Texas PLLC: Professional LLC Rules for Doctors, Lawyers and Other Licensed Professionals
Texas PLLC: Professional LLC Rules for Doctors, Lawyers and Other Licensed Professionals
If you are a physician, attorney, dentist, architect, CPA or other licensed professional forming a business in Texas, you will run into the term PLLC. A Texas PLLC, or professional limited liability company, is an LLC built for people who practice a licensed profession. It gives you the liability protection of an LLC while keeping ownership and control in the hands of licensed professionals. This guide covers the state rules, the filing steps, the fees, and the points where your licensing board can add requirements on top of state law.
This guide is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Professional entity rules touch licensing law, ethics rules and tax elections. Talk with a Texas attorney and a CPA before you file, and check with your licensing board before you choose an entity type.
What a Texas PLLC is
A Texas PLLC is a limited liability company formed under Texas Business Organizations Code chapter 301, which adds rules for entities that provide professional services. Like any LLC, the owners generally are not personally liable for the company's debts. The professional rules add three limits. The owners and governing persons must be licensed in the profession, the company may provide the service only through licensed people, and the name must show the professional structure.
The entity is formed with the same Certificate of Formation (Form 205) used for a standard LLC, and the state filing fee is $300. Texas has no general state business license, so the entity filing and your licensing board's rules are the two gates you need to clear.
Who can own and manage a PLLC
The ownership rules come down to two statute sections. Under Section 301.007, every owner and governing person must be an authorized person, meaning someone licensed in the profession the company practices. Under Section 301.006, the company can provide the professional service only through licensed people. In practice this means:
- Every owner must hold the required Texas license.
- Managers and other governing persons must hold the license too.
- A non-licensed investor cannot hold an ownership interest in the company.
- A lapsed or suspended license can put an owner out of compliance, so calendar every renewal date.
PLLC, professional association, professional corporation: which fits
Texas offers several professional entity types, and their fees and forms differ. The table below uses the state figures available for this guide. Where a figure is not stated here, confirm it on the Secretary of State site before you file.
| Entity | Filing and fee | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Professional LLC (PLLC) | Certificate of Formation (Form 205), $300 | Governed by Bus. Orgs. Code ch. 301. Owners and governing persons must be licensed in the profession. |
| Professional association | $750 | Confirm the current form with the Secretary of State before filing. |
| Professional limited partnership | $750 | Confirm the current form with the Secretary of State before filing. Has both general and limited partners. |
| Professional corporation | Not stated here. A standard corporation Certificate of Formation (Form 201) is $300. | Confirm with the Secretary of State whether a professional corporation files differently. Physicians cannot form one to practice medicine (Section 301.003). |
Physicians and the corporate practice of medicine
Physicians have the narrowest set of options. Section 301.003 does not allow physicians to form a professional corporation to practice medicine, so a physician practice is usually organized in one of these ways:
- As a PLLC, with every owner and governing person licensed to practice medicine.
- As a professional association.
- By working through a nonprofit health organization certified by the Texas Medical Board under Occupations Code 162.001, which is the certified path for the corporate practice of medicine rule.
Each route has its own compliance questions, so take this list to the Texas Medical Board and a health care attorney before you sign a lease, a payer contract or a partnership agreement.
Naming your PLLC
The name must contain professional limited liability company or an abbreviation such as PLLC (Section 5.059). It must also not violate licensing law or the ethics rules that govern your profession (Section 5.060). Beyond that, the name must be distinguishable in Secretary of State records from any existing filing, reservation or registration. It may not imply a purpose the company is not authorized to pursue, and it may not falsely suggest an affiliation with a government entity.
Check availability through the Secretary of State business search at https://www.sos.state.tx.us/corp/searches.shtml or call (512) 463-5555 for a preliminary check. If you need time to finish your paperwork, a name reservation holds the name for 120 days and costs $40.
Step by step: forming a Texas PLLC
- Check your licensing board first. Ask your board whether it requires firm registration or approval before the company is filed. The state does not handle that step for you, and your board's answer can change the order of everything else.
- Choose and check the name. Run the name against the rules in the section above before you pay any filing fee.
