How to Register a Business in Florida: Sunbiz, DOR, County and City in Order

Florida does not have a single business registration portal. Instead, a new business usually works through four separate registration layers: the Florida Department of State for your entity or fictitious name, the Florida Department of Revenue (DOR) for tax registration, a county local business tax receipt, and a city local business tax receipt where your city levies one. Some businesses also need a state professional license. Nothing in that chain connects automatically, so you submit each piece yourself, to a different office, with its own forms and deadlines.

The order matters. Your Sunbiz filing creates the legal entity or the trade name you will use, and DOR registration depends on having that identity settled. Local receipts depend on the address where you operate, and some local zoning or certificate of use approvals must be settled before the city will issue its receipt. This guide follows that sequence.

Disclaimer: This article is informational only. It is not legal, tax or financial advice. Entity choice, tax classification and licensing depend on your specific facts. Consult a qualified Florida attorney and a CPA for complex situations before you file. Confirm every figure below on the official agency page before you pay.

What You Need Before You Start

Gather these items before you open any form.

• A proposed business name. An LLC name must end in Limited Liability Company, LLC or L.L.C. Professional LLCs use Chartered, Professional Limited Liability Company, P.L.L.C. or PLLC.
• A Florida physical street address for your registered agent. A P.O. Box is not accepted.
• The names and addresses of each owner, member, officer or director.
• A federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS. Confirm with DOR and your local offices which filings require it.
• The physical address where you will operate, since county and city receipts are tied to location.
• A payment method for Sunbiz fees. Confirm accepted payment types with each county and city office.
• A written description of your activities, including whether you will sell taxable goods or services and whether you will hire employees.
• Any state license number your trade or profession requires, or a plan to apply for one.

Step 1: Choose and Check Your Business Name

Search the Sunbiz business name database at search.sunbiz.org before you settle on a name. The name must be distinguishable on the records of the Florida Department of State. A name that looks open to you may still conflict with an existing record, so do not assume it is approved until you receive a filing acknowledgment.

If you need time to file, you can reserve a name for 120 days by mailed letter for $25 for an LLC or $35 for a corporation. A reservation is not a registration. Details are on the Division of Corporations FAQ page at dos.fl.gov/sunbiz/about-us/faqs/.

Step 2: File Your Formation Document With Sunbiz

The Division of Corporations handles entity filings. The document you file depends on your structure:

• LLC: Articles of Organization, $125 total ($100 filing fee plus the required $25 registered agent designation)
• Corporation: Articles of Incorporation for a Florida Profit Corporation, $70 total ($35 filing fee plus the required $35 registered agent designation)

You can file online through Sunbiz eFile or walk in at 2415 N. Monroe Street, Suite 810, Tallahassee, Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm. The Division states that most walk-in requests are completed while you wait.

Sunbiz does not offer expedited filing, and it does not publish a guaranteed turnaround. Online filings are processed in the order received. Images of electronically filed documents post within 3 business days of processing, and non-electronic filings post within 5 business days. Plan for that delay before you sign a lease or open a bank account that asks for a filed document.

Appoint a Registered Agent

Every Florida LLC and corporation must designate a registered agent with a physical Florida street address. The agent must sign the filing to accept the appointment. An entity cannot be its own registered agent, but an individual owner or officer can serve. The designation fee is $25 for an LLC and $35 for a corporation. Changing the agent later costs the same amount, so choose someone who will reliably receive mail at that address.

Register a Fictitious Name if You Use a Trade Name

If you will operate under a name other than your legal name, register a fictitious name (DBA). The filing goes to the Division of Corporations statewide, not to your county. Registration costs $50 and is valid for five years, expiring on December 31 of the fifth year. The name must also be advertised at least once in a newspaper in the county of your principal place of business. No proof of that advertisement is filed with the state, but the requirement still applies. File at the Sunbiz fictitious name page.

Step 3: Register With the Florida Department of Revenue

DOR registration comes after Sunbiz because your legal name and entity type must match what you filed. Get your EIN from the IRS first if you do not already have one.

• Sales and use tax: If you sell taxable goods or services, you must register as a sales and use tax dealer with DOR before you begin business. The state rate is 6%. Ask DOR whether any county surtax applies to your location.
• Reemployment tax: If you will have employees, confirm with DOR whether you must register for reemployment tax.
• Form DR-1: DR-1 is the DOR registration form for sales tax and reemployment tax. Confirm with DOR whether to file it or use the online eServices path for each tax type you need. Start at the DOR registration page.

