Georgia’s rules come from Title 43, chapter 11 and Board of Dentistry rules. Check the legislation tracker for pending changes.
1. CPOD status
Tier: Strict, enforced through dentist discipline. The doctrine lives in the discipline statute, not the practice definition. O.C.G.A. § 43-11-47(a)(7)(A) makes it a disciplinable offense for a dentist to have “[e]ngaged in the practice of dentistry as an employee of any individual not licensed to practice dentistry in this state or engaged in the practice of dentistry as an officer or employee of any corporation” other than a Georgia professional association (Title 14, ch. 10), professional corporation (Title 14, ch. 7), or a Title 14, ch. 11 LLC “in which all members are licensed dentists and all professional services and professional judgment decisions are delivered by and made by licensed dentists.” The practice definition (§ 43-11-17(a)) enumerates nine clinical and holding-out acts and contains no ownership prong; proof of any one act is prima-facie evidence of practicing dentistry (§ 43-11-17(b)). Georgia was treated as a prohibition state in the 2012 U.S. House Oversight Committee 50-state survey of corporate-dentistry laws.2. Other professions
This page covers dentistry only. Medicine, optometry, veterinary practice, and other professions are governed by different statutes and boards, even within the same state. For medical-practice sources, use the MSO-PC Wiki.3. Professional entity forms
Permitted forms per § 43-11-47(a)(7)(A): professional association (O.C.G.A. tit. 14, ch. 10), professional corporation (tit. 14, ch. 7), or LLC with all members licensed dentists where all professional services and professional-judgment decisions are delivered and made by licensed dentists (tit. 14, ch. 11). Hygienists and physicians: the LLC safe harbor requires all members to be licensed dentists, so a hygienist or physician member takes the entity outside it. Whether a hygienist could hold shares in a ch. 7 professional corporation turns on that act’s same-profession licensing requirement. Verify the question with counsel. Also confirm before filing:- Naming rules, designator requirements, and any limits tied to licensed owners’ names; several states regulate dental trade names separately
- Board pre-approval or certificates, whether the dental board must act before (or after) the secretary of state will file
- Officer and director licensure, including states that restrict these roles as well as ownership to licensees
4. Fee structure
Board rule 150-8-.02 provides that “[a] dentist shall not give rebates or split fees with a referral source.” The referral nexus matters: the rule is not a categorical ban on every percentage-based MSA. A revenue-linked fee is most exposed when the manager also generates or steers patients, because the payment can then look like fee sharing with a referral source. Analyze the manager’s marketing and referral role together with the fee formula; flat or cost-plus pricing remains the conservative structure. For the MSA, test whether a percentage-of-collections fee is permitted under the state’s dental, fee-splitting, referral, tax, and contract rules. Several states expressly restrict revenue-linked dental management fees, and the Aspen Dental settlements imposed related party-specific terms. Flat and cost-plus formulas are not automatic safe harbors; the services, calculation, amount, control rights, and actual payments still matter. See Fee-splitting rules and Set the management fee.5. Noncompetes
No dental-specific noncompete statute was identified for this page. Verify current Georgia law with counsel before including one. Federal noncompete policy changed substantially in 2025 and 2026. The FTC’s Non-Compete Rule was vacated, the agency dismissed its appeals in September 2025, and the rule was removed from 16 C.F.R. pt. 910 effective February 12, 2026. State law remains central. Dental enforcement resolutions in New York and California have also restricted noncompetes for the settling parties as a corporate-practice remedy. Verify the current rule, worker, agreement type, transaction context, effective date, and remedy in this state. See the legislation tracker.6. DSO-specific law and registration
None identified. Georgia has no statute or board rule that names or registers dental support organizations or dental management agreements. Board of Dentistry Rule ch. 150-8 (Unprofessional Conduct) defines unprofessional conduct, bans fee splitting with referral sources, and addresses delegation to unlicensed personnel. It contains no management-agreement or ownership rule. No 2023–2026 Georgia DSO legislation was identified for this page; verify with counsel. See Register a DSO for states with filing regimes.7. Death and transition
O.C.G.A. § 43-11-47(a)(7)(B): a deceased dentist’s ownership interest in an all-dentist LLC does not violate subparagraph (A) “if that interest is transferred to another licensed dentist member or redeemed by the limited liability company within six months after the date of death.” The six-month deadline requires advance planning.8. Practical structuring notes
- Because the prohibition runs against the dentist as a discipline ground, a defective structure can put the friendly dentist’s license at risk. The compliance process should account for that exposure as well as contract enforceability.
- The six-month death window is tight: buy-sell and redemption mechanics should be executed in advance, not drafted during probate.
- Georgia’s attorney general and board history concerning corporate dentistry is often discussed in DSO surveys and in accounts of the 2012–2013 congressional scrutiny of Medicaid dental-management companies. This page did not verify that history against primary sources. Do not cite a specific Georgia attorney general opinion without obtaining it, and verify the point with counsel.
9. The standing checklist
- Confirmed the permitted entity form for dentistry in this state
- Confirmed whether dental board pre-approval or a certificate is required before filing
- Confirmed whether officers and directors must be licensed dentists
- Confirmed the management fee structure is lawful here, including any restriction on revenue-linked fees
- Clinical carve-out drafted against this state’s current statutory language, including any enumerated control prohibitions
- Transfer restriction and succession documents checked against this state’s death-transition window
- Noncompete provisions checked against current state law
- DSO foreign-qualified before it has employees here
- Any DSO registration, licensure, or disclosure obligation identified and calendared
- Trade-name and advertising-disclosure rules for dental practices checked
10. Sources and where to verify
For the cases and statutes referenced above, see DSO & dental case law and the 51-jurisdiction table. For enacted and pending legislation, see the dental legislation tracker.