Can I form a limited liability company to provide professional or nonprofessional services in California?

The answer to that question is both very simple and quite complicated. The simple part is that, unlike in many states, professional services (i.e., services rendered by a person engaged in one of the “learned” professions or in an occupation requiring a high level of training and proficiency) may be rendered by a professional corporation but not by a limited liability company. So if you are a doctor or a lawyer, for example, you cannot form a limited liability company to render your services in California. The complicated part concerns nonprofessional services. If you don’t have to be licensed, certified, or registered to perform the nonprofessional services in California, then you can render the services through a limited liability company. But if you do have to be licensed, certified, or registered to perform the nonprofessional services in California under the Business and Professions Code, the Chiropractic Act, the Osteopathic Act, or the Yacht and Ship Brokers Act, then you can render the services through a limited liability company only if the relevant statute says you can. For more information, see What Professional or Nonprofessional Services May Be Provided By a Limited Liability Company in California?, as well as our list of all the services that may or may not be provided through a limited liability company in California.