South Dakota ownership & cpom for med spas
Corporate-practice-of-medicine limits on who may own an aesthetic practice. Below are the South Dakota rules that govern it, each linked to its primary source.
Ownership & corporate practice of medicine in South Dakota
SDCL §47-11-3 closes the obvious workaround, and it is the sentence to read first. All of the officers, directors, and shareholders of a medical corporation 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 — and no proxy to vote any shares may be given to a person who is not so licensed, which closes the route of leaving title with a physician while moving the votes elsewhere. In a corporation formed under the chapter, one or more persons may act as the SOLE stockholders, directors or officers. And persons licensed under the Medical Practice Act, corporations formed under chapter 47-11, or any combination of them, may form a limited liability company to own, operate and maintain an establishment for the study, diagnosis and treatment of human ailments and injuries. Chapter 36-4 then names the arrangement itself among the acts that are unprofessional or dishonorable conduct: Splitting fees, or giving to any person furnishing a patient any portion of the fees received from the patient, or paying or giving any person consideration of any kind for furnishing a patient — and, separately, employing what is known as cappers or steerers.
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
In any corporation formed under this chapter one or more persons may act as the sole stockholders, directors, or officers of such corporation. Persons licensed pursuant to the Medical Practice Act and corporations formed under chapter 47-11, or any combination thereof, may form a limited liability company to own, operate, and maintain an establishment for the study, diagnosis, and treatment of human ailments and injuries, whether physical or mental.
S.D. Codified Laws §47-11-1 · verified Sep 3, 2026
The term, unprofessional or dishonorable conduct, as used in this chapter includes: Splitting fees or giving to any person furnishing a patient any portion of the fees received from the patient or paying or giving to any person consideration of any kind for furnishing a patient.
S.D. Codified Laws §36-4-30(10) (Acts considered unprofessional conduct — splitting fees) · verified Sep 7, 2026
The term, unprofessional or dishonorable conduct, as used in this chapter includes: Employing what is known as cappers or steerers.
S.D. Codified Laws §36-4-30(2) (Acts considered unprofessional conduct — cappers or steerers) · verified Sep 7, 2026
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MedSpaRadar is regulatory monitoring and reference: it summarizes public laws, regulations and agency actions and links each to its source. It is not legal, medical, or compliance advice, and using it creates no attorney-client relationship. A summary can lag its source or leave out detail, and monitoring itself can be interrupted — so an absence of alerts means nothing reached you, not that nothing happened. Read the cited source, check its effective date, and confirm any change to your operations or clinical practice with qualified health-law counsel and your medical director.