How to Start a Dental Practice in California

October 29, 2026

Starting a dental practice in California means clearing four gates in order: your dental license, a lawful ownership structure, a check on any outside investors, and the Dental Board permits that tie the practice to licensed dentists. Miss one and the rest stall. This guide walks through each step with the agencies, filing costs, and rules you need.

This is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Dental practice ownership is heavily regulated, so talk with a California health care attorney and a CPA before you sign a lease, a purchase agreement, or an investor deal.

What you need before you start

Gather these items before you file anything:

• A California dentist license, or a plan to obtain one through the Dental Board of California (dbc.ca.gov) and its BreEZe online system
• A business name checked for availability with the Secretary of State
• A California registered agent: an individual who lives in California, or a corporation that holds a Corporations Code 1505 certificate
• A written ownership plan showing who the shareholders, directors, and officers will be
• A bank account and a payment method for state and county fees
• A list of the cities where you plan to operate, since local business tax rules differ
• Draft lease, equipment, management services, and investor agreements, reviewed by counsel

Step 1: Get your dentist license from the Dental Board of California

The Dental Board of California licenses dentists and processes applications through BreEZe at dbc.ca.gov. You need the license before you practice, and you need to understand why ownership is tied so closely to licensure. Under Business and Professions Code 1625(e), a person practices dentistry by managing or conducting, as manager, proprietor, or lessor, a place where dental operations are performed. A non-dentist who runs or leases the office can therefore be practicing dentistry without a license, which is why Step 2 matters.

Check the Board’s website for current application, initial license, and renewal fees before you budget. The statute sets only a ceiling on dentist license and renewal fees (BPC 1724), and the Board sets the actual amounts. Confirm the renewal cycle and continuing education requirements there as well.

Step 2: Choose who owns the practice and in what form

Ownership is the core of the process. Every owner, manager, and lessor of a dental office has to fit within the Board’s rules, so choose the structure before you sign a lease or buy equipment.

Option A: A dental corporation

Most dentists who practice with partners or other owners use a dental corporation. This is a corporation authorized to render dental services under the Moscone-Knox Professional Corporation Act (Corporations Code 13400 and following), Business and Professions Code 1800, and the Board’s rules. The Board is the governing agency for these corporations (BPC 1800). Key requirements include:

• The name must include the words “dental corporation” or wording that shows it is a corporation (BPC 1804).
• Each director, shareholder, and officer must be a licensed person, except where Corporations Code 13401.5 and 13403 allow otherwise (BPC 1805).
• The Board may require that the shares of a disqualified or deceased shareholder be sold back (BPC 1808).
• The Board may require the corporation to carry adequate insurance or other security for patient claims (BPC 1808).

The statutes allow a 49 percent minority interest in some arrangements. Who may hold that interest, and on what terms, is a question for a health care attorney. Do not assume it fits your deal without advice.

Formation costs and filings for a dental corporation:

Item	Amount or rule	Agency
Name reservation (optional)	$10, lasts 60 days, not renewable for consecutive periods	Secretary of State
Professional corporation articles (Form ARTS-PC)	$100	Secretary of State
Statement of Information (Form SI-550)	$25 per year, first due within 90 days of filing the articles	Secretary of State
Corporate income tax	8.84%; a newly incorporated corporation owes no $800 minimum tax in its first taxable year (RTC 23153(f)(1))	Franchise Tax Board
Dentist license and renewal fees	Set by the Board within the statutory ceiling; check current amounts	Dental Board of California

Do not use Form ARTS-PB. That is the nonprofit public benefit form, costs $30, and does not apply to a for-profit dental corporation.

Option B: Why you cannot use an LLC for the practice

Many new business owners default to an LLC. Do not do that for dental services. An LLC cannot render a licensed professional service (Corporations Code 17701.04(e) and 13401(a)), so an LLC formed with Form LLC-1 ($70) cannot be the entity that performs dentistry. California also does not allow a domestic series LLC.

Some owners keep real estate in a separate LLC and lease it to the dental corporation. That can be a legitimate structure, but a landlord role can itself count as practicing under BPC 1625(e) as a lessor, so have counsel review it first. If you do form an LLC, note that it owes the $800 minimum annual franchise tax from its first year when organized or registered in 2024 through 2026. It also owes an LLC fee of $900, $2,500, $6,000, or $11,790 once California-source total income reaches $250,000, $500,000, $1,000,000, or $5,000,000, respectively. Its Statement of Information (Form LLC-12, $20) is due within 90 days of filing, then every two years.

Option C: A partnership or other lawful structure

Dentists may also practice through a partnership or another lawful structure. Each option carries different Board, Corporations Code, and tax consequences. Compare them with a CPA and a health care attorney before you choose.

Step 3: Understand the limits on private equity and management companies

Outside capital is common in dentistry, and California has tightened the rules on who can control clinical decisions. Under SB 351 (Health and Safety Code 1191), a private equity group or hedge fund involved with a physician or dental practice, including as an investor or owner of its assets, may not:

• interfere with a dentist’s professional judgment, including which tests are appropriate, referrals, overall patient care, how many patients a dentist sees, or how many hours a dentist works
• control medical records
• select, hire, or fire dentists or staff based on clinical competency
• set payer contract parameters
• make coding and billing decisions
• approve equipment and supplies selection

Contract provisions that violate these limits are void and unenforceable. The corporate form of the practice does not change the rule. Management or asset sale contracts with these investors cannot bar a provider from competing after leaving.

