What limits does each state place on a med spa's business structure
The same question, answered for 51 states from each state’s own law. States disagree on this, which is the point — an answer that is right in one is wrong next door. Every entry below is a statute or board rule we verified, most recently Sep 8, 2026.
Ownership · part of The Practice Perimeter
| State | What its rule says | Cited to |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | The cited rules do not settle this — they only have the Board keep a permanent file on professional corporations incorporated by physicians or osteopaths; none prescribes an ownership form for a med spa, though the treatments are the practice of medicine. | Ala. Admin. Code r. 540-X-1 (Board duties — professional corporations) Sep 4, 2026 |
| Alaska | One or more persons, each of whom is licensed to render a professional service in the state, may incorporate a professional corporation by filing articles of incorporation that include the name of the profession to be practiced, the names and addresses of all original shareholders, directors, and officers, and the… | AS 10.45.010 Sep 8, 2026 |
| Arizona | No single structure is required — Arizona has no med-spa license and no ban on non-physician ownership; if you organize as a professional corporation, non-licensees may hold at most 49% of the voting shares unless the licensing authority sets another figure. | A.R.S. §10-2220(A)(4) Jul 26, 2026 |
| Arkansas | The cited rules don't mandate a particular entity. But a Medical Corporation Act corporation must have only licensed physicians as officers, directors and shareholders, and no unlicensed person may own, manage, control it or hold a proxy. | Ark. Code Ann. § 4-29-307 (Medical Corporation Act — officers, directors, and shareholders) Sep 8, 2026 |
| California | The cited rules do not settle this — they govern ownership, not entity type: in a medical corporation, shares start with physicians, and only enumerated licensed professions may hold any, capped at 49% combined and never outnumbering the physician owners. | Cal. Corp. Code §13401.5(a) Sep 1, 2026 |
| Colorado | Colorado bars a physician from practicing as the employee of any corporation other than a professional service corporation, whose shareholders must be actively practicing Colorado physicians (physician assistants may hold a minority). | Colo. Rev. Stat. § 12-240-121(1)(g)(I) Sep 2, 2026 |
| Connecticut | The cited rules do not settle this — no particular entity is mandated; they only require the spa to employ or contract a physician, PA, or APRN, and, if a professional corporation is used, its shareholders must all be licensed to render that same service. | Conn. Gen. Stat. §33-182c(a) (Organization) Sep 3, 2026 |
| Delaware | The cited rules do not settle this — they only say that if you use a professional corporation, every shareholder must be licensed in the same service, and medicine may combine only with podiatry. No cited rule mandates a structure for a med spa. | 8 Del. C. §603(2) Sep 3, 2026 |
| District of Columbia | The cited rules do not settle which entity form a med spa must use — they establish only that a professional corporation may render professional services solely through licensed people, and its unlicensed employees may not perform those services. | D.C. Code §29-505(a) (Purpose for organization; powers authorized) Sep 3, 2026 |
| Florida | No set corporate form — Florida requires each location of an entity that provides health care services and bills for reimbursement to hold an AHCA clinic license, unless it qualifies for an exemption (e.g., wholly physician- or practitioner-owned). | Fla. Stat. §400.991(1)(a) Jul 26, 2026 |
| Georgia | The cited rules do not settle this — they name no required form. They establish that medicine is a "profession" under the Professional Corporation Act, so a med spa set up as a PC falls under it, with shares held only by licensed, actively practicing owners. | O.C.G.A. §14-7-2 Aug 17, 2026 |
| Hawaii | The cited rules do not settle this — no entity type is mandated, but a professional corporation rendering chapter 453 medicine is limited to a single profession, must render services through licensed individuals, and may issue shares only to qualified persons. | Haw. Rev. Stat. § 415A-2 ("Professional service"; "Qualified person") Sep 8, 2026 |
| Idaho | The cited rules do not settle this — Idaho's Professional Service Corporation chapter is repealed, and nothing here prescribes an entity type for a med spa; the general business corporation act simply applies to existing domestic for-profit corporations. | Idaho Code tit. 30, ch. 13 (chapter index — REPEALED) Sep 3, 2026 |
| Illinois | Nothing prohibits practicing “through or within any form of legal entity authorized to conduct business in this State” or “pooling, sharing, dividing, or apportioning the professional fees and other revenues in accordance with the agreements and policies of the entity” — PROVIDED “(1) each owner of the entity is… | 225 ILCS 60/22.2(c) Sep 2, 2026 |
| Indiana | The cited rules don't mandate one form — but if you use a professional corporation, shares may go only to licensed individuals, their general partnerships, professional corporations, or a qualified trust, so a lay investor cannot hold equity. | Ind. Code § 23-1.5-3-1(a)-(b) (Professional corporations — shares; issuance; transfer) Sep 8, 2026 |
| Iowa | The cited rules do not settle this — a med spa is any entity, however organized; if you use a professional corporation, it must be organized for one profession, though medicine, osteopathy and PA practice may be combined. | Iowa Code § 496C.4(1)-(2) (Professional corporations — purposes and powers) Sep 8, 2026 |
