PLLC Checklist

Written By Dawn Bowes

First step for NC Social Workers:

Assuming you already have your license, the packet that you submit to the board will include the following:

  1. Private Practice Approval Form (linked here)

  2. Application for certificate of registration for professional limited liability company (You can find the form for NC here)

  3. Articles of organization (link)

  4. Supervisor (for those with provisional licenses. Here is a list of supervisors on the NC Social Work Board website but I recommend checking the listserv and Facebook groups for supervisors as well.)

  5. Backup Supervisor (as part of #4)

  6. Emergency Crisis Plan (You can make this with your supervisor)

  7. Position statement (linked here)

  8. Job description (don’t sleep on Chat GPT here! And yes you really need this one)

  9. Employment verification (link. Yes, you need this one too even if it’s your company and you’re self-employed)

  10. Notary seal & Payment (At the time of this writing, it’s $50 to apply for the PLLC and $25 to renew. Your bank can help you with both the notary and a check/ money order)

Tips: Use dropbox (hellosign) or docusign to ask your supervisor and emergency supervisor to sign these documents.

Here is the FAQ from the NC Social Work Board website.

After you receive approval:

You’ll receive an email from your licensing board with the two documents you’ll need to finalize your registration with Secretary of State. Here’s the link to finish registering: https://www.sosnc.gov/online_services/business_creation

Attach the following:

  • Certification from the Licensing Board (Required)

  • Board approved copy of the Articles of Organization (Required)

  • Any other provisions you may want included in the Articles. (Optional)

  • $125 payment.

Annual renewal:
You’ll need to renew with your board annually but there is no action to take with the secretary of state (in NC). LLCs need to file an annual report but PLLCs are exempt from that requirement (source)

Other important steps for all PLLC owners

For my fellow colleagues with ADHD: if this list is overwhelming, start from the top and work your way down, it’s already prioritized for you 💛

  1. A physical address. Start here!! If you are a telehealth provider, you will still need a physical address. You can sublet space in a local office (necessary to panel with insurance) or rent a PO Box from places like iPostal1 ($15/month), UPS ($30/ month), Regus ($50/ month), or Davinci ($50/ month). I use iPostal1 and did an address change at the post office so I can still receive my mail at my home. You will NOT be able to set up a Google My Business account with the virtual address options but you can if you sublet (5 mins).

  2. EIN number - as a sole proprietor (5-10 mins)

  3. NPI number (Link) You’ll need one for you (NPI 1) and one for your business (NPI 2). Be sure to get your virtual address first if you’re telehealth. (10 mins)

  4. Liability insurance - There are lots of options and I am NOT an expert on this. You may want to get this before setting up your Psych Today because you’ll often get several months free (20-30 mins).

  5. CAQH (Link) - this helps you panel with insurance (1 hour)

  6. Money management: Simple Profit for Mental Health Clinicians has a wealth of information (pun intended)

    • Business bank account - Personally, I use Novo because it lets you automatically allocate your income into buckets and makes it easier to save for taxes. (Check out this link for tax resources) (5 mins to open, 15 mins to get set up)

    • Payment processing - Ivy pay (HIPAA compliant and you’ll get $1000 of fee-free transactions with that link), Stripe, and business PayPal account (10-15 mins)

    • Set your fees. These must be the same for insurance and private pay clients. To determine your best-fit fees: try this excellent resource

  7. Taxes

    • Make a plan to pay your taxes quarterly. You may want to speak to a CPA to determine your rate because it will depend on your state and county.

    • Keep your expenses organized: Here’s a run down of the IRS categories of business expenses to keep you organized (10 mins to get set up, and if you organize and update your finances weekly, it shouldn’t take more than 10 - 15 mins)

  8. EHR - Sessions Health - $40/ month and integrates with Google Calendar; Simple Practice - only the premium version integrates with your calendars; TherapyNotes; Office Ally; and MyriadbyMeta (not that Meta) - is a free version. I’ve heard good things about MyriadbyMeta but haven’t tried it (20 mins to get set up)

  9. Notes: Work Smarter, Not Harder ;) Autonotes.ai and ClinicalNotes.ai are HIPAA compliant and delightful - both of those are referral links with $ for you! (negative hours because that’s how much time I save with each note using this platform)

  10. Telehealth platform - HIPAA Compliant options are doxy.me (free), Sessions on Psych Today (included with your account), TherapyNotes and Simple Practice also have a built-in telehealth platform. (5 mins to set up)

  11. A website! Get Booked Out is my go-to resource for all things website related. WalkerStrategyCo and Therapist Site Toolbox both have comparable templates for websites for therapists that you can use if you don’t want to build your own. Here is another source for templates: https://tonicsiteshop.com/ (this is an ongoing adventure and really never is complete :) )

  12. Business email account. Please don’t use [name of your biz]@gmail.com! Get a domain name and a business email address, you can usually do this through your website provider (and a Google Workspace account is $6/month).

  13. You might consider a HIPAA compliant phone service. Spruce Health is a HIPAA compliant option ($25/ mo)

  14. CEUs: Make a plan for your CEUs, and please double check they work for your type of license. Here are some sources: NC AHEC, UNC School of Social Work, PESI, Online CE Credits, Psychotherapy Networker, Cognitive Behavior Institute, NAMI, NICABM, Simple Practice Learning, CE Training Workshops

  15. Set up a professional will: Here’s a resource I’ve heard about but haven’t tried yet: https://privatepracticepreparedness.com/

  16. Junk mail: Listen, I only found out my LLC and PLLC were approved when I started receiving letters asking if I wanted to pay to receive certificates and all sorts of weird things. Don’t do it 😅

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Dawn Bowes
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