Can Two Licensed Professionals in Different Fields Form a PLLC Together in New York?

Two healthcare providers walk into a meeting. One is a licensed nurse practitioner. The other is an occupational therapist. They have a shared vision, a client base that overlaps, and a business plan ready to go. The only question standing between them and opening their doors together is a legal one: can they actually form a single PLLC to run their practice together?

In New York state, the answer depends entirely on which professions are involved. Getting this wrong at the formation stage does not just delay the formation of your practice, it can dash your dreams entirely, especially if you’re licensed in professions that cannot be combined. This is definitely not a mistake you want to make at the outset because it will undoubtedly result in wasted time, effort, and financial investment.

WHAT THE DEFAULT RULE ACTUALLY IS

The starting point under New York law is more permissive than many people expect. A PLLC can be formed to practice more than one licensed profession, provided that the members of the entity hold the appropriate licenses for each profession under which they intend to provide services. The NYS Education Department's (NYSED) Office of the Professions illustrates this with a helpful example: a hypothetical PLLC with three members, an acupuncturist, an occupational therapist, and a physical therapist, can be authorized to provide all three of those services through a single entity, as long as each member holds the relevant license and only professionals licensed in one of those authorized areas can become a member of the entity.

The key principle is this: a PLLC can only provide services that at least one of its licensed members is authorized to practice, and only professionals who are licensed in one of those authorized fields can hold a membership interest. You cannot bring in a colleague to co-own a practice if their license does not match one of the professions under which the PLLC is authorized to provide services.

THE IMPORTANT EXCEPTIONS: PROFESSIONS THAT CANNOT BE COMBINED

Here is where the rules become more restrictive and where the most common mistakes happen. Under New York law, a PLLC cannot be formed to practice more than one of any of the following professions:

Medicine,
Law,
Certified Public Accountancy,
Professional Engineering,
Architectural services,
Land surveying,
Landscape architecture services,
Geological services,
Dentistry,
Veterinary medicine,
Licensed clinical social work,
Mental health counseling,
Psychoanalysis,
Creative arts therapy,
Marriage and family therapy, and
Applied behavior analysis.

This means that these professions cannot operate together, nor can any of them operate with any other professions that are not listed above (e.g., Occupational Therapy). A physician and a lawyer cannot form a single PLLC together. A licensed clinical social worker and a licensed mental health counselor cannot own a PLLC together. A marriage and family therapist and an occupational therapist equally, cannot own a PLLC together. Each of the professions listed above requires its own separate entity.

Equally important, and directly tied to this restriction, is what Section 1207 of the New York LLC Law provides with respect to membership: when a PLLC is formed to practice one of these restricted professions, every single member of that entity must be licensed in that same profession. There is no room for a co-owner from a different field, even a related one (e.g., mental health counseling and psychoanalysis).

THE DESIGN PROFESSIONS: A NOTABLE EXCEPTION TO THE EXCEPTION (EXCLUDES PLLCs)

There is one category of professions where the rules work in the opposite way. Architects, professional engineers, landscape architects, land surveyors, and geologists may all practice together under a different entity, known as a design professional corporation (DPC), even though they hold licenses in different fields. Keep in mind here that this is not true for PLLCs. These professionals cannot join together under a PLLC, but must use a DPC.

This multi-discipline exception is written directly into both the business corporation law and the NYSED guidelines for these design professions. A firm built on a combination of engineering and architecture, for example, is a fully permissible structure under New York law.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOUR PRACTICE, IN PRACTICE

If you and a colleague from a different profession are hoping to build a shared practice in New York, the first step is to identify both of your professions and check whether they fall into the restricted category. If both of your professions are on that restricted list, your options are very limited. You would each need to form your own separate PLLC and then explore other ways to support one another’s practices. However, remember that there are strict rules on fee splitting for licensed professionals and you need to ensure that you are complying with those rules.

If your professions are not on the restricted list, a combined PLLC may be entirely feasible. However, you still need to be careful about how the entity is structured and named, since the Articles of Organization must accurately identify all professions the entity intends to practice, and NYSED will review those details before issuing a Certificate of Authority.

In conclusion, New York does allow two licensed professionals in different fields to form a single PLLC, but only if neither profession falls within the restricted categories defined above. The design professions are the one notable exception, but not under a PLLC structure. Before you move forward with any multi-professional entity structure, it is worth having an attorney review your specific situation to make sure the structure you are planning is actually permitted under New York law.

HOW WE CAN HELP

At Carbone Law, we work with licensed professionals navigating the complexities of forming a private practice in New York, including multi-member and multi-disciplinary structures. We can review your specific situation, advise you on whether a shared PLLC is permitted for your professions, and guide you through the NYSED approval process from start to finish. If you have questions, please give us a call at (212) 547-8857 or schedule a consultation online and we would be happy to work with you. Our experienced business attorneys are here to provide the advice you need.

Disclaimer: This blog post and similar posts are not to be considered as providing legal advice. The discussion here is meant for educational and informational purposes only and shall not create an attorney-client relationship with the readers of this content.