Currently anyone appropriately trained and insured. Cosmetic laser was deregulated from CQC in England in 2010, leaving local-authority rules (such as London’s special treatment licences) and insurer requirements as the practical gatekeepers. England’s proposed licensing places non-ablative laser hair removal in its lowest (‘green’) tier, and Scotland’s 2027 licences will cover designated laser procedures.
The regulatory patchwork explains the market. There is no national practitioner licence yet, but a working lattice of local-authority premises rules, insurer minimums (Core of Knowledge plus Level 4 as the emerging floor) and device-classification law. In practice you train to the regulated standard, appoint an LPA, write Local Rules and check your council’s registration scheme. Do that, and the coming licences, English or Scottish, become administrative rather than existential. All four steps are covered across our laser pathway and governance course.