Tennessee offers the professional limited liability company (Tennessee Revised LLC Act, T.C.A. § 48-249-1101 et seq.) and the professional corporation (Tennessee Professional Corporation Act, T.C.A. § 48-101-601 et seq.), but professional status is elected, not required (T.C.A. § 48-249-1104(a)): an ordinary LLC under the Tennessee LLC Act may render behavior analysis with no licensed-ownership rule. Even an elected PLLC may include non-licensee members or holders of financial rights where the licensing authority authorizes it (T.C.A. § 48-249-1109(b)). The codified corporate-practice rule sits in the Medical Practice Act and is physician-specific (T.C.A. § 63-6-204(b)), so it does not reach ABA. Behavior analysts are licensed through the Applied Behavior Analyst Licensing Committee within the Board of Examiners in Psychology (T.C.A. Title 63, Chapter 11, Part 3).
The nine entity criteria at a glance
- Is ABA a licensed profession in Tennessee, and under which board
- The entity menu: what an ABA practice can use
- Can a behavior analyst form the professional entity
- Who is allowed to own it
- Qualified persons, articles, and licensing-authority share rules
- 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 Tennessee: the sequence
- Tennessee entity variables at a glance
- Frequently asked questions
- Where professional advice is essential
Is ABA a licensed profession in Tennessee, and under which board
Yes. Tennessee licenses behavior analysts and assistant behavior analysts through the Applied Behavior Analyst Licensing Committee, which sits within the Board of Examiners in Psychology (T.C.A. Title 63, Chapter 11, Part 3, including § 63-11-304 and § 63-11-307). Because behavior analysis is licensed, the professional-entity forms are available to an ABA practice, but licensure does not force the practice into one: professional-LLC status is an optional election, and an ordinary LLC may render ABA under any owner.
The entity menu: what an ABA practice can use
Tennessee gives a licensed ABA practice a standard LLC as the default, owned by anyone, with the professional forms available as an optional election.
| Entity | Available for ABA? | Who may own it | When to use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard LLC (Tennessee LLC Act, T.C.A. ch. 201-248) | Yes | Any owner, including non-licensees | The default for most ABA practices; professional status is not elected. |
| Professional LLC (PLLC) (T.C.A. § 48-249-1101 et seq.) | Optional election | Qualified licensed persons; non-licensee members or financial-rights holders permitted where the licensing authority authorizes (§ 48-249-1109(b)) | Only if you specifically want the professional form. |
| Professional corporation (PC) (T.C.A. § 48-101-601 et seq.) | Optional | Qualified licensed shareholders (§ 48-101-610) | If you prefer a corporate professional form. |
| Management company (MSO) | Optional companion | Owned by founders or investors | Where outside capital prefers to sit in a separate entity by choice, not necessity. |
Can a behavior analyst form the professional entity
Yes, if the practice elects the professional form. Tennessee's professional LLC and professional corporation are generally owned by qualified persons, meaning individuals licensed to render the professional service the entity provides (T.C.A. § 48-249-1109; § 48-101-610), and a licensed behavior analyst is a qualified person for a behavior-analysis professional entity, so the eligibility is clean. But electing the professional form is optional, and even within a PLLC a non-licensee may be a member or hold financial rights where the licensing authority authorizes it (T.C.A. § 48-249-1109(b)). A licensing authority may also condition share or interest issuance to prevent ethical violations (T.C.A. § 48-101-610(b)), so confirm any profession-specific rules with the Applied Behavior Analyst Licensing Committee before relying on a particular structure.
Tennessee makes the professional form available but does not require it. An ordinary LLC may deliver ABA under any owner, because the corporate-practice doctrine is medicine-specific and no rule locks ABA ownership to licensees.
Who is allowed to own it
Anyone. Because professional-LLC status is an optional election (T.C.A. § 48-249-1104(a)), a behavior analyst may render ABA through an ordinary LLC that a non-licensee may own, with no licensed-ownership rule. If the practice does elect the professional form, membership generally runs to qualified licensed persons (T.C.A. § 48-249-1109; § 48-101-610), but even then a PLLC may include non-licensee members or holders of financial rights where the licensing authority specifically authorizes it (T.C.A. § 48-249-1109(b)). The single-profession and enumerated-combination limits (T.C.A. § 48-248-401) govern the elected professional entity, not an ordinary LLC. And Tennessee's codified corporate-practice rule is confined to medicine, requiring physician supervision, control, and responsibility (T.C.A. § 63-6-204(b)), so it does not restrict who may own an ABA practice.
Qualified persons, articles, and licensing-authority share rules
These mechanics apply only if the practice elects the professional form; a standard LLC carries none of them. The articles of a professional LLC must certify that its members are qualified persons, subject to the non-licensee allowance the licensing authority may authorize (T.C.A. § 48-249-1109(b)), and must specify the licensed services. For an elected PLLC, loss of a license can disqualify a member and require restructuring, and the licensing authority may condition share or interest issuance (T.C.A. § 48-101-610(b)). None of this requires a board-issued certificate before formation, and none of it applies to an ordinary LLC, which is the open-ownership default.
Naming the entity
A Tennessee professional LLC name must include the words Professional Limited Liability Company or the abbreviation PLLC or P.L.L.C., and a professional corporation uses the corresponding professional-corporation designator. The name must be distinguishable on the Secretary of State's records. Clear the name before filing, and use the designator that matches the form you choose.
