> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mso.getlemma.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Florida — CPOM & MSO reference
> Corporate practice of medicine status, professional entity forms, fee-splitting, noncompete law, and MSO-specific requirements in Florida.
Florida has **no meaningful corporate practice of medicine doctrine**, though professional entity ownership may still be restricted to licensees.
**High-activity state.** Florida sees substantial MSO-PC activity, which means both more precedent to work from and more scrutiny. Budget for state-specific counsel rather than adapting a template from elsewhere.
**Checked August 2026.** Florida's rules come from some combination of statute, licensing board regulation, attorney general opinions, and case law, and they change — check the [legislation tracker](/reference/legal/cpom-legislation-tracker) for pending changes.
## 1. CPOM status — medicine
**Tier:** Permissive / none — but see the clinic license route
No general CPOM doctrine in the conventional sense. The operative regime is the **Health Care Clinic Act**, Fla. Stat. ch. 400, pt. X.
## 2. Other professions
The medical answer does **not** determine the answer for other professions. Each has its own doctrine, board, and statute.
| Profession | Where to check |
| ----------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Dentistry** | The state dental board and the dental practice act. Dentistry is frequently regulated more explicitly than medicine, and several states impose DSO registration. |
| **Optometry** | The optometry board. Retail-optical carve-outs are common and narrow. |
| **Physical therapy / chiropractic** | The respective boards. POPTS restrictions may apply. |
| **Veterinary** | The veterinary board. CPVM exists in some states and not others, on a different map from medicine. |
| **Behavioral health** | Multiple boards, one per license type. Whether one entity may employ several license types is the key question. |
See [Multi-specialty considerations](/concepts/entities/multi-specialty-considerations).
## 3. Professional entity forms
**Permitted forms:** PA or PC — **or a licensed health care clinic**
**Ownership:** A non-physician-owned entity **may bill for care if it holds a health care clinic license**, which requires a licensed medical or clinic director. Exemptions exist for certain wholly physician-owned entities.
Also confirm before filing:
* **Naming rules**, designator requirements, and whether the name is constrained to licensed owners' surnames
* **Board pre-approval**, whether a licensing board certificate is required *before* the secretary of state will file
* **Officer and director licensure**: several states restrict these roles to licensees, not just shareholders, which forecloses MSO executives serving on the PC's board
See [PC vs PLLC vs PA](/concepts/entities/pc-vs-pllc-vs-pa) and [Form a professional corporation](/guides/formation/form-a-pc).
## 4. Fee-splitting and percentage management fees
**Fee-splitting:** Permitted, **but Florida has an explicit patient brokering statute and fee-splitting provisions in its practice acts — percentage arrangements draw attention**
The practical question for your MSA is whether a **percentage-of-collections** management fee is viable. Flat and cost-plus structures carry materially lower fee-splitting exposure everywhere. See [Fee-splitting rules](/concepts/model/fee-splitting) and [Set the management fee](/guides/agreements/set-the-management-fee).
## 5. Physician noncompetes
Generally enforceable subject to statutory requirements
Noncompete law moved substantially in 2025–2026. The FTC's Non-Compete Rule was vacated, the FTC dropped its appeals in September 2025, and the rule was removed from 16 C.F.R. pt. 910 effective February 12, 2026, leaving regulation primarily to the states, several of which have since restricted or voided physician noncompetes. **Verify current law in this state before including one.** See the [legislation tracker](/reference/legal/cpom-legislation-tracker).
## 6. MSO-specific laws and registration
None specific to MSOs, but the clinic licensure regime functions as the control mechanism
## 7. Transaction review and notice
Check whether Florida requires notice or approval for healthcare transactions, and whether MSO or private-equity ownership must be disclosed. A growing set of states added these regimes in 2025–2026 — see the [legislation tracker](/reference/legal/cpom-legislation-tracker) for the current list.
## 8. Practical structuring notes
**A genuinely different architecture from a friendly PC.** The clinic license lets the lay entity itself bill, subject to a licensure regime with its own application, inspection, and medical director requirements. Evaluate it against the friendly PC route with Florida counsel. Separately: **be careful with percentage-of-collections management fees here.**
### The standing checklist for any state
* [ ] Confirmed the permitted entity form **for your profession**
* [ ] Confirmed whether board pre-approval is required before filing
* [ ] Confirmed whether officers and directors must be licensees
* [ ] Confirmed the fee structure is lawful here
* [ ] Clinical carve-out drafted against **this state's** current statutory language
* [ ] Transfer restriction agreement checked against current state law
* [ ] Noncompete provisions checked against current state law
* [ ] MSO foreign-qualified before it has employees here
* [ ] Any MSO registration or transaction notice obligation identified
## 9. Sources and where to verify
| What | Where |
| --------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Professional entity statute | Florida code — professional corporation / professional LLC provisions |
| Medical practice act and board rules | The Florida medical board |
| Dental, optometry, PT, veterinary rules | The respective Florida boards |
| Attorney general opinions | The Florida Attorney General |
| Entity formation and good standing | The Florida Secretary of State |
| Pending legislation | The Florida legislature's bill tracker |
| Unclaimed property | The Florida unclaimed property administrator, via [unclaimed.org](https://unclaimed.org/) |
For the cases and statutes referenced above, see [CPOM case law](/reference/legal/cpom-case-law). For enacted and pending legislation across all states, see the [CPOM & MSO legislation tracker](/reference/legal/cpom-legislation-tracker).
## Related topics
- [The corporate practice of medicine doctrine](/concepts/model/cpom.md)
- [Fee-splitting rules, explained](/concepts/model/fee-splitting.md)
- [Who can own a professional entity](/concepts/entities/who-can-own-what.md)
- [Form a professional corporation](/guides/formation/form-a-pc.md)
- [Draft the management services agreement (MSA)](/guides/agreements/draft-a-management-services-agreement.md)
- [Run a CPOM self-audit](/guides/compliance/run-a-cpom-self-audit.md)
- [CPOM case law](/reference/legal/cpom-case-law.md)
- [CPOM & MSO legislation tracker](/reference/legal/cpom-legislation-tracker.md)
- [MSA clause anatomy](/reference/legal/msa-clause-anatomy.md)