| Kansas | The cited rules do not settle this — they don't mandate an entity type, but a Kansas professional corporation may be organized for only one type of professional service plus ancillary services, so a medicine PC can't also render another listed profession. | Kan. Stat. Ann. §17-2710 Sep 3, 2026 |
| Kentucky | The cited rules do not settle this — they let currently licensed physicians practice in partnership, association, or a KRS Chapter 274 professional service corporation and share fees, but prescribe no required ownership form for a med spa. | Ky. Rev. Stat. §311.595(19) (the partnership and professional-service-corporation carve-out) Sep 8, 2026 |
| Louisiana | The cited rules do not settle this — they specify no entity or ownership form for a med spa; they only define the Cosmetology Board and make practicing medicine without a license, or assisting an unlicensed person to do so, unlawful and disciplinable. | La. Rev. Stat. §37:563(4) Sep 3, 2026 |
| Maine | The cited rules do not settle this — none mandates a specific entity form. They establish only that a professional corporation may render professional services solely through licensed individuals, and only services authorized by its articles. | 13 M.R.S. §734(1) Sep 3, 2026 |
| Maryland | The cited rules do not settle this — none requires a particular entity; they establish only that a professional corporation may serve a single profession, may not go beyond its articles, and that physicians may practice within a PC or professional association. | Md. Code, Corps. & Ass’ns §5-102(a)(1) Sep 3, 2026 |
| Massachusetts | A professional corporation may issue shares, fractional shares, and rights or options to purchase shares ONLY to natural persons licensed — in Massachusetts or another state, territory or the District of Columbia — to render a professional service permitted by the corporation’s articles of organization; to… | Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 156A, § 10(a) Sep 1, 2026 |
| Michigan | The cited rules do not settle this — they address only professional corporations: if one is formed, every shareholder must be a licensee in a service the corporation provides, or an entity owned only by such licensees. | Mich. Comp. Laws § 450.1283(1) and (2) Sep 2, 2026 |
| Minnesota | The cited rules do not settle which entity to use — they bar paying for referrals and undisclosed financial interests, and permit revenue sharing within a partnership, group, or professional corporation if it is only fees for physician or supervised work. | Minn. Stat. § 147.091, subd. 1(p)(1)–(3) Sep 2, 2026 |
| Mississippi | The cited rules do not settle this — no particular entity is required; they only provide that a professional corporation must serve a single profession, issue shares only to licensed persons, and render services through licensed individuals. | Miss. Code Ann. § 79-10-5(h) Sep 8, 2026 |
| Missouri | The cited rules do not settle this — they name no required structure for a med spa; they only state that a professional corporation may issue shares to natural persons licensed to render that service or to trustees of revocable trusts who are so licensed. | Mo. Rev. Stat. §356.111.1(1) Sep 3, 2026 |
| Montana | The cited rules do not settle this — they define professional services as those only licensees may render and that a Business Corporation Act corporation may not, and say a professional corporation may render them only through licensed individuals. | Mont. Code Ann. § 35-4-109(5)-(6) Sep 8, 2026 |
| Nebraska | The cited rules do not settle this — none names an entity form. In a professional corporation, those listed (bar the secretary and assistant secretary) must be licensed or otherwise legally authorized for that service or an ancillary one. | Neb. Rev. Stat. §21-2202(1) Sep 3, 2026 |
| Nevada | Except as otherwise provided in the section, a professional entity, meaning a professional corporation or a professional limited-liability company, may be organized only for the purpose of rendering one specific type of professional service and may not engage in any business other than rendering the professional… | Nev. Rev. Stat. §89.050(1); §89.020(8) Sep 8, 2026 |
| New Hampshire | The cited rules do not settle this — they require no particular entity type for a med spa; they only establish that a professional corporation is organized to render services within a single profession, subject to a statutory exception not quoted here. | N.H. Rev. Stat. §294-A:2, I (Permissible Purposes of Professional Corporations) Sep 3, 2026 |
| New Jersey | A partnership, professional association or LLC only if every member is licensed for the same or a closely allied service. A business corporation may employ a licensee only in five named settings, such as a hospital, or be a non-clinical limited partner. | N.J.A.C. 13:35-6.16(f)2 Aug 17, 2026 |
| New Mexico | The Medical Practice Act, Sections 61-6-1 through 61-6-35 NMSA 1978, was surveyed in full as published by the New Mexico Medical Board. It contains no corporate-practice-of-medicine provision: no requirement that a practice be organized as a professional corporation, and no restriction on who may own an interest in… | N.M. Stat. Ann. §§ 61-6-1 to 61-6-35 (Medical Practice Act), read in full — absence claim Sep 4, 2026 |
| New York | The cited rules settle only the professional service corporation route — a PC may be formed only by individuals licensed to render that same service, and every original shareholder, director and officer must be certified as licensed to practice it. | N.Y. Bus. Corp. Law §1503 Aug 17, 2026 |
| North Carolina | The Medical Board’s position is that businesses practicing medicine in North Carolina must be owned in their entirety by persons holding active North Carolina licenses, and that the owners must be licensees of the Board or one of the combinations the Professional Corporation Act permits. | NCMB Position Statement 10.1.2 (adopted March 2016, amended September 2025) Aug 17, 2026 |
