Key Takeaways
- Illinois recognizes the PLLC as a distinct entity type for licensed professionals (805 ILCS 185 (Professional Limited Liability Company Act))
- Illinois requires licensing board approval before the filing agency will accept your PLLC filing
- Filing fee: $150 (Secretary of State Articles) + $50 (IDFPR Certificate of Registration) = $200 total
- Yes, explicitly. Illinois's Professional Limited Liability Company Act permits a PLLC to be organized around "a single profession or a cluster of related professions" — one of the more permissive multi-disciplinary rules among the states in this comparison, though every organizer/manager/member across all combined professions must still hold a current, unencumbered Illinois license.
- LLC Attorney does not form PLLCs or other professional entities — this guide is educational; where your profession permits a standard LLC or corporation, LLC Attorney can form that
If you're a licensed professional in Illinois regulated by IDFPR — a physician, architect, engineer, therapist, or similar occupation — Illinois law requires you to form a Professional LLC instead of a standard LLC, and formation genuinely requires two separate government approvals, not one.
This guide covers exactly how to form an Illinois PLLC in 2026 — which IDFPR-licensed professions need one, why Secretary of State approval alone doesn't authorize you to operate, the $200 combined cost, and what liability protection a PLLC actually provides for negligent professional acts.
What Is a Illinois PLLC?
A Professional Limited Liability Company (PLLC) is a special LLC designation for licensed professionals — doctors, lawyers, accountants, and similar occupations. It works like a regular LLC, but ownership is restricted to people who hold the same professional license, and formation often requires sign-off from your licensing board before the state will accept your filing.
Yes. Illinois recognizes the PLLC as a distinct entity type for licensed professionals (805 ILCS 185 (Professional Limited Liability Company Act)).
Who Needs a PLLC in Illinois?
Any profession licensed by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) must use a PLLC rather than a standard LLC — physicians, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists, clinical psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, professional counselors, architects, professional and structural engineers, land surveyors, acupuncturists, massage therapists, occupational and physical therapists, speech-language pathologists, and CPAs are among the professions covered. Attorneys may also use an Illinois PLLC, subject to the Illinois Supreme Court's separate authority over the practice of law.
Do I Need Licensing Board Approval First?
Illinois runs a genuine two-agency process. After the Secretary of State approves your Articles of Organization, you must separately apply for and receive a Certificate of Registration from IDFPR ($50, nonrefundable) before the PLLC may lawfully operate. IDFPR verifies that every organizer, manager, and member holds a current Illinois license with no pending discipline. Dentistry PLLCs require all members/managers to be licensed dentists, and medicine PLLCs require all managers to be licensed physicians.
Formation is not complete on Secretary of State approval alone — that's step one. IDFPR's Certificate of Registration is a mandatory second step, filed after the Articles are accepted, and your PLLC isn't authorized to actually render professional services until IDFPR issues that certificate. Budget for both the SOS timeline and a separate IDFPR review period before you start operating.
How to Form a Illinois PLLC
- Filing agency: Illinois Secretary of State, Department of Business Services (Articles), followed by IDFPR (Certificate of Registration)
- Form: Articles of Organization for a Professional Limited Liability Company (Form LLC 5.5), followed by an IDFPR Certificate of Registration application (LLC 5.5)
- Filing fee: $150 (Secretary of State Articles) + $50 (IDFPR Certificate of Registration) = $200 total
- Processing time: About 7-10 business days for standard Secretary of State processing; IDFPR's registration review runs on a separate timeline afterward
- Expedited option: $100 for 24-hour expedited Secretary of State processing (does not expedite the separate IDFPR step)
- Name requirement: Must contain "professional limited liability company," "P.L.L.C.," or "PLLC"
Who Can Own a Illinois PLLC?
Every organizer, manager, and member must hold a current Illinois license in a covered profession — with a notable exception allowing a licensed attorney to serve as an initial organizer even where the PLLC will render non-legal professional services.
Yes, explicitly. Illinois's Professional Limited Liability Company Act permits a PLLC to be organized around "a single profession or a cluster of related professions" — one of the more permissive multi-disciplinary rules among the states in this comparison, though every organizer/manager/member across all combined professions must still hold a current, unencumbered Illinois license.
