Georgia does not offer a professional limited liability company. Instead, the LLC Act expressly permits professionals to render professional services through a standard LLC (O.C.G.A. § 14-11-1107(f)), which can be owned by non-licensees. If you prefer a professional form, Georgia offers the professional corporation (O.C.G.A. § 14-7-1 et seq.) and the professional association (O.C.G.A. Title 14, Chapter 10), both owned by licensees. Behavior analysts are newly licensed through the Georgia Behavior Analyst Licensing Board (HB 412, 2022; O.C.G.A. Title 43, Chapter 7A), and Georgia has no standalone corporate-practice doctrine, so non-licensee ownership of a standard LLC is workable.
The nine entity criteria at a glance
- Is ABA a licensed profession in Georgia, and under which board
- The entity menu: there is no PLLC, so here is what you use
- Can a behavior analyst form the professional entity
- Who is allowed to own it
- Board confirmation and registration
- Naming the entity
- Why choosing the entity is only half the question
- Tax treatment as a separate layer
- Multistate practice and foreign qualification
- How this connects to the rest of your compliance stack
- Forming the entity in Georgia: the sequence
- Georgia entity variables at a glance
- Frequently asked questions
- Where professional advice is essential
Is ABA a licensed profession in Georgia, and under which board
Yes, and recently. Georgia created a behavior-analyst license in 2022, administered by the Georgia Behavior Analyst Licensing Board (HB 412, 2022; O.C.G.A. Title 43, Chapter 7A, with unlicensed-practice provisions at § 43-7A-6), with an application deadline of April 1, 2026 for practitioners coming into the system. Because behavior analysis is now a licensed profession, the professional-entity options are available to an ABA practice. The Georgia twist is that the most common professional-entity form in other states, the PLLC, does not exist here, so the choice is shaped differently.
The entity menu: there is no PLLC, so here is what you use
Georgia simply does not offer a professional limited liability company. The state resolves this not by forcing professionals into a corporation, but by expressly permitting them to use a standard LLC to render professional services. That makes the standard LLC the natural default, with two professional forms available if you want them.
| Entity | Available for ABA? | Who may own it | When to use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard LLC (O.C.G.A. § 14-11-100 et seq.; § 14-11-1107(f)) | Yes | Anyone; non-licensee owners permitted | The usual choice. Georgia expressly allows an LLC to render professional services. |
| Professional corporation (PC) (O.C.G.A. § 14-7-1 et seq.) | Yes | Shares only to licensees of the profession | If you want a corporate professional form. Name reservation requires board confirmation. |
| Professional association (PA) (O.C.G.A. Title 14, Chapter 10) | Yes | Two or more persons duly licensed in the profession | An older partnership-style professional form for licensed practitioners. |
| Professional LLC (PLLC) | Not offered | n/a | Georgia has no PLLC; use one of the forms above. |
Can a behavior analyst form the professional entity
Yes. Now that behavior analysis is licensed in Georgia, a licensed behavior analyst can render services through a standard LLC under the express professional-services permission (O.C.G.A. § 14-11-1107(f)), or form a professional corporation (O.C.G.A. § 14-7-1 et seq.) or a professional association (O.C.G.A. Title 14, Chapter 10). There is one recent-licensure wrinkle worth knowing: to reserve a name for a professional corporation, the Secretary of State requires confirmation of the applicant's professional status from the regulating board. For a newly regulated profession that means the Georgia Behavior Analyst Licensing Board would supply that confirmation, so the professional-corporation route depends on that step being operational. The standard-LLC route sidesteps it, which is part of why the LLC is the cleaner default for a Georgia ABA practice.
Georgia's missing PLLC is not a gap; it is a design choice. The state lets professionals use an ordinary LLC for professional services, which keeps the most flexible form open to ABA practices.
Who is allowed to own it
It depends on the form. A standard LLC may be owned by anyone, including non-licensees, which Georgia permits even for professional services (O.C.G.A. § 14-11-1107(f)), and Georgia has no standalone corporate-practice doctrine forcing licensee-only ownership of behavior-analysis practices. A professional corporation may issue shares only to persons licensed to practice the profession for which it was organized, and a professional association is formed by two or more duly licensed persons. So if you want outside or non-licensee ownership, the standard LLC is the path; if you want a licensee-only professional form, the PC or PA is available.
Board confirmation and registration
Georgia does not impose a general certificate-of-registration regime on professional LLCs, because it has none, and a standard LLC is formed directly with the Secretary of State. The board step that does exist is narrower: reserving the name of a professional corporation requires confirmation from the regulating board that the applicant holds the relevant professional status. The individual behavior analysts must of course hold their Georgia licenses. Confirm the current Secretary of State and Behavior Analyst Licensing Board procedures before filing, particularly if you choose the professional-corporation route, since this is the step most affected by the recency of ABA licensure.
Naming the entity
A standard Georgia LLC name must include a limited-liability-company designator such as LLC, L.L.C., Limited Liability Company, or Limited Company, must be distinguishable on the Secretary of State's records, and cannot exceed 80 characters (O.C.G.A. § 14-11-207). A professional corporation's name is governed by the Professional Corporation Act and the Secretary of State's name rules, including the board-confirmation step noted above. If you use a standard LLC, the ordinary designator applies.