| North Dakota | The cited rules do not settle this — no structure is mandated; they only say a professional corporation's owners are licensees in the same service plus nonlicensed employees and minority owners, and it may render one service type or an authorized combination. | N.D. Cent. Code § 10-31-01(7); § 10-31-04(1) Sep 8, 2026 |
| Ohio | No particular one — a physician may render medical services through a corporation formed under section 1701.03(B), an LLC, a partnership, or a professional association, and the statute expressly allows other entity forms as well. | Ohio Rev. Code §4731.226(A)(1) Aug 17, 2026 |
| Oklahoma | The cited rules don't name a required form — but in a professional entity, every manager must be licensed in the same or a related profession, and a professional corporation's shareholders must each be a licensed individual, not another entity. | Okla. Stat. tit. 18, § 810 (Managers and stockholders) Sep 8, 2026 |
| Oregon | The cited rules do not settle this — they establish only that a professional corporation may render professional services in Oregon solely through people licensed to perform them; no cited rule mandates a particular entity type for a med spa. | Or. Rev. Stat. §58.156(1) (Method by which professional corporation to render services) Sep 3, 2026 |
| Pennsylvania | The cited rules do not settle this — no entity type is mandated; they only limit co-ownership: an MD may form a professional corporation with other MDs or PA-licensed practitioners who treat without referral or supervision, where their boards also permit it. | 49 Pa. Code §16.21 Aug 17, 2026 |
| Rhode Island | The cited rules do not settle this — they require no particular form; but a professional corporation rendering medical services must have every officer, director and shareholder licensed to practice, and may combine only the listed clinical professions. | R.I. Gen. Laws §7-5.1-3(a) Sep 3, 2026 |
| South Carolina | The cited rules do not settle this — none prescribes an entity form for a med spa. They only say a professional corporation may issue shares solely to individuals licensed to render the service, all-qualified partnerships, or other professional corporations. | S.C. Code §33-19-200(a) Sep 3, 2026 |
| South Dakota | All of the officers, directors, and shareholders of a corporation subject to this chapter shall at all times be persons licensed pursuant to the Medical Practice Act. No person who is not so licensed shall have any part in the ownership or control of such corporation, nor may any proxy to vote any shares of such… | S.D. Codified Laws §47-11-3 Sep 3, 2026 |
| Tennessee | The cited rules do not settle this — no entity type is required; they only say that if you use a Medical Professional Corporation, shares may be held by licensed physicians, physician-owned entities, or the closed statutory list of other health professionals. | Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0880-02-.20(1)(b) Sep 2, 2026 |
| Texas | The cited rules do not settle this — they name one recognized structure, a Board-certified 5.01(a) nonprofit organized solely by Board-licensed physicians, and otherwise only bar unlicensed owners or ordinary corporations from controlling medical judgment. | Tex. Occ. Code §162.001 Jul 26, 2026 |
| Utah | The cited rules do not settle which entity form is required — only that in a professional corporation, officers, directors, and shareholders must be same-licensed or qualified under the applicable licensing act, plus a nonlicensed secretary or treasurer. | Utah Code § 16-11-8 (Officer, director, or shareholder shall be licensed professional) Sep 8, 2026 |
| Vermont | The cited rules do not settle this — they only say licensed services can't be rendered by an ordinary Title 11A corporation and that professional corporation shares go to qualified individuals or general partnerships; no med spa structure is mandated. | Vt. Stat. tit. 11, §817(7) Sep 3, 2026 |
| Virginia | The cited rules do not settle this — they only define a professional corporation as one whose articles state a sole, specific purpose of rendering professional service, so a general commercial corporation isn't one. Virginia issues no med spa license at all. | Va. Code § 13.1-543 (definition of “professional corporation”) Sep 2, 2026 |
| Washington | The cited rules do not settle this — they establish only that if the practice is organized as a professional service corporation, its shareholders and incorporators must be individuals licensed to render that same professional service. | Wash. Rev. Code 18.100.050(1) Sep 2, 2026 |
| West Virginia | The cited rules do not settle this — no entity form is prescribed, but a corporation that practices or offers medicine needs a board certificate of authorization, and each shareholder must be licensed under the medical, PA or podiatry articles. | W. Va. Code §30-3-15(b)(2) Sep 3, 2026 |
| Wisconsin | No set structure — Wisconsin has no corporate-practice-of-medicine statute in ch. 448 and no ownership rule in Med 10; the constraint runs through licensure and the supervising physician's personal answerability, not through who owns the business. | Wis. Stat. ch. 448 and Wis. Admin. Code ch. Med 10 (both surveyed via their indexes) Sep 2, 2026 |
| Wyoming | The cited rules do not settle this — they don't mandate a specific entity, but if you incorporate as a professional corporation, every shareholder must be licensed in that profession and services only offered by or under licensed stockholders or employees. | Wyo. Stat. Ann. §17-3-104 Sep 3, 2026 |
Every state, in its own words
Alabama
(k) Record and maintain a permanent file on all professional corporations incorporated by physicians and osteopaths.
