It is better to go straight to corporate attorneys to learn how to start private practice as LCSW in California, starting with following the guidelines set by the state of California for naming a LCSW professional corporation.
We will walk you through this so you can get it right the first time and save time and money. This will allow you to spend more time developing your business model and achieving success.
Naming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker Professional Corporation Properly Based on California Law
Naming a licensed clinical social worker professional corporation may seem as easy as picking a name you like and registering it, but it’s not. Some prior documentation needs to be prepared and naming rules must be followed so that the California Secretary of State would approve your submissions. In detail, here are the steps.
Registration of Your LCSW Professional Corporation Starts with the Articles of Incorporation
The Articles of incorporation are legal documents containing all essential aspects and important details about your corporation, including your business name and location. It helps establish your company by explaining its purpose, indicating shares and common stock amounts, as well as the names of the incorporators.
Note that the articles of incorporation are different from company bylaws. The company bylaws are a type of documentation that outlines the regulations and responsibilities held by the board of directors and shareholders. However, the articles of incorporation and company bylaws are crucial; together, they serve your business’ legal cornerstone.
The articles of incorporation can only be drafted once a name is chosen for your LCSW professional corporation in California. Contrary to the information you may have found on Google, several types of corporations come with their own set of formation rules.
The general stock corporation
For entrepreneurs who want to set up an auto mechanic shop, restaurant, or online business, you must form a general stock corporation. With this type of corporation, you can use the name you want as long as the name is not likely to mislead the public or resemble “too closely” some other corporate name already on file with the state. The name selected generally may NOT include words such as:
- Bank
- Trust or trustee
- Industrial loan
- Investment and loan
- Thrift
- The words cooperative or Olympic or Olympia.
With general stock corporations, the name selected need not include words that indicate corporate designation such as Incorporated Inc., Corporation, or Corp.
The professional corporation
It’s common that we see many clients redrafting their corporate formation documents simply because they did not follow the Namestyle rules of their profession. We can’t blame them since the rules for professional corporations are more complicated than those for general stock corporations. Remember these rules, so you don’t make the same mistakes. Keep in mind that this also affects all the corporate formation paperwork you need to complete while creating your corporation.
- The Namestyle rules are specific to the kind of license that you hold and for each kind of professional corporation.
- These corporate name requirements are regulated by the California Corporations Code, Business and Professions code, the California Code of Regulations.
- The California Board of Behavioral Sciences regulates the names of LCSW professional corporations.
- Check all these sources to make sure that the particular corporate name selected will satisfy the various requirements of the state codes and agency rules if you are doing this legal work yourself.
When naming a licensed clinical social worker professional corporation, it is critical to note that the California Board of Behavioral Sciences considers it unprofessional conduct not to follow the particular Namestyle rules for your profession.
Seeing other people do it is not a valid excuse if the board accuses you of violating rules. Remember, it is your professional license on the line.
Namestyle Rules to Follow When Naming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker Professional Corporation
Naming an LCSW professional corporation boils down to a set of defined words that must be included in your corporate name. What are those words?
The name of a clinical social worker corporation shall contain the words “licensed clinical social worker” together with wording or abbreviations denoting corporate existence.
Using a DBA? There are Also Rules for That!
An LCSW professional corporation can also use a DBA (doing business as…) or fictitious business name. However, you cannot use any name that is false, misleading, or deceptive.
According to California Corporations Code, any name or names under which it may be rendering professional services shall contain the words “licensed clinical social worker” and you must inform the patient, prior to the commencement of treatment, that the business is conducted by a licensed clinical social worker corporation.
For example, let’s say that you are Wilma Flintstone, a licensed clinical social worker. You could have the corporate name: “Wilma Flintstone, LCSW, a licensed clinical social worker corporation”.
You could then apply for a DBA with the fictitious name “W. Flintstone, licensed clinical social worker” so long as you inform each patient, prior to the commencement of treatment, that the business is conducted by a licensed clinical social worker corporation.
The Key Takeaways in Naming a Licensed Social Worker Professional Corporation
Naming a licensed clinical social worker professional corporation can be complicated and you can get lost in the minutia of Namestyle rules. But it is just one of 49 different ways that you can get tangled up in the formation of your corporation if you tackle it yourself.
For those wondering how to start a private practice for LCSW in California, keep these in mind:
- Make sure your corporate name has all the required keywords.
- Make sure your corporate name has the correct corporate designator.
Work with a corporate attorney specializing in the formation of corporations to make sure that you start on the right foot. A corporate attorney, who’s an expert in the legal aspects of setting up your business, deals with all the complex paperwork will allow you to focus on more important matters.
Incorporation Attorney can help you with the legal paperwork so you can go through forming your business with ease. We will make sure that you can start building your company following the rules of the California Corporations Code.
You may contact us at +1 (714) 634-4838 or explore our website to get more information on how we can help.
