Illinois’s rules come from the Dental Practice Act and board regulation. Check the legislation tracker for pending changes. The Illinois Dental Practice Act is scheduled for repeal on January 1, 2031 under the Regulatory Sunset Act; recheck after any sunset-extension bill.
1. CPOD status
Tier: Strict Two provisions work together:- 225 ILCS 25/44: no corporation shall practice dentistry, hold itself out as entitled to practice, or furnish dental services or dentists, subject to enumerated exceptions (professional entities, hospitals, FQHCs, and others below). Violation is a Class A misdemeanor, and each day is a separate offense.
- 225 ILCS 25/38.1 (added by P.A. 94-1028, eff. Jan. 1, 2007): a dentist or hygienist may not provide dental services in Illinois if employed by anyone other than a dentist (except under § 38.2), and may not allow a non-dentist to direct, control, or interfere with clinical judgment. The statute protects treatment selection, patient referrals, patient records, refund policies, advertising content, and the hiring and firing of clinical staff.
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 the § 44 exceptions): professional service corporations under the Professional Service Corporation Act (805 ILCS 10), professional associations under the Professional Association Act, LLCs authorized under the Limited Liability Company Act (805 ILCS 180), and LLPs under the Uniform Partnership Act (1997). Dental services may also be furnished through hospitals, public health clinics, FQHCs, and other entities specified by Department rule. Ownership: Section 38.1’s dentist-only-employer rule does not authorize a hygienist or other non-dentist to own an operating practice. A hygienist is not a “dentist” for that provision. Verify whether board guidance addresses hygienist minority interests. 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
No Illinois statute located for this page bans percentage-of-collections management fees for dental support arrangements by name. Section 38.1 reserves refund policies and advertising content to the dentist, and § 44(g)‘s exception extends only to services “that do not violate the provisions of this Act.” A fee structure that functions as lay profit-sharing in clinical revenue may prompt a § 17(2) proprietor analysis. Verify the structure with Illinois counsel. 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 in this research; Illinois noncompetes are governed by general state employment law. Verify current Illinois 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
No registration or disclosure regime. But Illinois is one of the few states whose statute names DSOs: 225 ILCS 25/44(g) provides that the corporate-practice ban does not prohibit “dental management service organizations from providing non-clinical business services that do not violate the provisions of this Act.” Section 44(c) separately permits corporations to furnish dentists information or clerical services that can be furnished by unlicensed persons, where the dentist assumes full responsibility. The DSO clause originated in SB 287 / P.A. 91-520 (1999). Do not attribute its enactment to P.A. 96-328, a 2009 general revisory act; the current section’s source note lists only later amendments and is not a complete enactment history.7. Death and transition window
Under 225 ILCS 25/38.2 (P.A. 94-1028, eff. Jan. 1, 2007), the executor or administrator of a deceased dentist’s estate, or the guardian or authorized representative of an incapacitated dentist, may contract with a licensed dentist to continue the practice for no more than one year from death or incapacity, or until the practice is sold, whichever occurs first. Conditions include a notice filing with the Department, written notice to patients within 30 days about record access, no interference with the contracting dentist’s professional judgment, and Department termination powers. Termination may be immediate if public health or safety is threatened.8. Practical structuring notes
Draft the management services agreement (MSA) against the § 38.1 list. Treatment selection, patient referrals, patient records, refund policies, advertising content, and clinical hiring and firing must remain with the dentist. Section 44(g) expressly permits a DSO to provide nonclinical services. The Act is scheduled for repeal January 1, 2031, so a long-term agreement should account for reenactment and possible amendment.9. Verification 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
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.