On July 21, 2022, an amendment to New York Business Corporation Law (BCL) was signed into law by the New York Governor on July 21, 2022, which will take effect as of July 21, 2024 (2022 N.Y. Laws Chapter 439 §5), which amendment will allow 100% ownership of design professional service corporations (DPCs) by one or more employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). This is a significant departure from the current ESOP ownership limitations of just below 25%. 100% ownership will only be permitted in situations where the ESOP meets the New York licensee management requirements further specified below. An ESOP that does not meet these requirements will remain limited to below 25% ownership (and cannot be the single largest shareholder).

The DPC, a relatively new form of professional corporation, in existence only since January 1, 2012, is the first (and only) type of professional entity in New York that is allowed to have non-licensees and ESOPs among its owners (N.Y. Bus. Corp. §1503(a) (Consol. 2022) (BCL)). BCL §1501(g) allows for the separate or joint practices of professional engineering, land surveying, geology, architecture, and/or landscape architecture in New York.