Ala. Admin. Code r. 540-X-1 (Board duties — professional corporations) · verified Sep 4, 2026
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One or more persons, each of whom is licensed to render a professional service in the state, may incorporate a professional corporation by filing articles of incorporation that include the name of the profession to be practiced, the names and addresses of all original shareholders, directors, and officers, and the office address; and a certificate from the regulatory board of the profession certifying that each of the incorporators, directors, and shareholders is licensed to practice the profession shall be filed with the articles.
AS 10.45.010 · verified Sep 8, 2026
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If a practice organizes as a professional corporation, non-licensed persons may hold up to 49% of the voting shares (unless the licensing authority prescribes a different percentage).
A.R.S. §10-2220(A)(4) · verified Jul 26, 2026
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ARKANSAS IS AS ABSOLUTE AS THIS CORPUS GETS, AND IT REACHES THE PROXY. “All of the officers, directors, and shareholders of a corporation subject to this subchapter shall at all times be persons licensed pursuant to the Arkansas Medical Practices” Act. And then: “No person who is not so licensed shall have any part in the ownership, management, or control of the corporation, nor may any proxy to vote any shares of the corporation be given to a person who is not so licensed.” Ownership, management AND control are named separately, so an arrangement that leaves the shares in licensed hands while moving control elsewhere is reached by the same sentence.
Ark. Code Ann. § 4-29-307 (Medical Corporation Act — officers, directors, and shareholders) · verified Sep 8, 2026
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The exception is §13401.5, and it is closed and capped. Notwithstanding §13401(d), the licensed persons ENUMERATED in that section may be shareholders, officers, directors or professional employees of a medical corporation — so long as the sum of all shares owned by them does not exceed 49 PERCENT of the total. A profession not on the list does not qualify at any percentage, and a lay investor is not a licensed person at all.
Cal. Corp. Code §13401.5(a) · verified Sep 1, 2026 · read at Public.Law — California Codes
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It is unprofessional conduct to practice medicine “AS THE PARTNER, AGENT, OR EMPLOYEE OF, OR IN JOINT VENTURE WITH, ANY PERSON WHO DOES NOT HOLD A LICENSE to practice medicine within this state”, or as an employee of or in joint venture with “ANY CORPORATION OTHER THAN A PROFESSIONAL SERVICE CORPORATION for the practice of medicine as described in section 12-240-138.” The general-business-corporation med spa employing its own physician is the arrangement this forecloses.
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 12-240-121(1)(g)(I) · verified Sep 2, 2026
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Any person or group of persons licensed or otherwise legally authorized to render the same professional services may organize and become a shareholder or shareholders of a professional corporation for profit under the provisions of chapter 601, for the sole and specific purpose of rendering the same professional service.
Conn. Gen. Stat. §33-182c(a) (Organization) · verified Sep 3, 2026
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The term "professional corporation" means a corporation which is organized and incorporated, under this chapter, for the sole and specific purpose of rendering a single professional service or qualified related professional services, and which has as its shareholders only individuals who themselves are duly licensed or otherwise legally authorized within this State to render the same professional service, or those component qualified related professional services, as the corporation.
8 Del. C. §603(2) · verified Sep 3, 2026
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A professional corporation may be organized solely to render professional services through its shareholders, directors, officers, employees, or agents who are themselves licensed to render the particular service, and to render service ancillary thereto. A professional corporation may employ individuals who are not licensed, but they shall not perform professional services.
