Key Takeaways
- Pennsylvania recognizes the PLLC as a distinct entity type for licensed professionals (15 Pa.C.S. §§8995-8998)
- Pennsylvania does not require licensing board pre-approval as a condition of filing
- Filing fee: $125
- Not permitted. A Pennsylvania RPC may only practice the professional service identified in its Certificate of Organization — since the 10 covered professions are individually enumerated and no combination provision exists in the statute, multidisciplinary combination isn't available under the RPC structure.
- 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 Pennsylvania — a doctor, dentist, attorney, or one of a handful of other specific professions — state law lets you form what most other states call a PLLC, except Pennsylvania has its own name for it: a Restricted Professional Company (RPC).
This guide covers exactly how to form a Pennsylvania RPC in 2026 — the 10 professions eligible for the form, the $125 filing fee, why the state uses a registered office instead of a conventional registered agent, and the genuine open question around whether RPCs still pay an older per-member annual fee after Pennsylvania's 2025 reporting overhaul.
What Is a Pennsylvania 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. Pennsylvania recognizes the PLLC as a distinct entity type for licensed professionals (15 Pa.C.S. §§8995-8998).
Who Needs a PLLC in Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania's Restricted Professional Company (RPC) statute covers exactly ten "restricted professional services": chiropractic, dentistry, law, medicine and surgery, optometry, osteopathic medicine and surgery, podiatric medicine, public accounting, psychology, and veterinary medicine. Licensed professions outside this specific list — architects, engineers, land surveyors, and similar occupations — use a regular LLC or a Professional Corporation instead, since they don't fall within the RPC statute's scope.
Any licensed profession outside the 10 enumerated restricted professional services simply forms a standard Pennsylvania LLC or a Professional Corporation — the RPC form is narrower in scope than most other states' PLLC statutes, so don't assume every licensed occupation needs the restricted-professional structure.
Do I Need Licensing Board Approval First?
Pennsylvania's RPC approval hasn't been confirmed as a pre-filing certification requirement the way Nevada or Oklahoma structure it. The state's Certificate of Organization relies on member self-certification of licensure within the document itself rather than requiring a separate agency sign-off before the Department of State will accept the filing.
Because there's no separate pre-filing board certification step confirmed for Pennsylvania, your RPC filing proceeds directly through the Department of State once the Certificate of Organization correctly states the restricted professional service and every owner/manager's license is current — there's no separate board approval to wait on before submitting.
How to Form a Pennsylvania PLLC
- Filing agency: Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations
- Form: Certificate of Organization – Restricted Professional Company, with Docketing Statement (DSCB:15-8821 (with DSCB:15-134A))
- Filing fee: $125
- Processing time: About 7-10 business days for standard online processing
- Expedited option: Expedited service available for additional fees — confirm current tiers with the Bureau of Corporations
- Name requirement: Pennsylvania's own statutory term for this entity is "Restricted Professional Company" (RPC), not "PLLC" — the name must still contain "limited liability company," "LLC," or "L.L.C.," with no separately mandated "PLLC" suffix confirmed in statute. The restricted-professional designation and a description of the specific service(s) practiced are disclosed within the Certificate of Organization's content itself, not necessarily in the entity's name.
Who Can Own a Pennsylvania PLLC?
Every beneficial owner and every manager must be a licensed practitioner in the specific restricted profession the company practices — Pennsylvania covers exactly the 10 enumerated professions, and ownership eligibility runs through that list rather than a broader "any licensed profession" standard.
Not permitted. A Pennsylvania RPC may only practice the professional service identified in its Certificate of Organization — since the 10 covered professions are individually enumerated and no combination provision exists in the statute, multidisciplinary combination isn't available under the RPC structure.
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.
A Pennsylvania Restricted Professional Company shields owners from each other's malpractice and from ordinary business debts, but never from an owner's own negligent professional acts — that liability follows the individual practitioner regardless of the entity wrapper.
