High-activity state. Georgia 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. Georgia’s rules come from some combination of statute, licensing board regulation, attorney general opinions, and case law, and they change — check the legislation tracker for pending changes.
1. CPOM status — medicine
Tier: Nuanced The statutory prohibition was repealed in 1982; the doctrine now rests on case law and is generally regarded as substantially relaxed. Classified differently by different commentators.2. Other professions
The medical answer does not determine the answer for other professions. Each has its own doctrine, board, and statute.
See Multi-specialty considerations.
3. Professional entity forms
Permitted forms: PC Ownership: Largely permissive post-1982 — verify 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
4. Fee-splitting and percentage management fees
Fee-splitting: Permitted, including referral fee-splitting provisions — verify scope 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 and Set the management fee.5. Physician noncompetes
Enforceable subject to statutory framework 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.6. MSO-specific laws and registration
None specific7. Transaction review and notice
Check whether Georgia 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 for the current list.8. Practical structuring notes
Genuinely contested classification. Georgia is frequently cited as permissive, but the case law is not uniformly so. Get a Georgia opinion rather than relying on a survey.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
For the cases and statutes referenced above, see CPOM case law. For enacted and pending legislation across all states, see the CPOM & MSO legislation tracker.