D.C. Code §29-505(a) (Purpose for organization; powers authorized) · verified Sep 3, 2026
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An entity that provides health-care services and bills for reimbursement is a “clinic” that must be licensed by AHCA to operate — each location licensed separately — unless it qualifies for an exemption.
Fla. Stat. §400.991(1)(a) · verified Jul 26, 2026
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The Georgia Professional Corporation Act expressly counts medicine and surgery as a “profession” for its purposes, alongside dentistry, pharmacy, psychology, registered professional nursing and others — so a medical practice organized as a professional corporation falls inside the Act.
O.C.G.A. §14-7-2 · verified Aug 17, 2026 · read at FindLaw Codes
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"Professional service" means any service that lawfully may be rendered only by persons licensed under chapters 442, 448, 453, 455, 457, 459, 461, 463E, 465, 466, 471, and 605. "Qualified person" means an individual who is eligible under this chapter to own shares issued by a professional corporation.
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 415A-2 ("Professional service"; "Qualified person") · verified Sep 8, 2026
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The Idaho Code Title 30 chapter index lists Chapter 13, Professional Service Corporations, as repealed.
Idaho Code tit. 30, ch. 13 (chapter index — REPEALED) · verified Sep 3, 2026
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⚠️ THE SECOND EXCEPTION IS THE ENTITY ROUTE, AND ITS FIRST CONDITION IS THE CORPORATE-PRACTICE RULE. Nothing prohibits practicing “THROUGH OR WITHIN ANY FORM OF LEGAL ENTITY authorized to conduct business in this State” or “POOLING, SHARING, DIVIDING, OR APPORTIONING THE PROFESSIONAL FEES AND OTHER REVENUES in accordance with the agreements and policies of the entity” — PROVIDED “(1) EACH OWNER OF THE ENTITY IS LICENSED UNDER THIS ACT”, (2) it is organized under the Medical Corporation Act, Professional Services Corporation Act, Professional Association Act or Limited Liability Company Act, and (3) it is allowed by Illinois law to provide physician services. Revenue sharing inside a wholly licensee-owned entity is fine; outside one it is not.
225 ILCS 60/22.2(c) · verified Sep 2, 2026
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INDIANA CLOSES THE CAP TABLE OF A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION TO FOUR KINDS OF HOLDER, AND A LAY INVESTOR IS NOT AMONG THEM. Except as provided in IC 25-2.1-5, “a professional corporation may issue shares, fractional shares, and rights or options to purchase shares only to: (1) individuals who are authorized by Indiana law or the laws of another state to render a professional service permitted by the articles of incorporation of the corporation; (2) general partnerships in which all the partners are authorized by Indiana law or the laws of another state to render a professional service permitted by the articles of incorporation of the corporation; (3) professional corporations authorized by Indiana law or the laws of another state to render a professional service permitted by the articles of incorporation of the corporation; and (4) the trustee of a qualified trust.” A licensing authority may by rule further restrict, condition or abridge that authority where necessary to prevent violations of the profession’s ethical standards.
Ind. Code § 23-1.5-3-1(a)-(b) (Professional corporations — shares; issuance; transfer) · verified Sep 8, 2026
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IOWA’S PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION IS SINGLE-PROFESSION BY DEFAULT, AND IT NAMES THE ONE COMBINATION A MED SPA CARES ABOUT. “A professional corporation shall be organized only for the purpose of engaging in the practice of one specific profession, or two or more specific professions which could lawfully be practiced in combination by a licensed individual or a partnership of licensed individuals”, plus anything “incidental to or necessary or convenient in connection with” that practice, and the articles of incorporation must say so in substance. “For purposes of this section, medicine and surgery, osteopathic medicine and surgery, and practice as a physician assistant shall be deemed to be professions which could lawfully be practiced in combination” — but “Nothing in this section shall be construed to expand the scope of practice of a physician assistant.” Otherwise the entity “shall have all powers granted to corporations by the Iowa business corporation Act, chapter 490.”
Iowa Code § 496C.4(1)-(2) (Professional corporations — purposes and powers) · verified Sep 8, 2026
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A professional corporation may be organized only for the purpose of rendering one type of professional service and service ancillary thereto and shall not engage in any other business, except that a single professional corporation may be organized to and render professional services under any two or more of the types set forth in items (2), (6), (13) and (17) of subsection (b) of K.S.A. 17-2707, and amendments thereto.
Kan. Stat. Ann. §17-2710 · verified Sep 3, 2026
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KENTUCKY NAMES THE PERMITTED STRUCTURE INSIDE THE KICKBACK BAN. The referral-fee ground carries a carve-out for people who hold current licenses under the medical practice act: it does not prohibit them from practicing “in partnership or association or in a professional service corporation authorized by KRS Chapter 274, as amended”, nor “from pooling, sharing, dividing, or apportioning the fees and moneys received by them or by the partnership, corporation, or association in accordance with the partnership agreement or the policies of the board of directors of the corporation or association”. The carve-out runs to licensees only, and names no route for an unlicensed shareholder.
