West Virginia CPOM laws for healthcare startups
West Virginia regulates the corporation itself. No corporation may practice medicine in the state without a Board of Medicine certificate of authorization, and the certificate depends on licensed shareholders.
Get a Free CPOM AssessmentThe law in West Virginia
Key authorities (official text)
W. Va. Code § 30-3-15 · § 30-3-13 · § 30-3-13a · §§ 30-14-9a and 30-14-9b§ 30-3-15 medical corporations · § 30-3-13 licensure · § 30-3-13a telemedicine · § 30-14-9a · § 30-14-9b · West Virginia Board of Medicine.
West Virginia CPOM is Moderate on Foundry's guide, and the rule is a licensing gate on the corporation. W. Va. Code § 30-3-15(a) makes it unlawful for any corporation to practice or offer to practice medicine, surgery, or podiatric medicine, or to perform medical acts through physician assistants, in West Virginia without a certificate of authorization from the West Virginia Board of Medicine designating it an authorized medical corporation. For an in-state corporation, § 30-3-15(b) requires proof that each shareholder is licensed under the Medical Practice Act (article 3), the physician assistant article (article 3E), or the osteopathic article (article 14). Charleston, Morgantown, and Huntington diligence wants a physician-owned medical corporation with a current certificate plus a fair-market-value MSA.
Read § 30-3-15 as two filings, not one. The Secretary of State forms the corporation. The Board of Medicine authorizes it to practice. Under § 30-3-15(d), when the board issues a certificate it notifies the Secretary of State, which attaches the certificate to the corporate filing and then tells the incorporators that the medical corporation may practice through its licensees. A corporation formed without that certificate exists, but it cannot practice medicine. A lay LLC that sells visits under its own name and holds itself out as the provider is the pattern subsection (a) is written against.
§ 30-3-15(e) sets how the authorized corporation practices. It may practice medicine and surgery only through individual physicians, podiatric physicians, or physician assistants licensed in West Virginia. Physicians and PAs may be employees rather than shareholders, and unlicensed staff may perform any work that needs no license. Nurses, schedulers, and billers can work for the medical corporation. They do not replace the licensed owners.
Ownership changes have teeth. Under § 30-3-15(h), an in-state medical corporation must stop practicing when the board notifies it that a shareholder is no longer licensed in West Virginia or that shares were sold or transferred to someone the Board of Medicine or the Board of Osteopathic Medicine does not license. The personal representative of a deceased shareholder has up to 12 months to transfer the shares. The corporation keeps existing for other lawful purposes, but the practice stops. That is the reason buyers ask for a stock transfer restriction and a successor-owner plan in the governing documents, not a side letter.
West Virginia also has a foreign medical corporation path, which matters for multi-state operators. § 30-3-15(c) lets a medical or professional corporation formed in another state receive a certificate designating it a foreign medical corporation if it is authorized and in good standing in its home state, at least one shareholder is licensed in West Virginia and is designated as the corporate representative to the board, and every shareholder is a licensed physician, podiatric physician, or physician assistant in one or more states, with a full shareholder list and license numbers. Under § 30-3-15(i), the foreign corporation must stop practicing in West Virginia if it no longer has a West Virginia-licensed shareholder or if shares go to an unlicensed person. That path still requires your own physician-owned PC. It is not a plug-in national PC.
Certificates expire. § 30-3-15(f) requires biennial registration on or before the expiration date on the certificate, and an unrenewed certificate expires automatically. § 30-3-15(g) makes an expired corporation file a new application. § 30-3-15(j) has the board notify the Secretary of State within 30 days of an expiration, revocation, or suspension. Put the renewal date on the compliance calendar next to the physician's license renewal.
Osteopathic practices have a parallel track. W. Va. Code § 30-14-9a lets osteopathic physicians, allopathic physicians, or physician assistants form an osteopathic medical corporation with a certificate of authorization from the Board of Osteopathic Medicine. W. Va. Code § 30-14-9b says it may practice only through osteopathic physicians licensed in West Virginia, requires biennial registration, and stops the practice when a shareholder loses a license or shares go to an unlicensed person.
Licensure follows the patient. W. Va. Code § 30-3-13 makes it unlawful to practice medicine in West Virginia, or to practice telemedicine within the state, without an active West Virginia license or a listed exception, and says telemedicine occurs in the state when the patient is physically located there. W. Va. Code § 30-3-13a repeats that the practice of medicine occurs where the patient is located when telemedicine technologies are used, requires a West Virginia license or registration under § 30-1-1 et seq., and limits how a physician-patient relationship can start. Text-based communications such as email, Internet questionnaires, and text messaging cannot establish it. Real-time video, interactive audio, and real-time audio-only calls can, and pathology and radiology may use store-and-forward. Questionnaire-only intake funnels need a different first visit for West Virginia patients.
A West Virginia charter is not a CPOM passport. If you treat Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, or Maryland patients, those states control. Utah patients need a domestic Utah professional entity under Utah Code § 16-11-7. See Utah CPOM. Collaboration for PAs is a different job from owning the Professional Corporation. See collaborating physician vs physician PC owner.
Typical PC / MSO structure in West Virginia
When West Virginia patients are in scope, form a medical corporation owned by a physician licensed in West Virginia and get the Board of Medicine certificate of authorization before it practices. If you already have a physician-owned PC in another state, the § 30-3-15(c) foreign path may fit, provided at least one shareholder holds a West Virginia license and every shareholder is licensed somewhere. The MSO provides non-clinical services under a written MSA at fair market value. Clinical revenue lands in the medical corporation. Foundry forms that structure ($15,000) and matches a friendly PC owner ($3,000/mo). Not a rented Super PC.
