Medi-Cal PAVE Documents: Business License, Lease and More

Last reviewed: October 7, 2026.

For a therapy practice enrolling in Medi-Cal through PAVE as a corporation, expect to supply the city or county business license (often called a business tax certificate), the Articles of Incorporation, proof of how the corporation uses its service address, general liability and malpractice certificates, and a yes or no on workers’ compensation. The names and addresses on those documents need to match the application.

This guide covers the business documents only. If you still need a PAVE login, start with how to create a Medi-Cal PAVE account. If your biller is preparing the application, see how to give your biller PAVE access.

The document list we work from

When we prepare a PAVE application for an incorporated therapy practice, the portal’s business and insurance sections ask for these items. We collect them before the draft goes to the provider for signature:

• Articles of Incorporation as filed with the California Secretary of State. A Certificate of Status can help show the corporation is active, but it is a separate document.

• Local business license or business tax certificate for the city or county where the practice does business, or the local license number field marked N/A with an explanation if none applies.

• Fictitious business name filing if the corporation uses a trade name.

• Premises answer: whether the corporation owns, leases, or has some other arrangement for the service address, with a signed lease when it rents.

• Insurance: general liability and malpractice certificates showing the corporation as insured and the policy numbers, or a statement that it self-insures.

• Workers’ compensation: a current certificate if the corporation carries it; if not, confirmation of whether it has employees.

• Seller’s permit or other local permits, only if the corporation holds them.

DHCS’s provider-type checklists describe the local license requirement in more detail. The LCSW and LMFT pages ask for the applicable local business licenses, tax certificates and permits, and say the application’s business name and address must match them.

Where applications usually get stuck

In our experience the slow part is rarely the portal itself. It is a handful of document mix-ups that send the draft back for another round:

1. Bylaws sent instead of Articles. Both come out of the incorporation packet. PAVE wants the Articles filed with the Secretary of State, not the internal bylaws.

2. A state document offered in place of the local one. A Certificate of Status or formation filing does not answer the local business license question. The city or county business tax certificate does.

3. A payment receipt instead of a certificate. Insurance renewal receipts usually lack the insured name, policy number and limits the application asks for. Send the certificate itself.

4. A virtual or mailing address used as the practice location. Fully remote practices often register the corporation at a mail service or registered-agent address. PAVE asks how the corporation uses the location, so that arrangement has to be described honestly rather than presented as a lease.

5. Sensitive items sent by email. Government ID and banking proof belong in PAVE or a secure upload. A bank account verification letter on bank letterhead works when the practice has no voided checks.

Own, lease, or something else

PAVE asks how the corporation uses each service location. We ask the provider to pick one answer:

• Owned: the corporation owns the premises.

• Leased: attach the current signed lease or rental agreement naming the corporation and the exact address.

• Neither: describe the arrangement and attach whatever signed agreement or permission documents the corporation’s use of the address. For a remote practice that may be the mailbox or registered-agent agreement, or a letter from the mail servicer.

For its LCSW checklist, DHCS asks for a signed lease when the applicant does not own the premises, with the lessee name and address matching the application. Do not add a name to an executed lease or create a lease for a space nobody rents. If the arrangement is unusual, describe it and let the enrollment reviewer ask for what they accept.

If your city does not issue a business license

The DHCS LCSW and LMFT checklists ask for a written statement from the city or county confirming that no license or permit is required. Ask the local licensing office about your actual address and activity and keep its written answer. A colleague in another city not needing a license is not evidence for yours.

After you upload

Nothing is submitted until the provider signs in PAVE under their own login. If DHCS later sends a deficiency notice, answer the specific item it names through PAVE; the wiki procedure we follow notes a 60-day window to correct and resubmit. An upload confirmation is not an approval. Group versus individual Medi-Cal enrollment for a professional corporation explains which applications the documents attach to.

Bomi prepares PAVE drafts for practices it credentials, collects these documents through a secure portal, and returns the draft for the provider’s signature.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I upload my bylaws instead of the Articles of Incorporation?

No. The bylaws are an internal governance document. PAVE asks for the Articles filed with the California Secretary of State.

My practice is fully remote. What do I put for the location?

Describe the real arrangement. If the corporation’s address is a mail service or registered agent, answer that it neither owns nor leases the space and attach the agreement or letter that shows its use of the address.

Do I need workers’ compensation insurance for PAVE?

PAVE asks whether the corporation has it. If it does, upload the certificate. If it does not, the useful follow-up is whether the corporation has any employees besides the owner.

Sources

• DHCS LCSW application information

• DHCS LMFT application information

• DHCS PAVE FAQ