Ky. Rev. Stat. §311.595(19) (the partnership and professional-service-corporation carve-out) · verified Sep 8, 2026
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"Board" means the Louisiana State Board of Cosmetology. The board shall constitute a professional association within the meaning of Article VII, Section 9 of the Constitution of Louisiana.
La. Rev. Stat. §37:563(4) · verified Sep 3, 2026
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A domestic professional corporation or foreign professional corporation may render professional services in this State only through individuals licensed or otherwise authorized in this State to render the services.
13 M.R.S. §734(1) · verified Sep 3, 2026
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Except as permitted under subsection (b) of this section, a corporation may be a professional corporation solely for the purpose of rendering professional services within a single profession.
Md. Code, Corps. & Ass’ns §5-102(a)(1) · verified Sep 3, 2026
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A professional corporation may issue shares, fractional shares, and rights or options to purchase shares ONLY to natural persons licensed — in Massachusetts or another state, territory or the District of Columbia — to render a professional service permitted by the corporation’s articles of organization; to partnerships in which every partner is such a person; or to professional corporations, business corporations or limited liability companies themselves authorized to render that service. A lay individual is not in the list.
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 156A, § 10(a) · verified Sep 1, 2026
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One or more LICENSED PERSONS may form a professional corporation, and each shareholder must be either a licensed person in one or more of the professional services the corporation provides, or AN ENTITY THAT IS DIRECTLY OR BENEFICIALLY OWNED ONLY BY such licensed persons. The rule follows ownership through an intermediate entity rather than stopping at it.
Mich. Comp. Laws § 450.1283(1) and (2) · verified Sep 2, 2026 · read at Internet Archive snapshot — evidence of a page, not the current rule
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THE REST OF THE GROUND REACHES REFERRAL ECONOMICS. Fee splitting also covers “PAYING, OFFERING TO PAY, RECEIVING, OR AGREEING TO RECEIVE, A COMMISSION, REBATE, OR REMUNERATION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, PRIMARILY FOR THE REFERRAL OF PATIENTS OR THE PRESCRIPTION OF DRUGS OR DEVICES”; dividing fees with another physician or professional corporation “UNLESS THE DIVISION IS IN PROPORTION TO THE SERVICES PROVIDED AND THE RESPONSIBILITY ASSUMED” and disclosed; and referring to a provider in which the physician has a “FINANCIAL OR ECONOMIC INTEREST” without disclosure.
Minn. Stat. § 147.091, subd. 1(p)(1)–(3) · verified Sep 2, 2026
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The Professional Corporation Act defines a qualified person as an individual, general partnership, professional corporation, or other entity that is eligible under Sections 79-10-1 through 79-10-117 to be issued shares by a professional corporation.
Miss. Code Ann. § 79-10-5(h) · verified Sep 8, 2026
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A professional corporation may issue shares, fractional shares, rights or options to purchase shares, and other securities only to natural persons who are authorized by law in this state, or in any other state or territory of the United States or the District of Columbia, to render a professional service permitted by the articles of incorporation of the corporation, and trustees, in trust, of revocable trust agreements, of which the trustee is a natural person who is authorized by the law of this state, or any other state or territory of the United States or the District of Columbia, to render a professional service permitted by the articles of incorporation of the corporation.
Mo. Rev. Stat. §356.111.1(1) · verified Sep 3, 2026
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"Professional service" means any service that may lawfully be rendered only by persons licensed under a licensing law of this state and that may not lawfully be rendered by a corporation organized under the Montana Business Corporation Act. (6) "Qualified person" means a natural person, general partnership, or professional corporation eligible under this chapter to own shares issued by a professional corporation.
Mont. Code Ann. § 35-4-109(5)-(6) · verified Sep 8, 2026
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Certificate of registration from the regulating board means verification that all of those directors, officers, shareholders, and professional employees listed on the application filed with the Secretary of State, except for the secretary and assistant secretary, are duly licensed or otherwise legally authorized to render the professional service for which the professional corporation is organized or a service ancillary to those which the professional corporation renders.
Neb. Rev. Stat. §21-2202(1) · verified Sep 3, 2026
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Except as otherwise provided in the section, a professional entity, meaning a professional corporation or a professional limited-liability company, may be organized only for the purpose of rendering one specific type of professional service and may not engage in any business other than rendering the professional service for which it was organized and services reasonably related thereto, except that it may own real and personal property appropriate to its business and may invest its money.