Understand Your Tax Classification

Florida has no personal income tax. Corporate income tax is 5.5% of Florida net income for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2022. How your LLC is classified for federal tax purposes determines how it is treated in Florida:

• An LLC classified as a partnership or disregarded entity generally does not file a Florida corporate income tax return. A Florida Partnership Information Return is required if one or more owners is a corporation, and that corporate owner must file its own Florida return.
• An LLC classified as a corporation for federal tax purposes pays the 5.5% Florida corporate income tax.

Florida has no separate state franchise tax on LLCs. Confirm your classification and filing obligations with a CPA before your first return is due.

Step 4: Check for State Professional Licenses

Florida issues no general statewide business license. Some trades and professions do require a state license before you can operate. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) licenses professions such as contractors, cosmetology, real estate, restaurants, CPAs and engineers. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) and the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) license activities within their own areas. Identify the agency that governs your activity before you apply, and confirm its prerequisites. Some licenses may require proof of a local address or local approval, which can affect the order of your local steps.

Step 5: Apply for the County Local Business Tax Receipt

A local business tax receipt is issued under Chapter 205 of the Florida Statutes. It is a tax on doing business in a jurisdiction, not a test of your competency, and it is tied to the address where you operate. Not every county levies it, and whether you owe a county receipt, a city receipt, or both depends on whether your address is inside an incorporated city and on local rules. Contact your county tax collector to confirm whether a receipt applies, what it costs and what you need to bring.

Step 6: Confirm Zoning and Any Certificate of Use

Before you apply for the city receipt, confirm that your address and use are allowed under local zoning. Many local governments require a zoning confirmation or certificate of use before they will issue a business tax receipt. Ask the city or county planning department what it requires for your address and business type, and get written confirmation where possible. Doing this step after the receipt application is a common cause of rework.

Step 7: Apply for the City Local Business Tax Receipt

If you operate inside a city that levies a local business tax, apply for its receipt after your zoning or certificate of use question is settled. Confirm with the city whether it requires a receipt in addition to the county receipt, what the amount is, and how it handles home-based businesses. Do not assume the county receipt covers the city, or that a city receipt replaces the county receipt. Ask the office directly.

Step 8: Calendar Your Recurring Deadlines

Registration is not a one-time event. These are the recurring obligations you should put on a calendar:

Filing	Agency	When	Fee on record
LLC annual report	Sunbiz	January 1 to May 1 each year	$138.75 ($538.75 after May 1, including a $400 late fee)
Corporation profit annual report	Sunbiz	January 1 to May 1 each year	$150 ($550 after May 1, including a $400 late fee)
Fictitious name renewal	Sunbiz	July 1 to December 31 of the expiration year	$50
Sales tax and other DOR returns	Florida Department of Revenue	Confirm your filing schedule with DOR	Confirm with DOR
County and city business tax receipts	County tax collector and city	Confirm renewal timing locally	Confirm locally

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Treating a name as approved before you receive the Sunbiz filing acknowledgment.
• Listing a P.O. Box as the registered agent address.
• Naming the LLC or corporation as its own registered agent. An entity cannot serve in that role.
• Operating under a trade name without a fictitious name registration, or skipping the newspaper advertisement that the registration requires.
• Selling taxable goods or services before DOR registration.
• Assuming every address owes a county or city receipt, or that one receipt covers both.
• Applying for the city receipt before confirming zoning and any certificate of use.
• Missing the May 1 annual report deadline. An LLC that does not file its annual report by the third Friday in September faces administrative dissolution.
• Paying for expedited service. Sunbiz does not offer it.

What to Expect

The Sunbiz step is often the most visible milestone. Walk-in requests are frequently completed while you wait, and online filings may appear within a few business days once processed. The remaining layers move on their own schedules. This guide does not list published timelines for DOR registration, county receipts or city receipts, so ask each office how long its process takes. A complete and accurate application may help avoid rejections or follow-up requests, though no office guarantees a result or a specific date.

Where to Get Help

• The Florida SBDC Network offers free business advising in many Florida communities, and it can help you sequence the registration steps.
• If you are in South Florida, the SBA South Florida district page lists local resources.
• A Florida attorney can advise on entity choice and ownership structure, and a CPA can advise on tax classification and filing obligations.

Registration is informational, and rules and fees can change. Verify each figure on the official agency site before you file or pay, and consult a qualified professional for complex situations.