Gyms and trainers
How a gym can offer a peptide program
A gym or personal trainer cannot prescribe prescription peptides, and federal law lets prescription drugs be dispensed only on a prescription. In states such as Texas, Florida, California and New York, diagnosing, treating or prescribing without a license is a crime. What a gym can do is offer a program in which a licensed clinician evaluates each member and decides whether to prescribe, and a licensed pharmacy ships to the member. Members who compete in tested sport need a warning first: many popular peptides are banned by WADA and the NCAA.
The structure
Who does what in a peptide program
Three separate parties, so that every medical decision is made by someone licensed to make it. Whether a given program is lawful also depends on state rules, which is why each structure goes through healthcare counsel before launch.
Your business
Brings the audience, refers clients to the medical practice, and handles everything that is not medical. How your business is paid, and whether the program can carry your brand, are set by healthcare counsel for each state; in California, for example, a non-physician business may not offer or advertise medical services.
A licensed medical practice
A clinician licensed in, or registered with, each patient's state evaluates every patient and decides whether to prescribe. Every medical question goes to the clinician.
A licensed pharmacy
Fills each prescription for the individual patient and ships it to them. Your business never buys, holds or resells medication.
Your part
What you do
- Introduce the program and send interested members to it
- Run the marketing, with claims you can support, under an arrangement your counsel approves
- Keep coaching, training and nutrition guidance within your certification
- Send every medical question to the clinician
Not your part
What you never do
- Recommend a peptide, a dose or a schedule to a member
- Buy, store, sell or hand out vials, including research-labeled ones
- Promise results, or describe what a peptide will do for someone
- Let a staff member answer a medical question
The rules
The rules that matter for gyms and trainers
State law varies. These are sourced examples, not a survey of every state.
Practicing medicine without a license is a crime
In Texas, Florida, California and New York the legal definition of practicing medicine covers diagnosing, treating and prescribing, and practicing without a license is a crime. Texas makes it a third-degree felony with each day a separate offense, Florida a third-degree felony, and California and New York also punish aiding it. The American Council on Exercise, a certifying body, says even recommending, prescribing, selling or supplying supplements is outside a fitness professional's scope.
- Texas Occupations Code 151.002 and 151.056
- Texas Occupations Code 155.001
- Texas Occupations Code 165.152
- Florida Statutes 458.305
- Florida Statutes 458.327
- California Business and Professions Code 2052
- New York Education Law 6521
- New York Education Law 6512
- American Council on Exercise, nutrition scope statement (certifying body)
- FD&C Act 503(b)(1) (21 U.S.C. 353)
Tested athletes: many peptides are banned
WADA's 2026 Prohibited List bans BPC-157 at all times under S0, and lists growth hormone secretagogues and releasing factors such as ipamorelin, CJC-1295, sermorelin and tesamorelin, and TB-500, under S2. WADA's 2027 list, in force January 1, 2027, names peptides in general as examples of prohibited non-approved substances. The NCAA's 2026-27 list names BPC-157 and TB-500. GLP-1 drugs such as semaglutide and tirzepatide are not prohibited, but WADA monitors them. A prescription alone does not make a prohibited substance permitted. A tested athlete needs an approved Therapeutic Use Exemption, which USADA says is unlikely for BPC-157, and athletes are strictly liable for what is in their system.
Every business type
Rules that apply to every peptide program
The prescriber must be licensed where the patient is
A clinician who treats a patient by telehealth generally must be licensed in the patient's state. Some states, such as Florida, let out-of-state clinicians register instead. Texas treats an out-of-state clinician's care of a Texas patient as practicing medicine in Texas, and California requires documented patient consent before care by telehealth.
Claims need evidence, and prices must be complete
The FTC requires competent and reliable scientific evidence for health claims. It has acted against a physician-run clinic over unsupported disease claims, and in 2025 against a telehealth weight-loss company whose advertised prices left out the drug, the labs and the provider visits.
Never borrow a brand name or call a pharmacy "FDA approved"
FDA has warned a med spa for listing a compounded drug under an approved brand name, and an IV clinic for describing its source as an "FDA-approved pharmacy." Compounded drugs are not FDA approved, and pharmacies are licensed by states, not approved by FDA.
How compounding pharmacies work, and what they can make, is on what a 503A compounding pharmacy is. The full launch structure is in the guide to starting a peptide program, and medical direction is covered on do you need a medical director.
Planning a peptide program for your gym?
Tell us what you do on site and where your clients live. We answer in one business day, and every structure goes through healthcare counsel before launch.
Frequently asked
Gyms and trainers: questions
Can a gym sell peptides?
Not directly. Prescription peptides must be prescribed by a licensed clinician and filled by a licensed pharmacy, and in states such as Texas, Florida, California and New York, treating or prescribing without a license is a crime. A gym can offer a program run through a licensed medical practice, in which the gym never prescribes, sells or holds medication.
Can a personal trainer recommend peptides?
No. Recommending a prescription drug, a dose or a schedule can amount to practicing medicine, which in Texas, Florida, California and New York is a crime without a license. The American Council on Exercise says even recommending or selling supplements is outside a fitness professional's scope. A trainer can point a client to a licensed clinician.
Are peptides banned in sports?
Many are. WADA's 2026 list bans BPC-157 under S0 and lists ipamorelin, CJC-1295, sermorelin, tesamorelin and TB-500 under S2, and the NCAA's 2026-27 list names BPC-157 and TB-500. GLP-1 drugs are not prohibited but are monitored. A prescription alone does not make a banned substance permitted; a tested athlete needs an approved Therapeutic Use Exemption.
Does my gym need a medical director?
A telehealth program run through a licensed medical practice is supervised by that practice. Your staff should not inject, dose or hand out medication; if you want any in-person medical service at the gym, it must be provided by licensed clinicians under your state's rules, and counsel should set it up.
Nothing on this page is legal advice. State law varies and changes; this page was last checked against its sources on 18 October 2026. ConduitMD provides software and management services to an independent medical practice and its partners; it does not prescribe, compound or dispense.