Nev. Rev. Stat. §89.050(1); §89.020(8) · verified Sep 8, 2026
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Except as provided in RSA 294-A:2, II, professional corporations may be organized under this chapter only for the purpose of rendering professional services, including necessary related services, within a SINGLE PROFESSION.
N.H. Rev. Stat. §294-A:2, I (Permissible Purposes of Professional Corporations) · verified Sep 3, 2026
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A practitioner may practice in a partnership, professional association or limited liability company only where that entity is composed solely of health care professionals, each duly licensed or otherwise authorized to render the same or a closely allied professional service in New Jersey. Closely allied fields include chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, midwifery, optometry, physical therapy, podiatry, psychology and social work.
N.J.A.C. 13:35-6.16(f)2 · verified Aug 17, 2026 · read at Cornell Legal Information Institute
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The Medical Practice Act, Sections 61-6-1 through 61-6-35 NMSA 1978, was surveyed in full as published by the New Mexico Medical Board. It contains no corporate-practice-of-medicine provision: no requirement that a practice be organized as a professional corporation, and no restriction on who may own an interest in one. The terms "corporation", "shareholder", "partnership" and "limited liability" do not occur in the Act. Its restrictions attach to the practice of medicine and to licensee conduct rather than to business ownership.
N.M. Stat. Ann. §§ 61-6-1 to 61-6-35 (Medical Practice Act), read in full — absence claim · verified Sep 4, 2026
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A professional service corporation may be organized only by one or more individuals duly authorized to render the same professional service, and for the purpose of rendering that same service. Its certificate of incorporation must name the original shareholders, directors and officers and carry certificates from the licensing authority that each of them is authorized to practice the profession.
N.Y. Bus. Corp. Law §1503 · verified Aug 17, 2026
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The Medical Board’s position is that businesses practicing medicine in North Carolina must be owned in their entirety by persons holding active North Carolina licenses, and that the owners must be licensees of the Board or one of the combinations the Professional Corporation Act permits. This is a board position statement, not a statute — it states how the Board reads the law it enforces.
NCMB Position Statement 10.1.2 (adopted March 2016, amended September 2025) · verified Aug 17, 2026
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A professional corporation is a corporation incorporated under chapter 10-31 for the purpose of rendering professional service which has as its shareholders only individuals who themselves are licensed or otherwise legally authorized within the state to render the same professional service as the corporation, nonlicensed employees as provided in section 10-31-07.1, and minority owners; and a professional organization may be created under the chapter only for the purpose of rendering one specific type of professional service and services ancillary thereto, or two or more kinds of professional services specifically authorized to be practiced in combination.
N.D. Cent. Code § 10-31-01(7); § 10-31-04(1) · verified Sep 8, 2026
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A person the State Medical Board licenses to practice medicine and surgery, osteopathic medicine and surgery, or podiatric medicine and surgery may render those professional services through a corporation formed under division (B) of section 1701.03, a limited liability company, a partnership, or a professional association formed under Chapter 1785.
Ohio Rev. Code §4731.226(A)(1) · verified Aug 17, 2026
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OKLAHOMA CLOSES BOTH THE BOARDROOM AND THE CAP TABLE, IN TWO SENTENCES. “No person may be a manager of a professional entity who is not a person duly licensed in accordance with the provisions of this state’s licensing laws for the profession or related profession to render the same professional services or related professional services as those for which the entity is formed. No person may be a shareholder of a professional corporation who is not an individual duly licensed to render the same professional services or related professional services as those for which the corporation is organized.” Note the second sentence says INDIVIDUAL — a shareholder must be a natural person, not another entity.
Okla. Stat. tit. 18, § 810 (Managers and stockholders) · verified Sep 8, 2026
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A domestic professional corporation or a foreign professional corporation may render professional service or services in this state only through a person or persons who are licensed or otherwise authorized in this state to render such professional service or services.
Or. Rev. Stat. §58.156(1) (Method by which professional corporation to render services) · verified Sep 3, 2026
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A medical doctor may form a professional corporation with other medical doctors, or with health care practitioners who treat human ailments and are licensed in Pennsylvania to provide health care services without receiving a referral or supervision from another practitioner — and then only if the boards regulating those practitioners also permit the formation.
49 Pa. Code §16.21 · verified Aug 17, 2026 · read at Cornell Legal Information Institute
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Any corporation organized under this chapter may engage in rendering professional services of not more than one of the professions enumerated in §7-5.1-2, provided that every officer, director, and shareholder of the corporation is an individual authorized to practice the profession and is employed by the corporation in that practice. No individual may be an officer, shareholder, director, or employee of any other corporation engaged in the practice of the same profession without the prior written approval of the applicable regulatory agency or agencies.
