Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: starting home business for medical billing

There really is no difference between being self-employed and operating a small business, whether you work from your home or not. Many local governments (cities, counties, etc.) require business permits, but there is no state-wide licensing requirement.

Do you need a lawyer? That depends. If you want to form a corporation or a have a partnership agreement in place, then you really should have a lawyer's help. (You say you have a "partner," but this is a formal legal term which many people use in a more general manner without knowing what it implies in law. If the two of you later decide to split and there is no agreement in place, there may be a costly and unpleasant lawsuit.) There are probably a number of other things you will want your lawyer to do, like reviewing your contracts with doctors. If your business expands and you want to lease commercial space and/or hire employees, a lawyer will be helpful again.

I currently represent a medical billing business in a dispute with a practitioner over unpaid bills, and I might have been able to prevent this dicpute if I had been around when the conracts were signed. Then again, this particular dispute might have been unavoidable.

I'm located in West Los Angeles; please feel free to contact me if I can be of some help.

Re: starting home business for medical billing

There is no law that says you need a lawyer for anything, anytime. However, when you are ignorant of the laws or regulations that may apply to something you are doing, then you would be well advised to consult with an attorney, who is, after, merely an expert in the law. In your case, given your admitted ignorance of some aspects of starting your own home-based business, you definitely should consult with an attorney. Whether you need a license of any sort to start your business depends upon the type of business and where you are located. Most municipalities require business licenses to do any business in that city or county, although most home-based businesses disregard that requirement and never get caught. You should also consult with an accountant about the income tax ramifications of your new business and about your bookkeeping needs.

Re: starting home business for medical billing

No special license is need for a medical billing business, just a normal business license.