What Liability Protection Does a PLLC Actually Provide?
A PLLC protects you from business debts and from a co-owner's malpractice — but it never shields you from your own malpractice. If you personally provide negligent professional services, you remain personally liable for that regardless of the entity structure.
An Illinois PLLC shields members from each other's malpractice and from ordinary business debts, but never from a member's own negligent professional acts — that liability follows the individual professional regardless of the entity wrapper.
Illinois doesn't impose a blanket statutory malpractice-insurance mandate tied to PLLC formation itself. Carrying coverage is standard market practice for most licensed professions rather than a legal condition of forming or maintaining the entity — check your specific IDFPR-regulated board for any profession-specific requirement.
How Is a Illinois PLLC Taxed?
By default, a PLLC is taxed exactly like a regular LLC — pass-through to the owners' personal returns, with the option to elect S-corp or C-corp taxation if that fits your situation better. The professional designation changes ownership eligibility and licensing oversight, not the default federal tax treatment.
Illinois has a flat 4.95% personal income tax, so an Illinois PLLC's pass-through profit is taxed at that rate at the state level, on top of federal income and self-employment tax under the default pass-through treatment.
Illinois PLLCs owe the state's Personal Property Replacement Tax (1.5% of net income) in addition to the standard $75 annual report fee that applies to LLCs generally — both apply to a PLLC exactly as they would to a plain LLC.
How to Set Up Your Illinois PLLC Step by Step
If You Do It Yourself
Step 1 — Confirm you need a PLLC (not a plain LLC) for your profession.
Any profession licensed by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) must use a PLLC rather than a standard LLC — physicians, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists, clinical psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, professional counselors, architects, professional and structural engineers, land surveyors, acupuncturists, massage therapists, occupational and physical therapists, speech-language pathologists, and CPAs are among the professions covered. Attorneys may also use an Illinois PLLC, subject to the Illinois Supreme Court's separate authority over the practice of law.
Step 2 — Get licensing board sign-off if required.
Illinois runs a genuine two-agency process. After the Secretary of State approves your Articles of Organization, you must separately apply for and receive a Certificate of Registration from IDFPR ($50, nonrefundable) before the PLLC may lawfully operate. IDFPR verifies that every organizer, manager, and member holds a current Illinois license with no pending discipline. Dentistry PLLCs require all members/managers to be licensed dentists, and medicine PLLCs require all managers to be licensed physicians. Formation is not complete on Secretary of State approval alone — that's step one. IDFPR's Certificate of Registration is a mandatory second step, filed after the Articles are accepted, and your PLLC isn't authorized to actually render professional services until IDFPR issues that certificate. Budget for both the SOS timeline and a separate IDFPR review period before you start operating.
Step 3 — File your formation documents.
File the Articles of Organization for a Professional Limited Liability Company (Form LLC 5.5), followed by an IDFPR Certificate of Registration application with Illinois Secretary of State, Department of Business Services (Articles), followed by IDFPR (Certificate of Registration), $150 (Secretary of State Articles) + $50 (IDFPR Certificate of Registration) = $200 total.
Step 4 — Appoint a registered agent.
Illinois calls this role a "Registered Agent" — required at formation.
Step 5 — Confirm ownership eligibility for every member.
Every organizer, manager, and member must hold a current Illinois license in a covered profession — with a notable exception allowing a licensed attorney to serve as an initial organizer even where the PLLC will render non-legal professional services.
Step 6 — Address malpractice insurance requirements.
Illinois doesn't impose a blanket statutory malpractice-insurance mandate tied to PLLC formation itself. Carrying coverage is standard market practice for most licensed professions rather than a legal condition of forming or maintaining the entity — check your specific IDFPR-regulated board for any profession-specific requirement.
Step 7 — Handle ongoing state compliance.
Illinois PLLCs owe the state's Personal Property Replacement Tax (1.5% of net income) in addition to the standard $75 annual report fee that applies to LLCs generally — both apply to a PLLC exactly as they would to a plain LLC. Illinois has a flat 4.95% personal income tax, so an Illinois PLLC's pass-through profit is taxed at that rate at the state level, on top of federal income and self-employment tax under the default pass-through treatment.
