How to Start a Staffing Agency in Florida

Florida makes it easier to start a staffing agency than many states do. There is no general state business license, and a standard temporary help staffing firm does not need a state license to operate. That does not mean there are no rules. The staffing firm is the employer of the people it places, so it carries reemployment tax and workers' compensation for them, runs payroll, and follows federal and state hiring rules. If you plan to place nurses, the rules change quickly, and some nurse placement models require a license from the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA).

This guide walks through launching a staffing agency in Florida, from the first licensing question to your first placement, with a separate section on nurse staffing in Florida. It is informational only and is not legal or tax advice. Confirm current fees and deadlines on the agency page before you file, and consult a qualified attorney and a CPA before you sign client contracts or choose your entity.

Materials and Information You Need Before You File

Gather these items first. Insurance and the nurse credentialing process often take longer than the state filing itself.

• A written business plan that names your target industries, your service model (temporary, temp-to-hire, direct hire, or nurse placement), and a 12-month cash forecast. You pay workers every pay period, but clients often pay on net 30 terms or longer, so you need working capital before the first invoice clears.
• A business name that passes a Sunbiz name search
• A Florida registered agent with a physical street address in Florida
• An IRS employer identification number (EIN)
• A business bank account and a payroll provider or payroll software that handles Florida reemployment tax
• Insurance quotes for workers' compensation, general liability, and professional liability
• A bill rate and pay rate worksheet that adds employer payroll taxes, workers' compensation premium, insurance, recruiting, and overhead to every hourly wage
• Draft client and worker agreements, reviewed by an attorney before use
• A background check and drug screening vendor, plus an I-9 process and E-Verify enrollment once you have 25 or more employees
• For nurse placement: a credential checklist for each nurse type and a method to verify each license with the issuing board before a placement starts

Step 1: Choose Your Model and Check the License Rule

Your licensing obligation depends on how the workers are employed and where they are placed. Settle this before you choose a name, because the answer changes your licensing, insurance, and contracts.

Model	What it does	State license
Temporary help staffing	Your employees work at a client site under the client's day-to-day direction	No state license. Temporary help arrangements are excluded from employee leasing under s. 468.520, Florida Statutes
Employee leasing or PEO	You co-employ a client's workforce and take over payroll and HR administration	License from the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) under ch. 468, Part XI
Nurse registry	You refer nurses to patients or families, and the nurses are generally not your employees	License from the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA)
Nurse placement as your employee	You hire nurses as your own employees and place them with healthcare facilities	Often handled as temporary help, but confirm the model with AHCA before your first placement

Get the answer in writing. If you cannot tell whether your model is temporary help, a PEO, or a registry, call or write to the relevant agency and keep the reply in your company file. That uncertainty is the first thing to resolve, before a name search or a bank account.

Step 2: Pick Your Entity: LLC or Corporation

Many owners form a limited liability company (LLC) because it separates personal and business liability and is simpler to run than a corporation. A corporation is also an option. Compare the state costs below, then ask a CPA how your federal tax classification will work.

Item	LLC	Corporation
Formation document	Articles of Organization	Articles of Incorporation for a Florida Profit Corporation
Filing fee	$100	$35
Registered agent designation	$25	$35
Annual report	$138.75, filed January 1 to May 1	$150, filed January 1 to May 1
Late annual report total	$538.75 (includes a $400 late fee after May 1)	$550 (includes a $400 late fee after May 1)

Florida has no personal income tax and no state franchise tax for LLCs. An LLC taxed as a partnership or disregarded entity generally does not file a Florida corporate income tax return, but it must file a Florida Partnership Information Return if one or more owners is a corporation, and any corporate owner files its own return. An LLC taxed as a corporation for federal purposes pays the 5.5% Florida corporate income/franchise tax, and so does a corporation. Confirm your classification with a CPA.

Step 3: Search Your Name and File Articles of Organization

Search your proposed name at https://search.sunbiz.org/Inquiry/CorporationSearch/ByName. The name must end with Limited Liability Company, LLC, or L.L.C., and it must be distinguishable from names already on Department of State records. If you need to hold the name while you finish paperwork, you can reserve it for 120 days for $25.

