How to Form a PLLC in New York: Filing, Publication, and Costs

To form a PLLC in New York, you file Articles of Organization together with a professional certificate at the Department of State, pay a $200 filing fee, publish notice in two county-designated newspapers for six consecutive weeks, file a Certificate of Publication, and adopt a written operating agreement within 90 days. Every member has to be a New York-licensed professional in the same field, and the publication step alone can range from a few hundred dollars upstate to nearly $2,000 in Manhattan.

Who Can Form a PLLC in New York

A PLLC is reserved for individuals licensed to practice a recognized profession under Title Eight of the Education Law. That covers medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, law, engineering, architecture, land surveying, landscape architecture, geology, clinical social work, creative arts therapy, and marriage and family therapy, among others.1New York State Senate. New York Limited Liability Company Law 1203 – Formation Every member has to hold a current New York license in the specific profession the company will practice.2Department of State. Articles of Organization (Professional Service) for Domestic Limited Liability Companies

You cannot mix professions that fall under different licensing articles unless the statute specifically authorizes it. A medical practice takes only licensed physicians; an engineering firm can combine engineers, land surveyors, and architects because their licensing articles are grouped. Verify every prospective member’s license status with the State Education Department’s Office of the Professions before filing. If a license has lapsed or carries a restriction, the Department of State will reject your paperwork.

What a PLLC Actually Protects

This trips up most professionals. A New York PLLC shields you from the business-side liabilities of the practice: office lease disputes, vendor contract claims, equipment financing, most employment lawsuits. If a patient slips in the waiting room or a supplier sues over an unpaid invoice, those claims generally reach only the company’s assets.

A PLLC does not protect you from liability for your own professional malpractice. If you personally commit negligence delivering professional services, you remain personally responsible regardless of the entity. What the PLLC does is protect you from the malpractice of your fellow members. If your business partner botches a case, that claim reaches their personal assets and the company’s assets, but not yours.

That is why malpractice insurance still matters inside a PLLC. The entity handles business risk; insurance handles professional risk. Annual premiums for small practices typically run from a few hundred to a couple thousand dollars depending on specialty.

Choose a Compliant Name

Your name must end with “Professional Limited Liability Company,” “PLLC,” or “P.L.L.C.” It cannot be identical or deceptively similar to another entity already on file. Search existing business names through the Department of State’s online database before committing.

Use the exact same spelling and punctuation across every document you file. The Articles of Organization, the professional certificate, and every downstream filing have to match. A minor discrepancy will trigger a rejection.

Get Your Professional Certificate

Before the Department of State accepts your Articles of Organization, you need proof that every member is properly licensed. Which certificate depends on the profession:

  • Attorneys obtain a Certificate of Good Standing from the Appellate Division of the department where they are admitted to practice.
  • Every other licensed profession obtains a Certificate of Authority (Form PLS-709) from the State Education Department’s Division of Professional Licensing Services.

These certificates confirm that each member is currently licensed and in good standing.2Department of State. Articles of Organization (Professional Service) for Domestic Limited Liability Companies Request them well ahead of your target filing date. Processing at the Education Department or the Appellate Division can add weeks. Filing without the certificate is an automatic rejection.

File the Articles of Organization

The Articles of Organization for a professional service LLC use Form DOS-1340. The form asks for:

  • The full PLLC name with the required suffix.
  • The New York county where the office will be located.
  • A specific statement of the profession the company will practice.
  • A mailing address where the Secretary of State can forward legal papers. The Secretary of State is automatically designated as agent for service of process.

File online through the Department of State’s Business Express portal or mail paper documents to the Albany office. The filing fee is $200. Three expedited tiers are available on top of that base fee: $25 for 24-hour processing, $75 for same-day, and $150 for two-hour.3Department of State. Fee Schedules Once approved, you receive a filing receipt that serves as formal proof the PLLC exists.

Publish in Two Newspapers

New York is one of the few states that still requires new LLCs to publish notice of formation in newspapers, and the rule applies to PLLCs. Under LLC Law §206, you have to publish a copy or summary of your Articles of Organization in two newspapers within the county of your office, one daily and one weekly, both designated by the county clerk.4New York State Senate. New York Limited Liability Company Law 206 – Affidavits of Publication The notice runs once a week for six consecutive weeks, and the whole process must be completed within 120 days of your filing date.

