The professional-corporation and professional-LLC forms exist in North Dakota for the professions their definition covers, but whether that definition's degree-based test reaches ABA is unsettled; this guide found no authority resolving it, and it does not matter to the bottom line, since no rule compels an ABA practice into the professional form either way. The standard LLC is therefore the practical choice, and open ownership is the norm.
The nine entity criteria at a glance
Is ABA a licensed profession in North Dakota, and under which board
North Dakota licenses behavior analysts through the Board of Integrative Health Care under N.D.C.C. Chapter 43-64. The board placement matters for the corporate-practice analysis below, because the corporate-practice question routes through integrative health care rather than medicine, because North Dakota licenses behavior analysts through the Board of Integrative Health Care, and the integrative-health-care framework carries no corporate-practice doctrine reaching ABA. Whether ABA satisfies the professional-entity chapter's scope definition is unsettled, since that definition requires a degree "in the specific field" and this guide found no authority resolving whether North Dakota's program-accreditation-based licensure rule meets that test, but an ordinary LLC is always open either way (N.D.C.C. Chapter 43-64; N.D.C.C. § 10-31-01(11)).
The entity menu: what an ABA practice can use
North Dakota offers a professional corporation and a professional limited liability company, both elective for the professions their definition covers. Whether ABA is one of those professions is unsettled, but neither form is required for an ABA practice either way, so the practical menu is the ordinary business forms.
| Entity | Available for ABA? | Who may own it | When to use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard LLC (N.D.C.C. Chapter 10-32.1) | Yes; the practical form | Open; a non-licensee may own | The default for an ABA practice; no professional entity is required. |
| Professional LLC / PC (N.D.C.C. Chapter 10-31) | Unsettled; turns on an unresolved scope question | Persons licensed in the profession, if available | Not required for ABA either way; not confirmed as an option. |
| Ordinary corporation | Yes | Open | An alternative to the LLC where a corporate form is preferred. |
Can a behavior analyst form the professional entity
Whether a behavior analyst may form a professional entity in North Dakota is unsettled, because the chapter 10-31 definition's "degree in the specific field" requirement has not been confirmed to reach ABA, and this guide found no authority resolving it. Nothing requires it either way, an ordinary LLC is always open, and the Licensed credential is what qualifies the analyst to deliver services rather than a condition of the entity form. Most ABA practices use the ordinary LLC because it is simpler and imposes no same-profession ownership rule (N.D.C.C. Chapter 10-31; N.D.C.C. § 10-31-01(11)).
Who is allowed to own it
For an ABA practice in North Dakota, anyone may own it. The professional-entity ownership rule applies only if a practice elects the professional form; an ordinary LLC delivering ABA is unrestricted, and the corporate-practice question routes through integrative health care rather than medicine, because North Dakota licenses behavior analysts through the Board of Integrative Health Care, and the integrative-health-care framework carries no corporate-practice doctrine reaching ABA. A non-licensee founder or an outside investor may own the LLC directly and take distributions, and the licensed behavior analysts deliver the services. The ownership-adjacent constraint is the fee-splitting and anti-kickback line on the money flowing to a non-clinical owner, covered on the ownership page, not a bar on equity itself (N.D.C.C. 43-17-34).
Where the two archetypes split
The two archetypes split only lightly in North Dakota, and the professional form is optional for both.
- ABA-only. A standard LLC owned by anyone, delivering services through licensed behavior analysts. No professional entity required, no ownership restriction.
- ABA with in-house diagnostics. A licensed psychologist performing diagnostic evaluations may render services through a professional entity if the practice chooses, but more often is employed within the ordinary LLC and bills under the psychologist's own credential. The behavior-analysis line remains an ordinary LLC either way.
Neither archetype is forced into a professional entity, and the standard LLC is the practical structure for both.
Why the professional form is never compelled, available or not
North Dakota is an open state on the entity axis regardless of how one open scope question resolves: it licenses behavior analysts, and whether the Professional Organizations Act's degree-based definition reaches ABA is unsettled, turning on whether North Dakota's program-accreditation-based licensure rule satisfies the Act's "degree in the specific field" language, a question this guide found no authority deciding. But nothing compels an ABA practice into the professional form either way, and the corporate-practice question routes through integrative health care rather than medicine. The practical consequence is that the standard LLC is the form in use, chosen for simplicity and open ownership. The North Dakota entity-decision page carries the full corporate-practice and professional-entity analysis.
Naming the entity
An ABA-only practice in North Dakota using the prevailing ordinary LLC takes a standard designator, Limited Liability Company, LLC, or L.L.C. A practice that elects the professional form uses the professional designator its statute requires. The name must be distinguishable from existing North Dakota entities and must not imply a profession the entity is not authorized to practice. Clearing the name at formation avoids a later change (N.D.C.C. Chapter 10-32.1, naming provisions).