- Appoint a registered agent. Every Texas entity must keep a registered agent and registered office. The agent must be a Texas resident individual, or a domestic entity, or a foreign entity registered to do business in Texas. The company cannot be its own agent. The office must be a physical Texas street address where the agent can be personally served during business hours. A post office box, mail forwarding or answering service alone is not enough. The agent must consent in writing or electronically. Changing the agent or office later costs $15.
- File the Certificate of Formation (Form 205). Electronic filing through SOSDirect at https://direct.sos.state.tx.us/acct/acct-login.asp gives the fastest processing. The filing fee is $300. Mailed or hand-delivered documents generally show a status of Received and need at least one business day just to be entered.
- Pay for speed only if you need a guaranteed date. The Secretary of State does not publish a guaranteed standard turnaround. Expedite fees are added to the $300 filing fee. Standard Expedite is $50 per document, typically two to three business days. Next Day Expedite is $500 per document for filings received by 12:00 p.m. Same Day Expedite is $750 per document for filings received by 12:00 p.m. Preclearance of a draft instrument is $50.
- Get your federal EIN and any Texas sales tax permit. Most businesses that sell taxable goods or services need a Texas sales and use tax permit from the Comptroller. The permit is issued at no charge and typically takes two to three weeks. Whether your professional services are taxable is a question for the Comptroller or your CPA.
- Calendar your franchise tax and Public Information Report. The first report and the May 15 deadline are covered in the next section.
Ongoing obligations: franchise tax and the Public Information Report
Texas has no state personal income tax and no corporate income tax. It does have a franchise tax, which is a privilege tax administered by the Comptroller of Public Accounts. For the 2026 and 2027 report years, the no tax due threshold is $2,650,000 in total revenue. An entity at or below that threshold owes no franchise tax, but it must still file a Public Information Report (PIR) with the Comptroller by May 15 each year.
Entities above the threshold pay at 0.375 percent for retail and wholesale businesses and 0.75 percent for all other entities. The EZ Computation rate of 0.331 percent is the rate for entities under $20 million in total revenue. Ask the Comptroller or a CPA which rate and computation apply to your revenue profile.
The PIR goes to the Comptroller, not the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State charges no annual report fee for a PLLC, and Texas has no publication requirement for a new entity.
What Texas does not license
Texas has no general state business license and no statewide general contractor or roofing license. Counties license nothing except the assumed name filing that sole proprietors make with the county clerk. A PLLC that operates under a name other than its legal name files an Assumed Name Certificate (Form 503) with the Secretary of State for $25. Since September 1, 2019, registered filing entities no longer also file with the county clerk. The certificate may state a term of up to 10 years and must be refiled before it expires.
Your professional license is the approval that matters most. Use the Texas Business Licenses and Permits Guide, published by the Business Permit Office within the Texas Economic Development and Tourism Office, to identify any other licenses, permits or registrations your activity requires at the federal, state and local level.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Admitting an owner who does not hold the required license, even as a passive investor.
- Naming the company without the required PLLC designation, or with a name that conflicts with licensing or ethics rules.
- Using a post office box or a mail forwarding service as the registered office.
- Assuming the state filing covers your board's firm rules.
- Skipping the Public Information Report because no franchise tax is due.
- Letting an owner's license lapse without a plan for the ownership change.
When to get professional help
A Texas attorney with professional entity experience should review the operating agreement, the ownership rules and any physician or health care structure before you file. A CPA should advise on franchise tax, the sales tax permit and your federal tax classification. Your licensing board is the only source for its firm registration or approval requirements. Free business advising is available through the Texas Small Business Development Center Network at https://www.sbdctexas.org/.
Official resources
- Texas Secretary of State: https://www.sos.state.tx.us/corp/index.shtml
- SOSDirect online filing: https://direct.sos.state.tx.us/acct/acct-login.asp
- Business entity name search: https://www.sos.state.tx.us/corp/searches.shtml
- Assumed name FAQs: https://www.sos.state.tx.us/corp/namefilingsfaqs.shtml
- Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts: https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/
- Sales tax permit information: https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/permit/
- Texas Small Business Development Center Network: https://www.sbdctexas.org/