Cost varies dramatically by county. In rural upstate counties, total newspaper fees might come to $200 to $400. In Manhattan, expect $1,400 to $2,000 or more. The county clerk assigns the papers, so there is no shopping around.

After the six weeks, the newspapers give you affidavits of publication. Attach them to a Certificate of Publication (Form DOS-1708) and file it with the Department of State along with a $50 fee.5Department of State. Certificate of Publication for Domestic Limited Liability Company Skipping this step has real consequences. Without a completed Certificate of Publication, your PLLC loses the ability to bring or maintain a lawsuit in New York courts. The entity still exists, but it cannot enforce its own contracts until the requirement is satisfied.

Adopt an Operating Agreement

New York law requires every LLC, including every PLLC, to adopt a written operating agreement within 90 days of filing the Articles of Organization.6New York State Senate. New York Limited Liability Company Law 417 – Operating Agreement You do not file it with the state. It stays internal.

The agreement governs how profits and losses split, how decisions get made, what happens when a member leaves or dies, and how disputes are resolved. For a PLLC, it also needs to address:

  • Ownership transfer restrictions. Because only licensed professionals in the same field can be members, any transfer must go to someone holding that same license. Build in a right of first refusal so existing members can buy out a departing member’s interest.
  • Buy-sell provisions covering death, incapacity, loss of license, or retirement. Without clear terms, a member exit can force expensive litigation or even dissolution.
  • Management structure. Decide whether all members manage equally or whether specific members are designated as managers.

Skip the operating agreement and New York’s default LLC rules fill the gaps, and those defaults rarely match what the members actually intended. The exit provisions are where most partnership fights turn ugly, so put real time into them.

Get an EIN and Set Tax Treatment

Once the PLLC is formed, apply for an Employer Identification Number from the IRS. You need it to open a business bank account, hire employees, and file federal tax returns. The application is free at irs.gov, and the number issues immediately.7Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number The online session times out after 15 minutes of inactivity and cannot be saved, so have your information ready. Ignore third-party sites charging a fee. The IRS does not.

The IRS does not recognize PLLCs as a separate tax category. Default treatment depends on membership:

  • A single-member PLLC is a disregarded entity. Income and expenses flow to your personal return on Schedule C.
  • A multi-member PLLC is taxed as a partnership by default. The company files Form 1065, and each member reports their share on Schedule K-1.8Internal Revenue Service. LLC Filing as a Corporation or Partnership

You can change the default by filing Form 8832 to be taxed as a C-corporation, or Form 2553 to elect S-corporation status. The S-corp election is popular among higher-earning professionals because it can reduce self-employment taxes, but it has to be filed within two months and 15 days of the beginning of the tax year you want it to apply. Talk to a tax advisor before making that choice. Unwinding it is difficult.

Ongoing Requirements After Formation

Every New York LLC and PLLC files a biennial statement with the Department of State every two years. The fee is $9, and the statement updates the address where the Secretary of State forwards service of process.9Department of State. Biennial Statements for Business Corporations and Limited Liability Companies Missing it leaves the entity listed as past due.

Every member also has to keep their professional license active. If a member’s license expires or is revoked, that person can no longer legally remain a member. This is exactly what the mandatory withdrawal provisions in your operating agreement are for.

New York LLC Transparency Act

Starting January 1, 2026, the New York LLC Transparency Act requires LLCs and PLLCs formed or authorized to do business in New York to report beneficial ownership information to the Department of State. Entities formed before that date have until January 1, 2027, to file. Penalties for noncompliance run up to $500 per day of delinquency, plus a $250 fee to restore good standing when you file. The Department of State maintains the information in a secure, non-public database.

On the federal side, the Corporate Transparency Act’s Beneficial Ownership Information reporting was effectively suspended for domestic entities by a March 2025 interim rule from FinCEN.10Federal Register. Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Requirement Revision and Deadline Extension The federal exemption is separate from the New York state requirement, which is active. Do not treat one as covering the other.

What It All Costs

For a PLLC based in an upstate county, total formation costs often fall in the $500 to $700 range. In New York City, publication alone can push the total past $2,000. Those figures do not include legal or accounting fees if you hire professionals to handle the filing and draft the operating agreement.