No statute-wide dollar figure for malpractice insurance was found within the RPC provisions themselves, though some Pennsylvania licensing boards impose their own minimum professional-liability insurance requirements independent of the RPC statute — confirm with your specific board rather than assuming the RPC filing alone satisfies any insurance obligation.
How Is a Pennsylvania 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.
Pennsylvania has a flat personal income tax of 3.07%, so pass-through profit from an RPC flows to owners' personal returns and is taxed at this flat rate in addition to federal tax.
Pennsylvania overhauled its annual/decennial reporting system starting in 2025 — standard LLCs now file a simple $7 Annual Report (confirm the exact current due date with the Department of State, since sources have varied between a September and an April deadline). Whether RPCs specifically still pay an older, higher per-licensed-member registration fee or have been folded into the new uniform $7 LLC annual report is a genuine open question that should be confirmed directly with the Bureau of Corporations before you budget for ongoing compliance costs — historically, RPCs filed a distinct Certificate of Annual Registration with a fee tied to licensed-member count, higher than the plain-LLC fee.
Pennsylvania's annual reporting overhaul (starting 2025) creates real ambiguity about whether RPCs pay the old higher per-member registration fee or the new $7 uniform LLC annual report — this should be verified directly with the Bureau of Corporations before publishing a firm cost figure to a client, since the transition rules for existing professional entities weren't fully confirmed in this research.
How to Set Up Your Pennsylvania PLLC Step by Step
If You Do It Yourself
Step 1 — Confirm you need a PLLC (not a plain LLC) for your profession.
Pennsylvania's Restricted Professional Company (RPC) statute covers exactly ten "restricted professional services": chiropractic, dentistry, law, medicine and surgery, optometry, osteopathic medicine and surgery, podiatric medicine, public accounting, psychology, and veterinary medicine. Licensed professions outside this specific list — architects, engineers, land surveyors, and similar occupations — use a regular LLC or a Professional Corporation instead, since they don't fall within the RPC statute's scope.
Step 2 — Get licensing board sign-off if required.
Pennsylvania's RPC approval hasn't been confirmed as a pre-filing certification requirement the way Nevada or Oklahoma structure it. The state's Certificate of Organization relies on member self-certification of licensure within the document itself rather than requiring a separate agency sign-off before the Department of State will accept the filing. Because there's no separate pre-filing board certification step confirmed for Pennsylvania, your RPC filing proceeds directly through the Department of State once the Certificate of Organization correctly states the restricted professional service and every owner/manager's license is current — there's no separate board approval to wait on before submitting.
Step 3 — File your formation documents.
File the Certificate of Organization – Restricted Professional Company, with Docketing Statement with Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations, $125.
Step 4 — Appoint a registered agent.
Pennsylvania calls this role a "Registered Office" — required at formation.
Step 5 — Confirm ownership eligibility for every member.
Every beneficial owner and every manager must be a licensed practitioner in the specific restricted profession the company practices — Pennsylvania covers exactly the 10 enumerated professions, and ownership eligibility runs through that list rather than a broader "any licensed profession" standard.
Step 6 — Address malpractice insurance requirements.
No statute-wide dollar figure for malpractice insurance was found within the RPC provisions themselves, though some Pennsylvania licensing boards impose their own minimum professional-liability insurance requirements independent of the RPC statute — confirm with your specific board rather than assuming the RPC filing alone satisfies any insurance obligation.
Step 7 — Handle ongoing state compliance.
Pennsylvania overhauled its annual/decennial reporting system starting in 2025 — standard LLCs now file a simple $7 Annual Report (confirm the exact current due date with the Department of State, since sources have varied between a September and an April deadline). Whether RPCs specifically still pay an older, higher per-licensed-member registration fee or have been folded into the new uniform $7 LLC annual report is a genuine open question that should be confirmed directly with the Bureau of Corporations before you budget for ongoing compliance costs — historically, RPCs filed a distinct Certificate of Annual Registration with a fee tied to licensed-member count, higher than the plain-LLC fee. Pennsylvania has a flat personal income tax of 3.07%, so pass-through profit from an RPC flows to owners' personal returns and is taxed at this flat rate in addition to federal tax.