File online through Sunbiz eFile at https://dos.fl.gov/sunbiz/start-business/efile/fl-llc/. The Division of Corporations processes online filings in the order received and publishes no guaranteed turnaround. Images of electronically filed documents post within 3 business days of processing. The Division does not offer expedited service. If you need the filing faster, walk-in service is available at 2415 N. Monroe Street, Suite 810, Tallahassee, Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm, where most requests are completed while you wait.

Do not treat the name as yours until you receive the filing acknowledgment. Hold off on letterhead, client contracts, and any business-name account until it arrives.

Step 4: Appoint a Registered Agent

Every Florida LLC must designate a registered agent with a physical street address in Florida. A P.O. Box does not qualify. The agent must sign the filing to accept the appointment. Your company cannot serve as its own registered agent, but an individual owner or officer may. Changing the agent later costs the same $25 as the original designation for an LLC.

Step 5: Get Your EIN and Open a Payroll Bank Account

Apply for an employer identification number from the IRS before you run payroll. You need it for federal payroll filings, your bank account, and most client vendor onboarding forms. Open a business checking account and keep payroll funds separate from operating funds. Agencies that mix the two often find out too late that they cannot cover a payroll run.

Step 6: Register with the Florida Department of Revenue

The Florida Department of Revenue (DOR) at https://floridarevenue.com/ handles the state-level tax side of your payroll. Because your firm carries reemployment tax for the workers it employs, register for that account before you pay your first worker. Confirm the registration steps and deadlines with DOR, since they depend on your payroll setup.

Sales tax is a separate question. Businesses selling taxable goods or services must register as a sales and use tax dealer before beginning business. Florida's state sales tax rate is 6%. Whether any part of your staffing revenue is taxable is something to confirm with DOR before you invoice, and you can start the registration at https://floridarevenue.com/taxes/eservices/Pages/registration.aspx.

Step 7: Check Your Local Business Tax Receipt

Florida issues no general statewide business license. Many cities and counties do require a local Business Tax Receipt for the address where you operate, and it is authorized under Chapter 205. It is a local tax, not a competency license, so it does not certify that you are qualified to staff anyone. Not every county or city levies it. Call the local tax collector for each location where you will have an office or place workers, and do not assume that a neighboring city's rule applies to yours.

Step 8: Register a Fictitious Name If You Will Use a DBA

If you will operate under a name other than your LLC name, such as a shorter brand name, register a fictitious name. Registration costs $50 and renewal costs $50. The registration is valid for 5 years and expires on December 31 of the fifth year. Renewal is filed between July 1 and December 31 of the expiration year. The filing goes to the Division of Corporations statewide, not the county, but the name must be advertised at least once in a newspaper in the county of your principal place of business. No proof of advertisement is filed with the state, so keep your own copy. File at https://dos.fl.gov/sunbiz/start-business/efile/fl-fictitious-name-registration/.

Step 9: Buy Insurance and Confirm Bonding Requirements

Insurance is where many new agencies get surprised. Your firm carries workers' compensation for the workers it employs. Confirm the exact requirement and coverage for your expected payroll with your insurer. Many agencies also carry general liability and professional liability (errors and omissions) coverage. Healthcare facilities and government buyers often ask for certificates of insurance and may require a bond. Ask each prospective client what they require before you quote, because a missing certificate can delay a start date by days or weeks.

Step 10: Set Up Hiring and Payroll Compliance

Private employers with 25 or more employees must use E-Verify for new hires, a requirement in effect since July 1, 2023, under s. 448.095, Florida Statutes. Count your employees carefully, including the workers you place, and confirm with an attorney how the threshold applies to your model. Complete a Form I-9 for every new hire regardless of headcount. Confirm the current Florida minimum wage and overtime rules before you set pay rates, and keep time records for every placement. Reemployment tax and withholding must run correctly on every payroll.

Step 11: Build the Nurse Staffing Layer if You Place Nurses

Nurse staffing in Florida has its own checkpoints. Before you place a single nurse, confirm which model requires an AHCA license. If your model is a nurse registry, do not begin referrals until the license is in hand. Keep a credential file for every nurse, with the active Florida license verified directly with the issuing board, plus the CPR certification, immunization records, and background screening that the facility requires. Facility requirements vary, so request each client's list in writing and store it with the contract.

