How to Get Into Private Practice as an SLP?

A Speech-Language pathologist working with a young client in a private practice setting

June 23, 2026

Speech-language pathologists (SLP) know that client progress is personally fulfilling. Whether it’s a child who stutters or an adult with aphasia, each appointment is an opportunity for improvement. You can build on your experiences in the field and contribute to improved treatments by becoming a speech-language pathologist. Millions of people facing communication and swallowing issues would benefit from your expertise.

An aging population, retirements in the profession and ongoing demand for youth services translate into an estimated 15% growth in speech-language pathology jobs by 2034. Many speech therapists work in schools, hospitals and multi-practitioner offices. You don’t need to limit yourself to these opportunities, however. It’s possible to open a speech-language pathology private practice that supports your professional needs while serving your community.

Reasons to Open a Speech Therapy Practice

A good reason to start your own private practice in speech-language pathology is autonomy. As the owner, you can structure and market the practice as you see fit. You can select office space, hire staff and set rates based on your expertise. This independence comes with more responsibilities than other practice settings, but also means opportunities for higher income.

Owning your practice also means greater flexibility than if another organization or practitioner employed you. You can set a part-time schedule around family obligations, practice on weekends to accommodate clients, or combine in-person and telemedicine appointments. It’s also possible to contract with other providers to fill out your schedule.

A speech therapy practice can also specialize in treatment areas or populations not served by existing practices. You may find that your community lacks someone to provide pediatric early intervention, geriatric swallowing therapies, or communication issues for clients with autism spectrum disorder. Specialization can also mean dedicating more time to working with families and caregivers on implementing therapies at home.

Six Steps to Opening a Private Practice

The process of opening a speech-language pathology private practice may seem daunting at first glance. A step-by-step plan for achieving your professional goal, however, can make initial challenges more manageable. An advanced education in communication sciences and disorders is the starting point for your career as a clinician.

1. Earn a Graduate Degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders

Speech-language pathologists build the foundation of their careers with bachelor’s degrees and prerequisite courses in communication sciences and disorders. A bachelor’s degree is not enough for licensure, because a master’s degree in the field is required in all 50 states. Graduate students expand on their undergraduate education in courses including:

Dysphagia and Feeding Disorders
Language /Literacy Young Children Assessment and Treatment
Fluency Disorders
Advanced Study in Phonology and Articulation

An important component of a graduate program is the supervised experiences required of every student. Master’s degree candidates learn how to turn classroom lessons into real-world skills by working with experienced therapists and clinicians. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) sets 400 hours as the minimum standard for experiential learning among certified graduate programs.

2. Obtain Licensure as a Speech-Language Pathologist

Communication Sciences and Disorders grad school programs allow students to continue their professional journeys by applying for state licensure. The ASHA notes that state licensure “ensures basic consumer protection and provides a mechanism by which incompetent and/or unethical practitioners may be removed from practice.” Licensure as a speech-language pathologist demonstrates your competency and level of care as a practitioner.

Every state differs in its licensing requirements for speech-language pathologists. We can use the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) Qualifications for Licensure as an example of what you may encounter as an applicant. Aspiring speech-language pathologists must do the following to qualify for licensure:

Complete an approved graduate degree program in a relevant field
Obtain a Speech-Language Pathology Temporary License
Demonstrate nine months of post-graduate supervised experiences
Submit verification of successful completion of the Praxis Speech-Language Pathology test or ASHA certification

A Speech-Language pathologist working with a young male client in a private practice setting

3. Prepare Business and Marketing Plans

A thorough business plan is useful as you start your speech therapy practice and look to the future. A mission statement or a set of values guiding your business is a good way to begin your planning process. You should also include the following components in your business plan:

Start-up and ongoing expenses for the business
Initial and ongoing funding sources
Scope of practice, including evaluations, treatments and other services that comply with state regulations for SLP professionals
Checklist of license renewals, insurances and permits for continued operations
Pricing for services offered
Plan for billing for services including if you will get credentialed with insurance companies to become a participating provider (in-network)
Potential expansion plans, including employees and office space needs

Attracting clients to your new practice requires a marketing plan. You’ll want to determine your target audience, research advertising costs and figure out how to communicate your practice’s strengths within the plan. Your marketing plan should also include metrics to determine each advertising type’s success rate. For example, it’s useful to compare new client inquiries from ads in public transit, social media and email outreach to maximize your marketing budget.