Step 8 — Watch for Illinois-specific PLLC traps.
The most common Illinois-specific mistake is treating Secretary of State approval of your Articles of Organization as the finish line. It isn't — your PLLC cannot lawfully operate until IDFPR separately issues a Certificate of Registration, a distinct application with its own $50 fee and its own licensure-verification review.
Where LLC Attorney Fits In
LLC Attorney doesn't form Illinois PLLCs or other professional entities, and the filing steps above are for you or your attorney to complete. What we can do:
- Form a standard Illinois LLC or corporation the same day where your profession permits one.
- Handle S-corp elections.
- Serve as your Registered Agent (registered agent).
- Connect you with flat-fee attorney consultations (no retainer) for licensing and ownership questions before you file.
When Should You Talk to an Attorney About Your Illinois PLLC?
Talk to an attorney before forming your Illinois PLLC if you're combining more than one licensed profession and need to confirm IDFPR will treat them as sufficiently "related," if any organizer, manager, or member has a licensure issue or pending discipline that could complicate IDFPR's Certificate of Registration review, or if you're unsure how to sequence the SOS filing and the IDFPR application so you're not operating before both are complete.
Is Illinois a State Where PLLC Formation Is More Complex?
Illinois is one of the more procedurally complex PLLC states in the country because it splits formation across two separate agencies with two separate reviews. Getting your Articles approved by the Secretary of State is a necessary first step, but it doesn't authorize you to practice — you still need IDFPR's Certificate of Registration, which involves its own licensure verification for every organizer, manager, and member. Skipping or delaying that second step is the single most common formation mistake for Illinois PLLCs.
How LLC Attorney Can Help Illinois Professionals
LLC Attorney doesn't form professional entities like PLLCs. This guide exists so professionals get the Illinois rules right — here's what we do offer.
- Standard LLC or corporation formation in Illinois, where your profession permits one — no markup on state fees.
- S-corp election handling when that fits your tax situation.
- Registered agent (Registered Agent) service in Illinois.
- Access to professionally trained Business Success Advisors at no charge, plus flat-fee attorney consultations (no retainer) for licensing and ownership questions.
Need Help Starting Your Illinois Business?
LLC Attorney doesn't form professional entities like PLLCs; if your profession allows a standard LLC or corporation in Illinois, we can form it and serve as your registered agent; if you're unsure which entity your license requires, a flat-fee attorney consultation can settle it before you file. See our full pricing for all service tiers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Illinois recognizes the PLLC as a distinct entity type under its own dedicated statute, 805 ILCS 185, separate from the general LLC Act.
Any profession licensed by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) must use a PLLC — including physicians, dentists, optometrists, psychologists, social workers, counselors, architects, engineers, land surveyors, therapists, and CPAs. Attorneys may also form an Illinois PLLC.
Yes, and it's a genuine two-agency process. After the Secretary of State approves your Articles of Organization, you must separately obtain a Certificate of Registration from IDFPR ($50) before your PLLC may lawfully operate.
Illinois PLLC formation costs $150 for the Secretary of State Articles of Organization plus $50 for the mandatory IDFPR Certificate of Registration — $200 total.
Every organizer, manager, and member must hold a current Illinois license in a covered profession, with a notable exception letting a licensed attorney serve as an initial organizer even for a non-legal PLLC.
Yes. Illinois's PLLC Act explicitly permits organizing around a single profession or a cluster of related professions, provided every organizer, manager, and member holds a current, unencumbered Illinois license.
An Illinois PLLC shields members from each other's malpractice and from ordinary business debts, but never from a member's own negligent professional acts — that liability always follows the individual professional.
Illinois doesn't impose a blanket malpractice-insurance mandate tied to PLLC formation itself, though carrying coverage is standard practice for most licensed professions and some IDFPR-regulated boards may require it separately.
No. LLC Attorney does not form PLLCs, professional corporations, or other license-restricted professional entities in Illinois or anywhere else. We form standard LLCs and corporations (including S-corp elections), provide registered agent service, and offer flat-fee attorney consultations if you need help confirming which entity your license allows.