Why choosing the entity is only half the question
Picking the form is one decision. Who may own it, and how outside capital comes in, is the other. In Georgia the ownership side is relatively open: a standard LLC can carry non-licensee owners, and Georgia's lack of a standalone corporate-practice doctrine means ABA practices often do not need the management-company structure that strict states force. If you want a licensee-only professional form, the PC or PA tightens ownership to licensees. Either way, decide the entity and the ownership together, especially if you are weighing investors or a multistate model.
Read next: Do you need an MSO for your ABA practice in Georgia?
Tax treatment as a separate layer
Entity form and tax classification are separate choices. A Georgia LLC is taxed by default as a sole proprietorship or partnership depending on the number of members and can elect corporate or S-corporation treatment. A professional corporation is a corporation for tax purposes unless it makes an S election, and a professional association is treated according to its form. The tax choice sits on top of the entity analysis and does not change it; decide it with a tax adviser.
Multistate practice and foreign qualification
If you operate beyond Georgia, the Georgia entity is only your home-state piece. To deliver services in another state you generally register there as a foreign entity and meet that state's own ownership and entity rules, which may be far stricter, including states that require a PLLC or licensee-only ownership. A non-licensee-owned LLC that works in Georgia can be impermissible elsewhere, so multistate groups usually standardize on a structure that satisfies the strictest state in the footprint. See the practice expansion and sale page for the multistate view.
How this connects to the rest of your compliance stack
Entity choice is one layer. Others interact with it:
- Ownership and outside capital. Whether you need a management company depends on the ownership you want; in Georgia you often do not. See the Georgia MSO and ownership page.
- Licensing and credentialing. The individuals delivering ABA must hold the Georgia behavior-analyst license. See licensing and credentialing.
- Payor and Medicaid enrollment. The entity and its ownership are disclosed at enrollment and revalidation. See Medicaid and insurance mandates.
Forming the entity in Georgia: the sequence
- License the practitioners. Behavior analysts licensed through the Georgia Behavior Analyst Licensing Board (HB 412, 2022; O.C.G.A. Title 43, Chapter 7A; application deadline April 1, 2026).
- Choose the form. A standard LLC for most practices; a professional corporation or professional association if you want a licensee-only professional form. There is no PLLC option.
- Clear the name. For a standard LLC, use the ordinary designator and check availability. For a PC, the name reservation requires board confirmation of professional status.
- File the formation document. Articles of organization for an LLC, or articles of incorporation for a PC, with the Secretary of State.
- Adopt an operating agreement or bylaws. Set ownership and management; non-licensee ownership of a standard LLC is documented here.
- Confirm with Georgia counsel. Especially on the professional-corporation board-confirmation step and any multistate footprint.
Georgia entity variables at a glance
| Variable | Georgia value |
|---|---|
| Is ABA a licensed profession? | Yes; licensed through the Georgia Behavior Analyst Licensing Board (HB 412, 2022; O.C.G.A. Title 43, Chapter 7A) |
| Is a PLLC available? | No; Georgia does not offer a professional LLC |
| Can professionals use a standard LLC? | Yes; expressly permitted to render professional services (O.C.G.A. § 14-11-1107(f)) |
| Professional forms available | Professional corporation (O.C.G.A. § 14-7-1 et seq.) and professional association (Title 14, Chapter 10) |
| Who may own a standard LLC | Anyone, including non-licensees |
| Who may own a PC or PA | Licensees of the profession |
| Corporate-practice doctrine | No standalone doctrine (the former statute was repealed in 1982) |
| Board step | Reserving a PC name requires board confirmation of professional status |
| Naming | LLC designator (O.C.G.A. § 14-11-207); PC under the Professional Corporation Act |
| Key authorities | O.C.G.A. Title 43, Chapter 7A; § 14-11-1107(f); § 14-11-207; § 14-7-1 et seq.; Title 14, Chapter 10 |
Frequently asked questions
Does Georgia have a PLLC for ABA practices?
Can a non-licensee own my Georgia ABA practice?
Can a behavior analyst form a professional entity in Georgia?
LLC or PC for ABA in Georgia?
What must a Georgia LLC be named?
Where professional advice is essential, not optional
Georgia's lack of a PLLC changes the entity choice, and the behavior-analyst license is recent enough that the professional-corporation name-confirmation step is worth verifying. For most practices the standard LLC is the clean answer, but confirm the form, the ownership, and any multistate footprint with a Georgia attorney and a tax adviser before you file.
The governing authorities to know are the behavior-analyst licensure provisions (HB 412, 2022; O.C.G.A. Title 43, Chapter 7A), the express permission to render professional services through an LLC (O.C.G.A. § 14-11-1107(f)) with LLC naming at § 14-11-207, the Professional Corporation Act (O.C.G.A. § 14-7-1 et seq.), and the professional-association statute (O.C.G.A. Title 14, Chapter 10).
This page describes general patterns in a regulatory environment that changes, and Georgia's behavior-analyst licensure is recent. The Georgia Secretary of State, the Georgia Behavior Analyst Licensing Board, and qualified counsel provide current requirements. Neither this page nor any secondary source should be relied on in place of direct verification with the relevant authorities and counsel.