The New York professional LLC
What creates it in New York
Limited Liability Company Law Article 12 (§§ 1201–1216), 'professional service limited liability company'; formed by Articles of Organization under § 1203
What the name must contain
LLC Law § 1212(b): the name shall end with the words "Professional Limited Liability Company" or "Limited Liability Company" or the abbreviation "P.L.L.C.", "PLLC", "L.L.C." or "LLC". § 1212(a): it may contain any word a partnership or professional service corporation in that profession could use and none it could not; a deceased person's name only under the two conditions stated. The prohibited-words list in § 204(a) does not apply.
Does a licensing board have to approve the filing?
Yes, before the Department of State will file. LLC Law § 1203(b)(ii) and BCL § 1503(b)(ii) require a certificate from the licensing authority, attached to the articles, certifying that each proposed member or manager (shareholder, director and officer for a PC) who is an individual is authorised to practise the profession. The Department of State names the documents: a Certificate of Good Standing from the appropriate Appellate Division (law), or a Certificate of Authority (Form PLS709) under seal from the State Education Department, Division of Professional Licensing Services, Corporations Unit. A certified copy of the filed articles must then be filed with the licensing authority within 30 days (§ 1203(c)(1)).
Which occupations New York says must use it
A statutory definition pointing to the Education Law. LLC Law § 1201(b) and BCL § 1501(b): 'profession' includes any practice as an attorney and counselor-at-law, or as a licensed physician, and the professions designated in Title Eight of the Education Law; the licensing authority is the Board of Regents / State Education Department for Title Eight professions and the appropriate Appellate Division for law. § 1203(a) adds profession-specific member rules: every member must hold the relevant licence for a PLLC formed to practise medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the design professions (engineering, land surveying, architecture, landscape architecture, geology), licensed clinical social work, creative arts therapy, marriage and family therapy, mental health counseling, psychoanalysis or applied behavior analysis.
New York 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 New York
Business Corporation Law Article 15 (§§ 1501–1516), 'professional service corporation'; formed by Certificate of Incorporation under § 1503
What the name must contain
BCL § 1512(b): the name shall end with the words "Professional Corporation" or the abbreviation "P.C."; a design professional service corporation's name shall end with "design professional corporation" or "D.P.C." Same partnership-name and deceased-name rules as § 1212(a).
Does the agent requirement differ from an ordinary New York LLC’s?
No. New York sets no separate agent requirement for a professional entity — it is the same requirement an ordinary New York LLC files under.
What else New York requires
A New York PLLC carries the same two obligations an ordinary LLC does: the Secretary of State is designated as agent for service of process (a separate registered agent is optional), and within 120 days of filing the articles must be published once a week for six weeks in two county-clerk-designated newspapers, with a Certificate of Publication filed with the Department of State — § 1203(c)(2) restates this for PLLCs, and failure suspends the company's authority to do business. A PLLC files a Biennial Statement every two years, as does a PC. Unlike an ordinary LLC, a PLLC may be formed by one or more professionals of whom at least one is authorised to practise in New York, and a PLLC that practises law may combine with another profession or business only so far as the Appellate Division rules allow. New York also has the design professional service corporation (BCL § 1501(g)), which may have non-licensed employee and ESOP shareholders within the ownership limits in § 1503(b-1).
Verified against the New York Department of State, Division of Corporations, State Records and Uniform Commercial Code (dos.ny.gov/articles-organization-professional-service-domestic-limited-liability-companies-0) · Statute text: www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/LLC/A12 · Last updated September 2026. New York only — the rules in this cluster differ by jurisdiction, and this page speaks for no other.