R.I. Gen. Laws §7-5.1-3(a) · verified Sep 3, 2026
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A professional corporation may issue shares, fractional shares, and rights or options to purchase shares only to individuals who are authorized by law in this or another state to render a professional service described in the corporation’s articles of incorporation; general partnerships in which all the partners are qualified persons with respect to the professional corporation and in which at least one partner is authorized by law in this state to render such a professional service; and professional corporations, domestic or foreign, authorized by law in this State to render such a professional service.
S.C. Code §33-19-200(a) · verified Sep 3, 2026
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All of the officers, directors, and shareholders of a corporation subject to this chapter shall at all times be persons licensed pursuant to the Medical Practice Act. No person who is not so licensed shall have any part in the ownership or control of such corporation, nor may any proxy to vote any shares of such corporation be given to a person who is not so licensed.
S.D. Codified Laws §47-11-3 · verified Sep 3, 2026
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Only two categories may form and own shares in a Medical Professional Corporation doing business in Tennessee: PHYSICIANS licensed under Title 63 chapter 6 or 9, or licensed in another state; and partnerships, MPCs or MPLLCs in which ALL partners, shareholders, members or holders of financial rights are themselves such physicians — or entities directly or indirectly owned by them. The rule follows ownership through the stack.
Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0880-02-.20(1)(b) · verified Sep 2, 2026
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One recognized structure is a Board-certified nonprofit health organization (a “5.01(a)” corporation) that is organized solely by Board-licensed physicians.
Tex. Occ. Code §162.001 · verified Jul 26, 2026
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UTAH SHUTS THE UNLICENSED OUT OF EVERY SEAT BUT TWO. “a person may not be an officer, director, or shareholder of a professional corporation unless that person is: (i) an individual licensed to render the same specific professional services as those for which the corporation is organized; or (ii) qualified to be an officer, director, or shareholder under the applicable licensing act for the profession for which the corporation is organized.” The one exception is administrative: “a nonlicensed person may serve as secretary or treasurer of the professional corporation.” Medicine and osteopathic medicine count as the SAME specific service here, so an M.D. and a D.O. may hold shares in one entity.
Utah Code § 16-11-8 (Officer, director, or shareholder shall be licensed professional) · verified Sep 8, 2026
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Qualified person means an individual or general partnership that is eligible under this chapter to be issued shares by a professional corporation.
Vt. Stat. tit. 11, §817(7) · verified Sep 3, 2026
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A “professional corporation” in Virginia is one whose articles of incorporation set forth A SOLE AND SPECIFIC PURPOSE permitted by the chapter, organized for the sole and specific purpose of rendering professional service. The permitted purpose is declared on the public record, and a corporation formed for a general commercial purpose is not one.
Va. Code § 13.1-543 (definition of “professional corporation”) · verified Sep 2, 2026
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An individual or group of individuals duly licensed or otherwise legally authorized to render THE SAME professional services within this state may organize and become shareholders of a professional corporation for the purpose of rendering professional service, and one or more of those legally authorized individuals must be the incorporators. The qualification to hold shares is the license to do the work.
Wash. Rev. Code 18.100.050(1) · verified Sep 2, 2026
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Eligible licensees may apply for a certificate of authorization by furnishing satisfactory proof to the board that each shareholder of the proposed medical or podiatry corporation is a licensed physician pursuant to this article, §30-3E-1 et seq., or §30-14-1 et seq. of this code.
W. Va. Code §30-3-15(b)(2) · verified Sep 3, 2026
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⚠️ Wisconsin has no corporate-practice-of-medicine statute in ch. 448 naming who may own a medical practice, and no ownership rule in Med 10. The constraint operates through licensure and through the physician’s personal answerability for supervision, not through a shareholder test of the kind California writes into Corp. Code § 13401.5 or Tennessee into rule 0880-02-.20.
Wis. Stat. ch. 448 and Wis. Admin. Code ch. Med 10 (both surveyed via their indexes) · verified Sep 2, 2026
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The articles of incorporation of a professional practice corporation incorporated after the date of this act shall contain the following language: "All shareholders of the corporation are, and will continually be, licensed in the profession for which the corporation is formed, and no professional service will be offered by the corporation except by or under the supervision of licensed stockholders or licensed employees." This language shall be inserted in the articles immediately after the provisions pertaining to the aggregate number of shares which the corporation is authorized to issue.
Wyo. Stat. Ann. §17-3-104 · verified Sep 3, 2026
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51 of the 51 states for which we publish statute-cited rules. That is not every state, and nothing above should be read as describing one that is not listed — the answer genuinely differs, so a neighbouring state is not a guide. We monitor all 50 state legislatures plus the FDA and the Federal Register daily; the cited rule set is narrower than the monitoring and is growing on its own timetable.
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