When you still need a PC vs only an MSO
Use the table as an operator rule, not a filing opinion. Confirm with counsel.
| West Virginia fact pattern | Typical entity | Why |
|---|---|---|
| West Virginia-only, physician already owns an authorized medical corporation | Stay on the existing entity and keep the certificate current | Still document clinical control and an FMV admin fee if an MSO is in the picture |
| Venture-backed or multi-state telehealth that includes Charleston, Morgantown, Huntington, or Wheeling patients | Medical corporation + certificate of authorization + FMV MSA, with West Virginia licenses for the clinicians | § 30-3-15(a) bars corporate practice without the certificate, and § 30-3-13a follows the patient |
| Existing physician-owned PC formed in another state | Foreign medical corporation certificate under § 30-3-15(c) | Needs a West Virginia-licensed shareholder as corporate representative and all-licensed shareholders |
| West Virginia HQ with patients only in other states | Form for the patient states; a West Virginia HQ alone is not enough | CPOM follows the patient, not the HQ charter |
| Osteopathic-led practice | Osteopathic medical corporation under § 30-14-9a | Board of Osteopathic Medicine certificate; same transfer limits under § 30-14-9b |
Fee-splitting and funds-flow risk
The certificate is what boards check. Funds flow is what buyers check. A percentage-of-collections management fee is the pattern that looks most like a split of professional fees and like lay control. Prefer a fixed or FMV-supported admin fee. Clinical cash lands in the medical corporation. The MSO invoices it. Pair West Virginia with the fee-risk table on CPOM compliance.
| West Virginia pattern | Risk | Safer pattern |
|---|---|---|
| Lay LLC sells visits and holds itself out as the provider | High: § 30-3-15(a) and § 30-3-13(a) | Authorized medical corporation owned by a licensed physician |
| MSO paid a percentage of professional collections | High: diligence and fee-split overlay | Fixed FMV admin fee with a memo |
| Shares or an option grant to an unlicensed investor | High: § 30-3-15(h) stops the practice | Licensed shareholders only; stock transfer restriction |
| Certificate lapsed after two years | Automatic expiration under § 30-3-15(f) | Calendar the biennial renewal |
| Questionnaire-only intake for new West Virginia patients | § 30-3-13a(c) bars text-based relationship formation | Real-time video or audio first visit |
| Physician-owned medical corporation + FMV MSA + separate books | Base case | Revisit FMV when volume changes |
Board vs buyer / payer checks
Licensing boards authorize medical corporations and discipline licensees. Buyers and payers run a different file. Use both columns. Full operating map: CPOM compliance.
| Who checks | What they sample | West Virginia fail signal |
|---|---|---|
| West Virginia Board of Medicine | Certificate of authorization; shareholder licenses; biennial renewal; West Virginia licenses for every clinician who sees West Virginia patients | No certificate; a lapsed certificate; an unlicensed shareholder; telemedicine without a West Virginia license or registration |
| Buyer diligence | Shareholder ledger vs § 30-3-15; certificate and renewal dates; one claim from payer to PC bank to MSA invoice | MSO lockbox; percentage MSA; lay equity; a foreign PC with no West Virginia-licensed shareholder |
| Payer / credentialing | Claim TIN and group NPI on the physician-owned medical corporation | Marketing MSO TIN on the claim |
What West Virginia founders need to know
- A corporation cannot practice medicine in West Virginia without a Board of Medicine certificate of authorization.
- Each shareholder of an in-state medical corporation must be licensed. A transfer to an unlicensed person stops the practice.
- A physician-owned PC from another state can apply as a foreign medical corporation if one shareholder holds a West Virginia license.
- The certificate renews every two years and expires automatically if missed.
- Telemedicine to a West Virginia patient needs a West Virginia license or registration, and a text-only questionnaire cannot start the relationship.
- Foundry does not drop clients into a plug-in 50-state PC. Multi-state needs a 50-state licensed physician as owner of your PC.
Operational checklist: CPOM compliance. Setup path: MSO-PC formation ($15,000). Full map: CPOM 50-state guide. Book a call · Pricing.
Sources
- W. Va. Code § 30-3-15, certificate of authorization requirements for medical corporations, subsections (a) through (k). Reviewed 19 October 2026.
- W. Va. Code § 30-3-13, licensing requirements and unauthorized practice; W. Va. Code § 30-3-13a, telemedicine practice.
- W. Va. Code § 30-14-9a and W. Va. Code § 30-14-9b, osteopathic medical corporations.
- West Virginia Board of Medicine.
West Virginia CPOM FAQ
Does West Virginia have CPOM?
Yes. W. Va. Code § 30-3-15 bars a corporation from practicing medicine without a Board of Medicine certificate of authorization, and the certificate depends on licensed shareholders. Foundry rates West Virginia Moderate on the CPOM 50-state guide.
Do I still need an MSO-PC in West Virginia?
Yes for most venture-backed and multi-state models that treat West Virginia patients. The medical corporation holds clinical care and the claim TIN; the MSO is paid fair market value for non-clinical services.
Can a PC from another state practice in West Virginia?
Possibly, through the foreign medical corporation path in § 30-3-15(c). It needs a West Virginia-licensed shareholder as corporate representative and all-licensed shareholders. Confirm with counsel.
Does West Virginia allow telehealth intake by questionnaire?
Not to start the relationship. § 30-3-13a(c) rules out email, Internet questionnaires, and text messaging for that first step. Use real-time video or audio. See the telehealth hub.
How does Foundry help with West Virginia CPOM?
MSO-PC formation is $15,000 one-time. A licensed physician PC owner is $3,000/mo. Foundry is not a law firm.