How to Start an LLC in Florida

A Florida LLC formation is one of the simpler business filings in the country: one online form, one fee, and no state personal income tax to worry about afterward. But "simple" doesn't mean "forgiving." Miss a required field on your Articles of Organization, use a P.O. Box for your registered agent, or forget your Annual Report, and you'll either get bounced back by the Division of Corporations or lose your LLC to administrative dissolution a year later. This guide walks through exactly how to start an LLC in Florida, step by step, with the real fees and deadlines involved.

Everything here routes through the Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations, known statewide as Sunbiz. There is no separate "LLC office" and no county-level filing for the LLC itself. One agency, one online portal, one filing fee to form the entity.

What You Need Before You Start

Gather these before you open the filing portal, since the online form times out and re-entering everything twice is a waste of your afternoon:

• A proposed LLC name ending in "Limited Liability Company," "LLC," or "L.L.C."
• A registered agent with a physical Florida street address (no P.O. Box)
• The name and address of at least one member or authorized representative
• Your LLC's principal place of business address and mailing address
• A payment method for the $125 filing fee
• Optional: $25 if you want to reserve your name for up to 120 days before filing

You do not need a state business license to form an LLC in Florida. Florida has no general statewide business license; licensing, if you need it at all, depends on your profession and your city or county.

Step-by-Step: Florida LLC Formation

Step 1: Choose and Check Your LLC Name

Your name must end with "Limited Liability Company," "LLC," or "L.L.C." (professional service LLCs use "Chartered," "Professional Limited Liability Company," "P.L.L.C.," or "PLLC" instead). Beyond the required ending, the name has to be distinguishable from every other entity already on file with the Division of Corporations. Not similar, not close: distinguishable.

Search the existing database before you fall in love with a name: Sunbiz business name search. A clean search result is a good sign, but it is not a guarantee. The state only makes the final call on availability at the moment you actually file your Articles of Organization, so don't print business cards or sign a lease around a name until you have a filing acknowledgment in hand.

If you need time before you're ready to file the full paperwork, you can reserve your name for 120 days for $25 through Sunbiz. This step is optional and most founders skip it, but it's worth the $25 if you're waiting on a partner's signature or a registered agent contract.

Step 2: Designate a Florida Registered Agent

Every Florida LLC must name a registered agent, meaning a person or company that accepts legal notices and state correspondence on the LLC's behalf. The agent needs a physical street address in Florida (a P.O. Box will get your filing rejected), and the agent has to sign the Articles of Organization to confirm they accept the job.

You can serve as your own registered agent if you have a Florida street address and don't mind your name and address becoming part of the public record. Many owners hire a commercial registered agent service instead, both for privacy and to make sure someone is reliably available during business hours to receive documents. Commercial registered agent services generally run $50 to $300 a year depending on the provider.

Step 3: File Your Articles of Organization

The Articles of Organization is the document that legally creates your LLC. File it online through Sunbiz eFile, Florida's official electronic filing system. The filing requires:

• Your LLC name (with the required ending)
• Registered agent name, Florida address, and signature
• Principal place of business address
• Name and address of at least one member or authorized representative
• An effective date, if you want one other than the filing date (it cannot be more than 30 days in the future)

The filing fee is $125. The Division of Corporations does not offer expedited filing service of any kind, so paying more will not make your LLC form faster. If you'd rather handle it in person, walk-in service is available at 2415 N. Monroe Street, Suite 810, Tallahassee, Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm, and most walk-in requests are completed on the spot.

There is no guaranteed turnaround for online filings. The Division processes them in the order received, and images of electronically filed documents generally post to the public record within 3 business days of processing. Your LLC legally exists as of the date the state processes your filing, not the date you submitted it.

Step 4: Write an Operating Agreement

Florida does not require an LLC to have a written operating agreement, and you do not file one with the state. That said, skipping it is a mistake for any LLC with more than one member, and even single-member LLCs benefit from having one. The operating agreement spells out ownership percentages, how profits and losses are split, how decisions get made, and what happens if a member wants out. Keep the signed copy with your business records, not on file with the state.