A dental support organization (DSO) may provide non-clinical services, but the dentist-owned practice must keep clinical control. Any agreement with a DSO, management services organization, or investor needs review by California health care counsel.

Health and Safety Code 127507 also requires certain material transactions, including some involving management services organizations, to be noticed to the Office of Health Care Affordability at least 90 days in advance. Thresholds and exemptions are set by the Office, so confirm them with the Office before you close.

Step 4: Register the entity and your tax accounts

California has no general statewide business license. The Secretary of State issues none, and the CDTFA seller’s permit is not a business license. Register the entity, then add the registrations and local licenses that apply to your operations:

1. Secretary of State: File your articles through bizfile Online at bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov. Check name availability at bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov/search/business. Dental corporation names must follow BPC 1804, and the Secretary of State’s business programs page is at sos.ca.gov/business-programs.
2. Registered agent: Name an agent for service of process who meets the California requirements listed above.
3. CDTFA: Register if you sell taxable goods, such as retail products sold from the office. The seller’s permit is free, and no specific form is required for a resale certificate. The statewide base sales tax rate is 7.25%, and district taxes push city rates from 7.25% to 11.75%. Confirm with the CDTFA which of your sales are taxable at cdtfa.ca.gov.
4. EDD: Register with the Employment Development Department once you have employees. State minimum wage is $16.90 in 2026 and rises to $17.40 on January 1, 2027. This is a secondary-source figure, so verify it with the state before you set pay rates.
5. Franchise Tax Board: Confirm your first-year tax obligations for the entity type you chose. A newly incorporated or qualified corporation, or an S corporation, owes no $800 minimum in its first taxable year. An S corporation pays 1.5% of net income with an $800 minimum in later years.
6. Local business tax: Most California cities charge a local business tax or registration certificate. Of the 483 cities, 445 report revenue from one, and there is no common formula. Counties license only regulated activities. Check each city where you will operate.
7. Contractors: If you hire contractors for the build-out, the contractor license threshold is $1,000. Confirm which contractors need a license with the Contractors State License Board before you sign a contract.

Step 5: Get the permits specific to dentists

Dental Board fictitious name permit

If the office operates under an assumed name, such as “Bright Smile Dental,” you need a fictitious name permit from the Dental Board under BPC 1701.5. The fee is $650, and it is nonrefundable. You must show the practice is wholly owned and controlled by licensed dentists. A county fictitious business name filing does not satisfy this requirement, so you will likely need both.

No Board fictitious name permit is needed when an individual dentist practices under their own name with a practice area, such as “Dr. Jones, General Dentistry.”

County fictitious business name statement

A county fictitious business name statement is filed with the County Clerk-Recorder in the county of your principal place of business. File within 40 days of starting to do business. The statutory fee is $10, plus $2 for each additional name or owner (Business and Professions Code 17929), but counties charge more and the newspaper publication fee is separate. You must publish the statement in a newspaper once a week for four weeks, and the filing expires after five years. Details are at sos.ca.gov/business-programs/business-entities/fictitious-business-names.

Additional office permit

If you hold an interest in more than one place of practice, you need an additional office permit from the Dental Board. The fee is $350, and it is nonrefundable (BPC 1658, 16 CCR 1045 to 1048).

Expected results

A clean setup can help you avoid avoidable delays, such as a rejected Board permit or a contract that a regulator later voids. Results still depend on your location, your payer mix, your staffing, and how the practice is run day to day. This guide does not promise approval timing, revenue, or patient volume. Treat any timeline you find elsewhere as an estimate, and confirm current processing times with the agency that handles each filing.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Forming an LLC to render dental services. An LLC cannot render a licensed professional service.
• Filing the nonprofit form (ARTS-PB, $30) instead of the professional corporation form (ARTS-PC, $100).
• Assuming a county fictitious business name filing satisfies the Dental Board permit requirement.
• Signing investor or management agreements that give a non-dentist control over clinical decisions, medical records, billing, or clinical hiring and firing.
• Missing the 40-day deadline for the county fictitious business name statement, or skipping the newspaper publication.
• Forgetting the Statement of Information. The corporation filing is due within 90 days, then yearly. The Franchise Tax Board assesses a $250 penalty after a Secretary of State notice when an LLC Statement of Information is missed.
• Assuming no local license applies because the state has none.
• Budgeting from an old dentist license fee instead of checking the Board’s current amounts.

Tips

• Reserve the name for $10 if you need time to finish the ownership documents. The reservation lasts 60 days and cannot be renewed for consecutive periods.
• Set up your ownership, investor, and management agreements before you commit to a lease, so counsel can review the whole structure at once.
• Get advice from the California Small Business Development Center network at californiasbdc.org on business planning and filing questions.
• Keep a single calendar of deadlines: the Statement of Information, the county fictitious name publication and expiration, Board renewals, and franchise tax filings.

When to hire professionals

Hire a California health care attorney for the ownership structure, any investor or DSO agreement, and any transaction that may require notice to the Office of Health Care Affordability. Hire a CPA to compare the tax treatment of a corporation, an S corporation, and any real estate entity. Both can save you from costly restructuring after the practice opens.

Reminder: this article is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Fees, thresholds, and deadlines change, so verify each one with the agency named before you rely on it.