Expanding Your Professional Business: How Can I Register My New Jersey LLC as a Foreign PLLC in New York State?

Starting and growing a professional practice comes with its own unique set of hurdles, especially when you’re trying to expand across state lines. If you're a licensed professional (e.g., nurse practitioner, occupational therapist, etc.) operating a New Jersey LLC and you’re looking to expand your practice into New York State, it is important to understand the foreign PLLC registration process and what you need to do to ensure that you are in compliance with New York laws. In this post, we’ll share a brief overview of the registration process and what you need to consider when taking on the expansion of your business into New York.

Obtaining a Certificate of Authority from the New York State Education Department (NYSED)

Before you can register your NJ LLC as a foreign PLLC in New York, you need to obtain a Certificate of Authority from the New York State Education Department. This certificate process helps to verify your professional qualifications and ensure that your NJ LLC can be filed as a “foreign” PLLC in NY. When registering an out-of-state business in New York, the entity will be classified as “foreign” as opposed to “domestic,” which is the classification for entities originally formed in New York.

To obtain the Certificate of Authority, you must:

Professional Compliance: Ensure all owners of the NJ LLC are licensed to practice the appropriate profession (e.g., NPs, OTs, PTs, etc.) in New York and New Jersey. NYSED will not issue a Certificate of Authority if your members are not duly licensed in both states.
Submit Required Documentation to NYSED: Copies of your professional licenses from NJ and NY, proof of your LLC's good standing in New Jersey, the original formation documents and amendments for your NJ LLC, the Application for Authority for registering the entity with the NY Department of State and the Professional Practice Entity Affidavit and Professional Corporations Contact Information Form.
Fees: Pay the required application fees as stipulated by the NYSED.

Naming Conventions for NY PLLCs

New York State has specific naming conventions for PLLCs, which must be followed during the foreign PLLC registration process. What this means is that if the name of your NJ LLC does not contain wording that specifies your profession, you must submit a Certificate of Assumed Name with your Certificate of Authority request to the NYSED.

For example, if you are a nurse practitioner with a sub-speciality in psychiatry, your business name must include “NP in Psychiatry.” Since a majority, if not all NJ LLCs will not include such specific language in the entity name, the Certificate of Assumed Name is used to provide a DBA (i.e., doing business as) to bring the entity name into compliance with New York law. So, if your business is named “Mind Body Rejuvenation, LLC” in New Jersey, the DBA for NY would be “Mind Body Rejuvenation NP in Psychiatry”

To learn more about other naming convention issues and tips for avoiding unnecessary processing delays, you can visit the NYSED website.

Application for Authority with the New York State Department of State (NYSDOS)

After you obtain the Certificate of Authority from the NYSED, it is time to file the Application for Authority with the New York State Department of State. This step officially registers your NJ LLC to do business as a foreign PLLC in New York.

The Application for Authority packet should include:

The appropriate cover sheet,
The credit card authorization form (with associated fees marked down),
The Application for Authority itself,
The Certificate of Assumed Name, and
The Certificate of Authority from the NYSED.

Unfortunately, you must file these papers via Fax (to 518-474-1418) as the Department of State does not have an online filing system for foreign or domestic PLLC registrations.

Compliance with New York's LLC Publication Requirement

After the NYSDOS accepts the filings for your Application for Authority, you must now complete the LLC publication requirement. New York State requires all newly registered foreign PLLCs to publish a notice of their formation in two newspapers—one daily and one weekly—located in the county where the foreign PLLC's office is situated. You have to do this within 120 days after receiving your Application for Authority approval. Depending on which county in New York your business will operate, the publication fees can range from around $150 (for areas upstate) to $1,500 (for manhattan). Failure to make the required publication can result in the suspension of your foreign PLLC's authority to do business in New York.

Satisfying the requirements to register your New Jersey LLC as a foreign PLLC in New York means navigating not one, but two, state regulatory landscapes. With the right filings, meeting naming conventions, and completing the publication requirements, you can successfully expand your professional practice across state lines.

If you are interested in expanding your private practice into New York and would like assistance with registering as a foreign PLLC, please do not hesitate to give us a call at (212) 547-8857 or schedule a consultation online and we'd be happy to work with you to help bring your business into compliance with New York laws. Our experienced business attorneys are here to provide the advice you need.

Disclaimer: This blog post and similar posts are not to be considered as providing legal advice. The discussion here is meant for educational and informational purposes only and shall not create an attorney-client relationship with the readers of this content.