Step 5: Get an EIN from the IRS

An Employer Identification Number (EIN) is the federal tax ID for your business, and you'll need it to open a business bank account, hire employees, or file federal taxes as a multi-member LLC. Apply directly through the IRS; the EIN application is free and typically issued immediately online during the IRS's business hours. Never pay a third party for something the IRS hands out at no cost, though some formation services will bundle it into a paid package for convenience.

Step 6: Open a Business Bank Account

Once you have your filed Articles of Organization and your EIN, open a dedicated business checking account. This is where the liability protection an LLC is supposed to offer actually gets tested. If you run business money through your personal account, a court can decide you never really treated the LLC as a separate entity, a legal doctrine often called "piercing the corporate veil," and hold you personally liable for business debts anyway.

Step 7: Register for Florida Taxes, If Applicable

Florida has no personal income tax, which is one of the bigger draws of forming here. Most LLCs taxed as partnerships or disregarded entities do not file a separate Florida corporate income tax return. If your LLC elects to be taxed as a corporation for federal purposes, it owes Florida's 5.5% corporate income/franchise tax on Florida net income.

If you sell taxable goods or services, you must register as a sales and use tax dealer with the Florida Department of Revenue before you start selling, through the Department of Revenue's registration portal. Florida's state sales tax rate is 6%, and most counties add a local surtax on top of that.

Step 8: File Your Annual Report Every Year

This is the step people forget, and it's the one that actually kills LLCs. Florida requires every LLC to file an Annual Report between January 1 and May 1 each year, at a cost of $138.75. Miss the May 1 deadline and a $400 late fee kicks in automatically, bringing the total to $538.75. Miss it entirely and your LLC faces administrative dissolution around the third Friday in September.

File it through Sunbiz, and put the January 1 to May 1 window on a recurring calendar reminder now, since Florida does not mail a paper reminder to every filer.

Tips for a Smoother Filing

• File in January or February, not April. The Annual Report window is wide, but everyone procrastinates toward the May 1 deadline, and system slowdowns are more likely during the final week.
• Save your filing acknowledgment. Banks, lenders, and licensing agencies will ask for proof of formation later. Keep the PDF somewhere you won't lose it.
• Confirm your registered agent actually forwards documents promptly. A lawsuit notice that sits unopened can result in a default judgment against your LLC.
• Don't assume your name is safe until the filing posts. A clean name search today does not lock out someone else filing the same name tomorrow.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Using a P.O. Box for the registered agent address. This is an automatic rejection. The address must be a physical Florida street address.
• Letting the Annual Report slide. A $138.75 filing turning into a $538.75 filing, or a dissolved LLC, is an entirely avoidable cost.
• Mixing personal and business funds. This undermines the liability protection that's the whole reason most people form an LLC in the first place.
• Assuming Florida has a general business license. It doesn't. What you actually need depends on your profession, your industry, and your city or county, and those requirements exist separately from LLC formation.
• Paying for "expedited" LLC filing. Florida doesn't offer an expedited tier, so any service charging extra for faster state processing is charging for something that doesn't exist at the state level.

What You Can Generally Expect

Based on how the Division of Corporations currently processes filings, most online Articles of Organization submissions tend to post to the public record within roughly 3 to 5 business days, though this is not a guaranteed timeline and can vary with filing volume. Once your filing posts, your LLC generally has legal existence from that date forward, and you should be able to apply for your EIN and open a business bank account shortly after. Actual processing times, fees, and requirements can change, so confirm current figures on the official Sunbiz and Department of Revenue sites before you file.

Florida LLC Costs at a Glance

Item	Cost
Articles of Organization (filing fee)	$125
Name reservation (optional, 120 days)	$25
Registered agent designation	$25
Annual Report (due Jan 1 to May 1 each year)	$138.75
Late Annual Report (after May 1)	$538.75 total
Registered agent change amendment	$25

If a fee you need isn't listed here or seems out of date, confirm the current figure directly on the Sunbiz site before you pay anything.

Disclaimer

This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Florida LLC requirements, fees, and deadlines can change. For guidance specific to your situation, consult a licensed Florida attorney or a CPA before you file.