The Massachusetts professional LLC
What creates it in Massachusetts
M.G.L. c. 156C § 6(c), which applies the definitions of "professional service" and "regulating board" from M.G.L. c. 156A § 2. The Corporations Division publishes a separate Professional LLC Certificate of Organization under c. 156C § 12, and 950 CMR 112.00, the Division's own regulation, restates the same requirements.
What the name must contain
There is no professional designation, and Massachusetts never puts the letters PLLC in a name. M.G.L. c. 156C § 3 applies to every limited liability company: the name must contain the words "limited liability company", "limited company", or the abbreviation "L.L.C.", "L.C.", "LLC" or "LC". The Corporations Division confirms that a professional service company follows the same naming rules as any other. The word "Professional" in the Division's form title describes the filing, not the name.
Does a licensing board have to approve the filing?
Yes, and in Massachusetts it is a document the filing office must physically receive, for both forms. For a limited liability company, M.G.L. c. 156C § 6(c) requires the company to (i) indicate in its certificate of organization or application for registration the specific professional services it will render, (ii) be subject to any conditions or limitations established by any applicable regulating boards, including the liability insurance required by § 65, and (iii) include with its certificate of organization or application for registration a certificate by the applicable regulating board indicating compliance as of the date of organization or registration by the members and managers with any eligibility standards established by that board. The Corporations Division states the same rule in its own words: the certificate of organization "shall be accompanied by a certificate of any applicable regulating board that each member or manager who will render a professional service in the Commonwealth is duly licensed". For a corporation, M.G.L. c. 156A § 7(c) requires the articles of organization to contain a certificate by the appropriate regulating board or boards that each of the incorporators, the president and any vice presidents, a majority of the directors and each shareholder is duly licensed to render a professional service permitted by the articles. "Regulating board" is defined at c. 156A § 2 as a board or governing authority charged with licensing and regulating the profession of any person performing a professional service.
Which occupations Massachusetts says must use it
Enumerated, with a board-controlled opening. M.G.L. c. 156A § 2 defines professional service by naming registered physicians and surgeons, chiropractors, podiatrists, engineers, electrologists, physical therapists, psychologists, certified public accountants, public accountants, dentists, veterinarians, optometrists, acupuncturists and registered nurses licensed under c. 112, and attorneys at law under c. 221, and then extends to other licensed professions where the regulating board permits incorporation. That one definition governs both the professional corporation and the professional limited liability company, because c. 156C § 6(c) borrows it by reference.
Massachusetts also offers a corporation under a professional statute
A practice choosing between the two forms is choosing between these rules and the ones above.
What creates it in Massachusetts
M.G.L. c. 156A, the Professional Corporations chapter. Under c. 156A § 7 one or more individuals each licensed to perform a professional service may organize a professional corporation by complying with Part 2 of c. 156D.
What the name must contain
M.G.L. c. 156A § 8. The name must end with "Professional Corporation", "Corporation", "Incorporated", "P.C.", "Corp.", "Inc." or any other word or words which in the judgment of the state secretary indicates that the professional corporation is incorporated. A regulating board may impose additional name requirements on the profession it licenses.
Does the agent requirement differ from an ordinary Massachusetts LLC’s?
No. Massachusetts sets no separate agent requirement for a professional entity — it is the same requirement an ordinary Massachusetts LLC files under.
The resident agent requirement in M.G.L. c. 156C § 5 is unchanged for a professional service company. What the professional filing adds is different information, not a different agent: the certificate of organization must give the name and address of each member or manager who will render a professional service in the Commonwealth, alongside the ordinary resident agent details.
What else Massachusetts requires
Massachusetts will not form the entity until a licensing board has signed a certificate that goes in with the filing, and it applies that rule to the limited liability company, the corporation and the limited liability partnership alike. The Corporations Division publishes separate forms for the domestic Professional LLC Certificate of Organization and the Foreign Professional Limited Liability Company Application, both of which carry the regulating board certificate. Two further details a reader would be misled without: the professional company must also agree to abide by any conditions or limitations the regulating board sets, including the liability insurance required by M.G.L. c. 156C § 65, and the Massachusetts legal term for the agent differs by entity type, resident agent for a limited liability company under c. 156C § 5 and registered agent for a corporation under c. 156D.
Verified against the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Corporations Division (www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/corporations/filing-by-subject/limited-liability/corporations-limited-liability-company.htm) · Statute text: malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXXII/Chapter156C/Section6 · Last updated September 2026. Massachusetts only — the rules in this cluster differ by jurisdiction, and this page speaks for no other.