Illinois Medical Corporation Act Checklist and FAQs

An Illinois medical corporation depends on who sits in every seat. The Every-Chair License Check below tests each chair first and each filing second. Fees and dates are on the rules and numbers page; the overview explains the law.

The Every-Chair License Check

1. Count the chairs. List every shareholder, director and officer, and anyone with a proxy or management role. The Act requires each to hold a license under the Medical Practice Act, and IDFPR checks for pending discipline before it registers the corporation.
2. Check the stock. Shares go only to individual licensees, with no voting trust or agreement that lets another person vote them.
3. File the articles. Send form BCA 2.10(MCA) and $150 to the Secretary of State, by mail or in person, with a name ending the Act allows.
4. Register each location. Apply to IDFPR before opening, with $50 for each location and each assumed name at a different address.
5. Post and report. Post the certificate at the premises and tell IDFPR when a location changes.
6. Consider buy-out terms. The Act does not require them. If the articles and bylaws are silent, its default price for buying a deceased or disqualified shareholder's shares is book value at the end of the prior month.
7. Calendar the filings. The Secretary of State annual report is $75 (2026). Under the Act, IDFPR certificates expire every third January 1, next in 2028, with a $40 renewal fee; confirm the date in IDFPR License Lookup.
8. Recheck after any change. Adding, removing or disciplining anyone in a chair means repeating step 1.

Common mistakes

• Forming at the Secretary of State and starting patient care without the IDFPR certificate.
• Using one IDFPR registration for several locations.
• Letting an unlicensed relative or investor hold shares, a proxy or a management role.
• Issuing stock to an entity, trust or voting trust.
• Not removing a licensee whose license is suspended or revoked.
• Forgetting the three-year renewal because the Secretary of State annual report is yearly.

When to talk to an attorney

• Whether a physician group may include non-physician investors, management companies or hospital affiliates.
• Buy-sell and disqualification terms, or the death of the last shareholder.
• Choosing among a medical corporation, a professional service corporation or a professional LLC.
• Licensing discipline or an IDFPR notice of violation.

A CPA cannot answer these questions. A CPA can help with the payroll, tax and accounting side of a medical practice, described on our physicians and healthcare professionals page, and works alongside the owner's attorney. Corporate duties are in the Business Corporation Act guide.

Frequently asked questions