Why choosing the entity is only half the question
Picking the form is one decision; who may own it is the other, and in Tennessee the ownership side is open. A standard LLC may have non-licensee owners, so outside investment or a non-licensee co-founder can hold equity in the practice directly, without being forced into a management-company structure. If you elect the professional form, membership generally runs to licensees, but even then a PLLC may admit non-licensee financial-rights holders where the licensing authority authorizes it, and the ordinary LLC keeps ownership fully open. Decide the entity and the ownership together.
Read next: Do you need an MSO for your ABA practice in Tennessee?
Tax treatment as a separate layer
Entity form and tax classification are separate choices. A Tennessee PLLC is taxed by default as a sole proprietorship or partnership depending on the number of members and can elect corporate or S-corporation treatment, and Tennessee's PLLC fee scales per member, which can matter for larger practices. A professional corporation is a corporation for tax purposes unless it makes an S election. The tax choice sits on top of the entity analysis; decide it with a tax adviser alongside the entity.
Multistate practice and foreign qualification
If you operate beyond Tennessee, the Tennessee 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 differ sharply, including states with no PLLC or with looser ownership rules. A Tennessee practice is often a non-licensee-owned standard LLC, which some stricter states will not permit, 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. Ownership is open through the standard LLC, so outside capital can hold equity directly or sit in a management company by choice. See the Tennessee MSO and ownership page.
- Licensing and credentialing. The clinicians delivering ABA must hold the Tennessee behavior-analyst license, regardless of who owns the entity. 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 Tennessee: the sequence
- License the practitioners. Behavior analysts licensed through the Applied Behavior Analyst Licensing Committee within the Board of Examiners in Psychology (T.C.A. Title 63, Chapter 11, Part 3).
- Choose the form. A standard LLC for most practices, which a non-licensee may own; a PLLC (T.C.A. § 48-249-1101 et seq.) or professional corporation (T.C.A. § 48-101-601 et seq.) only if you want the professional form.
- Check the name. The ordinary LLC designator for a standard LLC, or the PLLC designator if you elect the professional form; clear it on the Secretary of State's records.
- File with the Secretary of State. Articles of organization for the LLC; a PLLC's articles additionally certify member eligibility and specify the licensed services.
- Adopt an operating agreement. Set ownership, management, and clinical-control terms; document any non-licensee ownership.
- Confirm with Tennessee counsel. Especially if you want non-licensee ownership, elect the professional form, or operate in more than one state.
Tennessee entity variables at a glance
| Variable | Tennessee value |
|---|---|
| Is ABA a licensed profession? | Yes; Applied Behavior Analyst Licensing Committee within the Board of Examiners in Psychology (T.C.A. Title 63, Chapter 11, Part 3) |
| Is a professional entity required? | No; professional-LLC status is elected, not required (T.C.A. § 48-249-1104(a)) |
| Who may own a standard LLC | Anyone, including non-licensees |
| Is a PLLC available? | Yes, by election (Tennessee Revised LLC Act, T.C.A. § 48-249-1101 et seq.) |
| Professional corporation | Available (Tennessee Professional Corporation Act, T.C.A. § 48-101-601 et seq.) |
| Who may own a PLLC or PC | Qualified licensed persons, plus non-licensee members or financial-rights holders where the licensing authority authorizes (T.C.A. § 48-249-1109(b); § 48-101-610) |
| Single or multidisciplinary? | Single professional service, with narrow enumerated health-care combinations (T.C.A. § 48-248-401) |
| Corporate-practice doctrine | Medicine-specific (T.C.A. § 63-6-204(b)); does not reach ABA |
| Licensing-authority share rules | A licensing authority may restrict or condition share issuance by rule (T.C.A. § 48-101-610(b)) |
| Naming | PLLC or P.L.L.C. for the professional LLC; professional-corporation designator for the PC |
| Key authorities | T.C.A. Title 63, Chapter 11, Part 3; § 48-249-1101 et seq. (§ 48-249-1109); § 48-101-601 et seq. (§ 48-101-610); § 48-248-401 |
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a PLLC to run an ABA practice in Tennessee?
Can a non-licensee own my Tennessee ABA practice?
Can a behavior analyst form a PLLC in Tennessee?
Can a Tennessee professional entity combine ABA with another profession?
What must a Tennessee PLLC be named?
Where professional advice is essential, not optional
Tennessee gives you flexibility: a standard LLC that a non-licensee may own is the default, and the professional form is an optional election. If you do elect the professional form, confirm member-eligibility and any licensing-committee share rules; either way, decide the form, the ownership, and any multistate footprint with a Tennessee attorney and a tax adviser before you file.
The governing authorities to know are the behavior-analyst licensure provisions (T.C.A. Title 63, Chapter 11, Part 3), the Tennessee Revised LLC Act professional provisions (T.C.A. § 48-249-1101 et seq., including eligible members at § 48-249-1109), the Tennessee Professional Corporation Act (T.C.A. § 48-101-601 et seq., including ownership limits at § 48-101-610), and the health-care combination provision (T.C.A. § 48-248-401).
This page describes general patterns in a regulatory environment that changes. The Tennessee Secretary of State, the Applied Behavior Analyst Licensing Committee within the Board of Examiners in Psychology, 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.