Florida's health care sector is one of its notable industries, which may keep demand for clinical staff steady. Expect competition for facility contracts, though, and plan for credential tracking as an ongoing cost rather than a one-time setup task.

Step 12: Write Your Client and Worker Agreements

Your client agreement should state the bill rate, overtime billing, invoice terms, the replacement or guarantee period, the conversion fee if a client hires a placed worker directly, which party carries insurance, and how disputes are resolved. Your worker agreement should state the employment relationship, pay rate and pay schedule, background check consent, and any at-will language your counsel approves. Have an attorney draft or review both documents. Do not copy a template from another state without checking Florida rules.

Step 13: Price, Recruit, and Launch

Price from total employer cost, not from the wage alone. Your worksheet should add payroll taxes, workers' compensation, insurance, recruiting, background screening, and administrative time to every hourly rate, then add your margin. Run the worksheet against each client before you quote. Recruit through job boards, your own applicant database, and referrals from workers you have already placed. The Florida SBDC Network at https://floridasbdc.org/ can help you review your business plan and pricing model, and the SBA's South Florida district office page at https://www.sba.gov/district/south-florida lists local resources.

Key Deadlines to Calendar

Deadline	What is due
January 1 to May 1 each year	LLC annual report ($138.75) or corporate profit annual report ($150)
After May 1	Late annual report fee of $400 applies
Third Friday in September	Unfiled LLC annual reports lead to administrative dissolution
July 1 to December 31 of the expiration year	Fictitious name renewal ($50), if you use a DBA
Each year	Local Business Tax Receipt renewal, where your city or county levies one

Tips for Getting It Right

• Resolve the license question first. A written answer from DBPR or AHCA costs nothing and can save you from restructuring after your first client signs.
• Price the full employer cost. Agencies that quote only the wage often find that the margin disappears once payroll taxes, workers' compensation, and insurance are added.
• Keep a cash reserve for payroll. Clients pay on terms, but workers expect their checks on schedule.
• Verify every credential before placement. A nurse's license status can change, and a facility may hold your agency responsible for the placement.
• Use the calendar. Put the annual report window, DBA renewal, and local tax renewals on a shared calendar with a reminder 30 days out.
• Talk to a CPA before your first invoice. Your federal classification, reemployment tax setup, and any sales tax question affect your pricing.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Assuming no state license means no rules. Florida has no general business license, but payroll, hiring, insurance, and local tax rules still apply.
• Running a PEO model without a DBPR license. Co-employment and payroll administration fall under a different licensing track than temporary help.
• Making nurse referrals without an AHCA license. If your model is a nurse registry, the license comes before the first referral, not after the first complaint.
• Treating the name as approved before the acknowledgment arrives. Printing contracts or signing clients too early creates problems if the name is rejected.
• Missing the May 1 annual report deadline. A late report adds $400, and unfiled LLCs face administrative dissolution if the third Friday in September passes without a filing.
• Skipping the local tax receipt check. Some cities and counties levy the Business Tax Receipt and some do not, so the answer depends on where you operate.
• Starting placements before insurance is active. A worker injured on day one of a placement can turn a small gap into a serious claim.
• Missing E-Verify once you reach 25 employees. Plan the enrollment before the threshold, not after.

What Results to Expect

A well-run staffing agency may take several months to build a steady client base, and results vary widely by market, specialty, and recruiting pipeline. Owners who document their pricing and compliance steps from the start often find it easier to respond to new clients and audits, though outcomes are never guaranteed. Expect your first placements to come from a small number of clients, and expect early margins to be thinner than your forecast while you build volume and refine your bill rates.

For nurse staffing, the timeline is usually longer because credentialing, facility onboarding, and license verification add steps before the first shift. Many agencies find that building a verified pool of candidates before pursuing facility contracts helps them respond faster when a client has an urgent need.

Important Information

This article is informational content about forming and operating a staffing business in Florida. It is not legal or tax advice, and it does not create an attorney-client or accountant-client relationship. Fees, deadlines, and requirements can change, so confirm each one with the agency that administers it: the Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations at https://dos.fl.gov/sunbiz/, the Florida Department of Revenue at https://floridarevenue.com/, and the agency that governs your specific license. Consult a qualified attorney for contracts and licensing questions, and a CPA for entity, payroll tax, and sales tax questions before you start operations.