4. Organize Your Speech Therapy Practice

A speech therapy practice is a business requiring a legal structure. The most common structure of a private practice is a limited liability corporation (LLC). An LLC protects the owner’s personal assets from legal action against the business. This legal structure also protects income from corporate taxes because LLC owners are self-employed.

It’s a good idea to seek advice from experts when ensuring your practice’s compliance with liability insurance and tax requirements. An accountant can help you set up payment processes and handle tax returns. You can also work with an attorney to establish your LLC and create paperwork templates for clients, insurance companies and service providers.

5. Select a Place to Practice

You’ll need a physical location for your business that meets your clients’ needs. Your practice may be located in an office building with other healthcare-related practices, co-located within a medical practice, or in a storefront location. As you choose a location, the most important considerations include:

How the monthly rent fits into your finances
How the available space fits current and future services
Dedicated spaces for therapy and office work
Location close to your target demographics and referring service providers

Your office needs may change over the life of your practice, so re-evaluating your space should take place at lease renewals. The rapid growth of telehealth services is expanding the reach of private speech therapy practices. If you are primarily focused on virtual appointments, you may be able to operate from a home office or a shared space with other private practitioners.

6. Take Care of Billing Processes and Documentation

Medical billing and reimbursement are complicated even for experienced medical practitioners. It’s important to have established processes for billing and payment at the beginning of your private practice. A fee schedule taking into account the length and complexity of each service is a good starting point.

Your practice’s fees may be shaped in part by agreements with insurance companies to be an in-network provider. Private insurers and Medicare contracts set fee schedules for provider reimbursement, thus providing guidelines for client billing. It’s possible to set a fee schedule independent of insurance reimbursements by researching subscription resources like FeeAnalyzer. You can establish a sliding-scale payment schedule for clients with limited incomes. No matter what you charge, it’s important to re-evaluate your fees regularly to cover expenses and serve client needs.

No matter what you bill for your services, it’s important to carefully document each service to stay compliant with contracts and state laws. Billing for more expensive services than provided and falsifying diagnoses to justify treatment are considered health care provider fraud. The ASHA provides helpful tips for proper coding, including:

Coding to the highest degree of specificity possible
Indicating treatment diagnosis and co-existing conditions
Distinguishing between developmental and organic diagnoses

Your role in the insurance claim process depends on whether your practice is in the client’s provider network. In-network claims with documentation are filed with insurers by practitioners, with clients billed for services not covered by insurance. Out-of-network claims are filed by clients using detailed invoices of services provided by practitioners.

Preparing for Speech-Language Pathology Private Practice

The road to a speech therapy practice may not always be straight or smooth, but it can lead to personal and career fulfillment. A graduate degree in communication sciences and disorders from a leading university is the best way to raise your professional ceiling. Elmhurst University’s innovative online Master of Science (M.S.) prepares speech-language pathology professionals for the next levels of their careers.

Elevate Your Speech-Language Pathology Career at Elmhurst University

The online M.S. in Communication Sciences and Disorders is designed for working professionals like you. The program’s 100% online coursework helps you balance school with work and family (until clinicals). Two start dates help students like you get started on the pathway to practice.

A rigorous curriculum taught by experienced practitioners builds skills needed to treat clients of all ages. Every M.S. candidate works with program staff to identify practice locations for their 400 experiential hours. A short, in-person immersive experience at Elmhurst University helps you put theory into practice while working with other students.

Our students benefit from a reputation for academic excellence, including a No. 14 rank in Best Value Schools in the Midwest from U.S. News & World Report. We also integrate our six Circles of Excellence into every class and immersive experience. At Elmhurst University, you learn how the following characteristics make for successful clinical experiences: