name for a machine is frequently not the licensed name.
- Search the active licence listing by device name, by manufacturer, or by licence number if you have been given one.
- Read what comes back. Confirm the manufacturer matches, the licence status is active, and the device identifier corresponds to the machine you are actually being sold rather than a sibling model.
- If nothing comes back, do not conclude anything yet — search again on the manufacturer alone, since the device may be listed under a name you were not given.
- Then ask the seller, in writing, for the licence number and the name of the licence holder, and check that number yourself.
Step five is the important one. A seller who can produce a licence number immediately is telling you something good about how they operate. A seller who deflects is telling you something too.
Four things buyers get wrong
| The mistake | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Confusing a company licence with a device licence | An establishment licence covers a company’s activities, such as importing or distributing. It is not a licence for any particular device. A seller can legitimately hold one while the machine in the quote is unlicensed |
| Treating a foreign clearance as a Canadian licence | Approval or clearance in another country is not a Canadian licence and does not transfer. This is the single most common misunderstanding in aesthetic equipment sales |
| Searching the brand on the brochure | Marketing names, regional names and licensed names diverge. Search the manufacturer as well, or you will find nothing and draw the wrong conclusion |
| Accepting a screenshot | A screenshot shows a moment that may have passed, and shows only what someone chose to show you. The listing is public. Search it yourself |
If the device is not listed
Not listed does not automatically mean dishonest. There are ordinary explanations: the model is sold here under a different licensed name, the licence is held by a parent company you were not told about, or the listing entry uses a spelling you did not try. Work through those first.
What it does mean is that you must resolve it before signing, in writing, and that the burden sits with the seller. If after all that the device genuinely has no active Canadian licence, the price stops being relevant — you would be buying equipment you may not be able to use in a clinic here, that your insurer may decline to cover, and that no authorised technician may be willing to service.
This applies with particular force to refurbished and grey-market units bought from outside Canada, which is where most of these situations originate. What actually drives a device quote covers the rest of that diligence.
Licensing the device is not permission to use it
A licensed device still tells you nothing about who may operate it on a client. That is decided by provincial regulators and professional orders, and it is a separate enquiry with separate consequences. In Quebec, the Collège des médecins du Québec has set out its position on aesthetic medicine and the responsibilities attaching to procedures that use energy-based devices — see the CMQ on aesthetic medicine.
Confirm scope of practice with the relevant order and with your own counsel before you commit to a modality. A supplier’s reassurance is not a regulatory position, however confidently it is offered.
Put it in the purchase file
Six things worth having on paper before you pay anything:
- The exact device name, model and manufacturer as licensed.
- The licence number and the name of the licence holder.
- Written confirmation that the unit being sold is that licensed device.
- For a used unit, who holds the licence now and whether the manufacturer will service a second-hand machine.
- Confirmation of the applicable radiation-emitting-device requirements for the equipment.
- The date you checked the listing yourself, and a copy of what you found.
That last line takes ten seconds and is the one that protects you later, because licence status is a moving target and what matters is what was true on the day you bought.
If you are earlier in the process, the equipment list sets out what a clinic actually needs, and financing a clinic covers paying for it.
Frequently asked
How do I check if a laser is Health Canada licensed?
Search the Medical Devices Active Licence Listing using the exact device name, model and manufacturer from the quote. Confirm the manufacturer matches, that the status is active, and that the entry corresponds to the machine you are being sold. Then ask the seller in writing for the licence number and check that number yourself.
Does FDA clearance mean a device is legal in Canada?
No. Clearance or approval in another country is not a Canadian licence and does not transfer. This is the most common misunderstanding in aesthetic equipment sales, and it is easy to check rather than assume.
What is the difference between a device licence and an establishment licence?
An establishment licence covers a company’s activities, such as importing or distributing. A device licence covers a specific device. A seller can hold the first while the machine you are being quoted has no licence of its own.
What if the device is not in the listing?
Do not assume the worst immediately: it may be listed under a different licensed name, under a parent company, or under a spelling you did not try. Search the manufacturer alone, then require the seller to supply the licence number in writing and verify it. If there is genuinely no active licence, the price is no longer the question.
Does a licensed device mean anyone can operate it?
No. Device licensing and scope of practice are separate. Who may perform a treatment is decided by provincial regulators and professional orders, and must be confirmed with them and with your own counsel.
Next in this series
Sources
- Health Canada, Medical Devices Active Licence Listing (MDALL). Checked 30 August 2026.
- Government of Canada, Radiation Emitting Devices Act. Checked 30 August 2026.
- Collège des médecins du Québec, Médecine esthétique: observations et responsabilités. Checked 30 August 2026.
General information for people buying equipment for a clinic in Canada — not legal, medical or regulatory advice. Licence status changes, and this page is not a substitute for searching the Health Canada listing yourself at the time of purchase or for advice from your own counsel. Nothing here is a representation of the financial performance of any New Age Spa location or franchise. It is not an offer to sell a franchise; where the law requires one, an offer is made only by disclosure document.