Step 8 — Watch for Pennsylvania-specific PLLC traps.
The most common Pennsylvania-specific mistake is searching for a "PLLC" filing that doesn't exist under that name — Pennsylvania's statute calls it a Restricted Professional Company, and using the wrong form name when researching can lead to confusion about which document to file. The second common trap is assuming Pennsylvania has a conventional registered agent — it uses a "registered office" requirement instead, which a CROP can satisfy but which a generic multi-state formation checklist may miss entirely.
Where LLC Attorney Fits In
LLC Attorney doesn't form Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania LLC or corporation the same day where your profession permits one.
- Handle S-corp elections.
- Serve as your Registered Office (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 Pennsylvania PLLC?
Talk to an attorney before forming your Pennsylvania RPC if your profession isn't one of the 10 enumerated restricted professional services (you'll need a different entity type entirely), if you're unsure whether your ongoing annual registration fee is the old per-member figure or the new $7 uniform report, or if you need help setting up a Commercial Registered Office Provider arrangement.
Is Pennsylvania a State Where PLLC Formation Is More Complex?
Pennsylvania is more complex than most PLLC states for two reasons specific to its structure. First, the entity is legally called a "Restricted Professional Company," not a PLLC, and it covers exactly 10 enumerated professions with zero multidisciplinary combination allowed — broader than some states' scope but narrower in structure than others. Second, Pennsylvania uses a "registered office" concept instead of a traditional registered agent, satisfiable via a Commercial Registered Office Provider (CROP), which surprises professionals moving from a state with conventional registered-agent rules.
How LLC Attorney Can Help Pennsylvania Professionals
LLC Attorney doesn't form professional entities like PLLCs. This guide exists so professionals get the Pennsylvania rules right — here's what we do offer.
- Standard LLC or corporation formation in Pennsylvania, where your profession permits one — no markup on state fees.
- S-corp election handling when that fits your tax situation.
- Registered agent (Registered Office) service in Pennsylvania.
- 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 Pennsylvania Business?
LLC Attorney doesn't form professional entities like PLLCs; if your profession allows a standard LLC or corporation in Pennsylvania, we can form it and serve as your registered office; 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, though Pennsylvania calls it a "Restricted Professional Company" (RPC) rather than a PLLC. It's recognized under 15 Pa.C.S. §§8995-8998 and functions the same way a PLLC does in other states.
Exactly 10 restricted professional services qualify: chiropractic, dentistry, law, medicine and surgery, optometry, osteopathic medicine and surgery, podiatric medicine, public accounting, psychology, and veterinary medicine. Other licensed professions use a standard LLC or Professional Corporation instead.
Not confirmed as a separate pre-filing certification requirement — Pennsylvania's RPC statute appears to rely on member self-certification of licensure within the Certificate of Organization itself, rather than a separate agency sign-off before the state will accept the filing.
The Certificate of Organization filing fee is $125. Ongoing annual costs are genuinely unclear as of this writing — Pennsylvania overhauled its reporting system starting in 2025, and whether RPCs pay the new uniform $7 LLC annual report or an older, higher per-licensed-member fee should be confirmed directly with the Bureau of Corporations.
Every beneficial owner and manager must be a licensed practitioner in the specific restricted profession the company practices, drawn from Pennsylvania's list of 10 enumerated professions.
No. A Pennsylvania RPC may only practice the professional service identified in its Certificate of Organization — the statute doesn't provide for combining any of the 10 enumerated professions under one entity.
A Pennsylvania RPC shields owners from each other's malpractice and from ordinary business debts, but never from an owner's own negligent professional acts — that liability always follows the individual practitioner.
No statute-wide dollar figure was found within the RPC provisions themselves, though some Pennsylvania licensing boards impose their own minimum insurance requirements independent of the RPC statute.
No. LLC Attorney does not form PLLCs, professional corporations, or other license-restricted professional entities in Pennsylvania 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.