Why choosing the entity is only half the question
Choosing the entity settles the form, not the operation. The standard LLC answers what the practice is; it does not answer who may hold equity as outside capital enters, how a management company would be priced, how the licensed credential is maintained, or how the entity enrolls with North Dakota Medicaid and commercial payers. Those are the questions the rest of the guide answers, and in North Dakota they carry more weight than the entity choice, which no compulsion to use the professional form, whether or not it is available, settles in favor of the ordinary LLC.
Tax treatment as a separate layer
Entity form and tax classification are separate layers. A single-member North Dakota LLC is a disregarded entity by default, a multi-member LLC is a partnership, and either may elect S-corporation or C-corporation treatment with the IRS independent of the state-law form. Because ABA uses an ordinary LLC in North Dakota, no tax election is constrained by a professional-form requirement. This is not tax advice; make the election with a tax advisor (26 U.S.C.; IRS Form 8832, Form 2553).
Multistate practice and foreign qualification
A practice organized elsewhere that begins serving North Dakota clients must foreign-qualify its home entity with the North Dakota Secretary of State, or form a North Dakota entity, before transacting business in the state. Because North Dakota imposes no professional-entity requirement on ABA, a foreign ordinary LLC qualifies without a professional-form or licensed-ownership hurdle. The gating item is the clinical credential: the behavior analysts serving North Dakota clients must hold North Dakota licensure regardless of where the entity is organized. A multistate operator applies the strictest-state rule, and North Dakota is not the strict state on the entity axis.
How this connects to the rest of your compliance stack
The entity is one decision in a stack. In North Dakota the entity choice is a standard LLC and the real work is ownership structuring, payer enrollment, and maintaining the N.D.C.C. Chapter 43-64 credential. See the North Dakota entity-decision page for the gateway question, the North Dakota ownership page for outside capital, the North Dakota licensing page for the credential, the North Dakota Medicaid page for enrollment, and the North Dakota facility page for records and premises. The compliance guide ties them together.
Forming the entity in North Dakota: the sequence
- Confirm the archetype. ABA-only, or ABA plus in-house psychology. Both use a standard LLC; the professional form is optional for either.
- Form the LLC. File articles of organization with the North Dakota Secretary of State under N.D.C.C. Chapter 10-32.1.
- Clear the name. Use an ordinary LLC designator, or the professional designator if the professional form is elected.
- Adopt an operating agreement. Set ownership and management, and reserve clinical authority to a licensed behavior analyst clinical director.
- Credential and enroll. Ensure the behavior analysts hold North Dakota licensure and enroll the entity with North Dakota Medicaid and commercial payers under its own NPI and tax ID.
- Layer ownership and management terms. Structure any outside capital against the fee-splitting and anti-kickback rules the ownership page covers.
North Dakota entity variables at a glance
| Variable | North Dakota value |
|---|---|
| Is ABA a licensed profession? | Yes; licensed through the Board of Integrative Health Care under N.D.C.C. Chapter 43-64 |
| Is a PLLC available for ABA? | Unsettled; N.D.C.C. § 10-31-01(11) requires a degree "in the specific field," and whether North Dakota's ABAI/BACB-program-accreditation-based licensure rule satisfies that is unresolved; not required for an ABA practice either way |
| Other professional forms | Professional corporation under N.D.C.C. Chapter 10-31; same unsettled scope question |
| Prevailing form | Standard LLC under N.D.C.C. Chapter 10-32.1 |
| Who may own the entity | Open; a non-licensee may own an ordinary LLC delivering ABA |
| Corporate-practice doctrine | the corporate-practice question routes through integrative health care rather than medicine, because North Dakota licenses behavior analysts through the Board of Integrative Health Care, and the integrative-health-care framework carries no corporate-practice doctrine reaching ABA |
| Clinic-license regime | None reaching outpatient ABA |
| Naming | Ordinary LLC designator for the prevailing form; professional designator only if the professional form is elected |
| Key authorities | N.D.C.C. Chapter 43-64; N.D.C.C. Chapter 10-31; N.D.C.C. Chapter 10-32.1; N.D.C.C. 43-17-34 |
Frequently asked questions
Can an ABA practice be a PLLC in North Dakota?
Can a non-licensee own an ABA practice in North Dakota?
What form should an ABA practice use in North Dakota?
Does adding a psychologist change the entity?
Does the board that licenses behavior analysts matter?
Where professional advice is essential, not optional
North Dakota's entity answer is a standard LLC with open ownership, so counsel matters in narrow situations: structuring outside investment against the fee-splitting and anti-kickback rules; deciding whether an in-house psychology line should use the elective professional form; and multistate expansion where a stricter state governs. A behavior analyst forming a solo LLC generally does not need bespoke entity counsel but should have the operating agreement and payer enrollment reviewed. This page is educational and is not legal or tax advice.
The governing authorities to know are N.D.C.C. Chapter 43-64 (the license), N.D.C.C. Chapter 10-31 (the elective professional forms), N.D.C.C. Chapter 10-32.1 (the LLC Act and the prevailing form), and N.D.C.C. 43-17-34 (the medical framework and the corporate-practice question).