Certification standards
What board certified actually requires, and why it is the floor, not the ceiling.
Any physician with a medical license can legally perform cosmetic surgery in New York. Only about one in five who do is a board-certified plastic surgeon. This page explains the difference, and states the exact bar every surgeon in this registry has cleared.
Only about one in five doctors performing cosmetic surgery is a board-certified plastic surgeon.
The other four are legal too. That is the problem this page exists to solve.
The problem
The title on the door is not a credential.
Cosmetic surgeon, aesthetic physician, beauty doctor: none of these titles is regulated. A physician trained in an unrelated specialty can take a weekend course, lease a laser, and advertise surgery. The advertisement looks identical to a specialist's. The training behind it is not.
Board certification exists to make the difference checkable. The American Board of Plastic Surgery is the only plastic surgery board recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties, and its requirements are public, examined, and continuously maintained. That is why it is the first thing this registry verifies, and the first thing we suggest you verify yourself.
What certification takes
The ladder behind the three words.
Board certified compresses a decade of examined training into a title. Uncompressed, it looks like this.
Medical school, then surgical residency
ABPS certification requires graduation from an accredited medical school followed by at least six years of accredited surgical residency training, with plastic surgery as its core.
Written and oral board examinations
Candidates pass a comprehensive written examination, then an oral examination built on their own consecutively collected surgical cases, defended before examiners.
Ongoing recertification
Certification is not permanent by default. Diplomates maintain it through continuous certification requirements, so the credential reflects current practice, not a distant achievement.
The facial plastic pathway
For the face and neck, the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery certifies surgeons who trained in otolaryngology, that is head and neck surgery, and completed advanced facial plastic training. These are the registry's two core pathways; oculofacial, dermatology, and hair restoration subspecialists are held to the same verify-at-source bar for their own boards.
The five pathways
Every certification in the registry, verified at its source.
The registry spans surgery, hair restoration, and skin medicine, so it recognizes five certification pathways. Each listing names its board, and each board was checked against its own records.
American Board of Plastic Surgery
Plastic surgery of the face and body
American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Facial plastic surgery
American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Oculofacial surgery
American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery
Hair restoration surgery
Board-certified dermatologists
Skin and hair medicine
Criteria for inclusion
The bar a surgeon clears to appear here.
What we do not consider: marketing budget, social following, self-applied titles, or willingness to pay. None of it moves a listing one pixel.
See who clears itBoard certification, confirmed at the source
Certification by the American Board of Plastic Surgery or the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, matching the work the surgeon performs. We confirm it against official board and institutional records, never against a bio.
A verifiable New York affiliation
An active, official affiliation with a New York hospital or academic medical center, confirmed on the institution's own pages. Institutional affiliation matters because hospitals review outcomes and can act on them.
Accredited operating settings
New York State requires office-based surgery to be performed in accredited facilities, and hospital operating rooms carry their own accreditation. Ask any surgeon where your procedure happens; every listing here practices within that accredited system.
Nothing bought, nothing sold
No surgeon has paid to appear, to rank higher, or to be described favorably, and none can. Listings are compiled and maintained editorially, and a surgeon who asks to be removed is removed.
Credential questions
Certification, explained.
The questions patients search most about credentials, answered in full view. Nothing folded away.
Ask a different questionWhat does board certified plastic surgeon actually mean?
It means the American Board of Plastic Surgery has certified the surgeon after at least six years of accredited surgical residency, written and oral examinations built on their own cases, and ongoing recertification. It is the credential the American Board of Medical Specialties recognizes for plastic surgery of the face and body.
Is a cosmetic surgeon the same as a plastic surgeon?
No, and the difference is the point. Cosmetic surgeon is a marketing title almost any licensed physician can adopt, with or without surgical residency training. Board-certified plastic surgeon is a protected, examined credential. Roughly one in five doctors performing cosmetic procedures holds it.
How do I verify a surgeon's certification myself?
Check the certifying board directly: the American Board of Plastic Surgery and the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery both offer public verification, and certificationmatters.org covers all ABMS boards. Then confirm the hospital affiliation on the hospital's own website. It takes five minutes and outranks any advertisement.
Why do hospital privileges matter for cosmetic surgery?
A hospital that grants privileges has reviewed the surgeon's training and outcomes and re-reviews them continuously, and it is where you would be cared for in the rare event a procedure needs escalation. A surgeon with no hospital relationship answers to no institution.
Does board certification guarantee a good result?
No credential can. Certification is the floor: it guarantees training, examination, and accountability. Above that floor, results track the surgeon's focus and volume in your specific procedure, which is exactly what our guides teach you to evaluate in consultation.
The registry
Every surgeon listed has already cleared this bar.
The registry is reviewed on an ongoing basis, and listings are corrected or removed on request at info@nycbeautysurgeon.com. Your consultation can skip the credential check and start at the questions that actually separate qualified surgeons.
Browse the registry