Florida does not issue a single business license for selling online, but that is not the same as “no paperwork required.” If you run an online business from Florida, you almost always need two registrations: a Certificate of Registration (the state Seller’s Permit) from the Florida Department of Revenue so you can collect sales tax, and a local Business Tax Receipt from the county, and often the city, where you operate. What you sell can add more permits on top of those.
The State Seller’s Permit
The core state-level requirement is registering as a sales and use tax dealer with the Florida Department of Revenue. Once approved, you receive a Certificate of Registration that authorizes you to collect Florida’s 6% state sales tax, plus any local discretionary surtax that applies in the county where your customer receives the product.1Florida Department of Revenue. Account Management and Registration You have to complete this registration before your first taxable sale.
Registration is free online through the Florida Business Tax Application (Form DR-1). The paper version carries a $5 fee.2Florida Department of Revenue. Florida Business Tax Application (Form DR-1) The same application lets you register for other state taxes at the same time, which is useful if you also have employees or other taxable activities.
When You Have to Collect Florida Sales Tax
Your duty to collect sales tax turns on whether you have “nexus” with Florida. A home office, warehouse, stored inventory, or employees in the state all create physical presence, which creates nexus and requires registration.1Florida Department of Revenue. Account Management and Registration If you live in Florida and run the business from your house, that box is already checked.
Florida also has an economic nexus threshold. Sellers with no physical presence in the state still have to register and collect if their taxable remote sales into Florida exceeded $100,000 in the previous calendar year.3Florida Department of Revenue. Florida Sales and Use Tax This is the rule that matters if you ever move out of state but keep shipping to Florida customers.
Selling Through Amazon, Etsy, or eBay
If your sales flow entirely through a marketplace like Amazon, Etsy, or eBay, the platform collects and remits Florida sales tax on your behalf. Florida law classifies these platforms as marketplace providers and shifts the collection burden to them.4Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 212 Section 05965 – Tax on Marketplace Sales
That does not automatically free you from registration. If you also sell through your own website, at craft fairs, or anywhere outside the marketplace, those sales are yours to handle, and you need the Certificate of Registration for them. Sellers who are already registered should keep filing returns, even zero-dollar ones, so the state does not treat the account as delinquent.
Local Business Tax Receipts
Florida counties, and most incorporated cities, require every business operating within their borders to buy a Business Tax Receipt. This used to be called an Occupational License. It is a local tax on the privilege of doing business in that jurisdiction, and it applies to home-based and online-only businesses the same as to storefronts.5Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 205 Section 053 – Business Tax Receipts Dates Due and Delinquent Penalties
If your home sits inside city limits, expect to need two receipts: one from the county tax collector and one from the city. Fees vary by jurisdiction and type of business, so the exact amounts come from your county tax collector’s office and, where applicable, the city.
Receipts go on sale July 1 and are due by September 30. Miss the deadline and you owe a 10% penalty in October, plus 5% more for each additional month, up to 25% of the tax owed. Operating without ever getting a receipt carries a flat 25% penalty, and if the tax stays unpaid past 150 days the county can sue to collect, adding court costs, attorney fees, and up to $250 more.5Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 205 Section 053 – Business Tax Receipts Dates Due and Delinquent Penalties
Home-Based Businesses
Florida Statute 559.955 prevents local governments from singling out home-based businesses for special licensing or regulation that other businesses do not face. The statute explicitly keeps home-based businesses on the hook for the Chapter 205 business tax, though.6Official Internet Site of the Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Section 559.955 Your city cannot invent a home-office permit, but it can still require the same Business Tax Receipt every other business pays.
Business Name and Structure
Before you apply for any permits, settle on how your business is organized and what name it will use.
If you plan to operate under any name other than your own legal name (as a sole proprietor) or your entity’s legal name (as an LLC or corporation), you must register that name as a fictitious name with the Florida Division of Corporations before doing business.7Florida Department of State – Division of Corporations. Florida Fictitious Name Registration The filing fee is $50, and the registration lasts five years before a $50 renewal.8Florida Department of State – Division of Corporations. Fees – Division of Corporations
Many online sellers form a Florida LLC to keep personal assets separate from business liabilities. Filing through the Division of Corporations (Sunbiz) costs $125 (a $100 filing fee plus a $25 registered agent fee), and the LLC owes an annual report every year, which runs $138.75 on time or $538.75 after May 1.9Florida Department of State – Division of Corporations. LLC Fees – Division of Corporations
A federal Employer Identification Number from the IRS is required if the business is an LLC, corporation, or partnership, or if it has employees.10Internal Revenue Service. Employer Identification Number Sole proprietors with no employees can use a Social Security Number, but the EIN is free, immediate online, and keeps your SSN off invoices and tax forms.11Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number
Extra Permits Based on What You Sell
Some product categories trigger state permits on top of everything above.
Handmade Cosmetics
If you manufacture or repackage cosmetics in Florida, including handmade soaps, lotions, and lip balms, you need a Cosmetic Manufacturer Permit from the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR). Simply relabeling a product without opening the manufacturer’s sealed container is exempt.12Cornell Law School / Legal Information Institute. Florida Administrative Code Rule 61N-2.002 – Application for Cosmetic Manufacturer Permit
Food Products
Selling food online from Florida generally requires a food permit from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS). Florida’s cottage food exemption lets home-based food businesses skip the permit as long as annual gross sales stay at or below $250,000. Cottage food operations can sell online and ship through mail carriers, but every product has to be prepackaged with a label showing ingredients, net weight, allergen information, and the statement that the product was “made in a cottage food operation that is not subject to Florida’s food safety regulations.”13Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 500 Section 80 Perishable or potentially hazardous foods fall outside the exemption and require the full FDACS permit plus a certified food protection manager.
Other Regulated Products and Services
DBPR regulates dozens of industries, and FDACS handles others, including pawn shops and private investigators.14Florida Department of State. Get a Business License – Division of Library and Information Services If your online business touches a regulated profession or product, check with the agency before you launch. DBPR publishes a full list of services that require state licensing.15MyFloridaLicense.com. What Services Require a DBPR License
What Happens If You Skip Registration
The Florida Department of Revenue charges interest on any sales tax you should have collected but didn’t. For the first half of 2026, the floating rate is 11%, calculated daily, and it runs from the date each payment was originally due.16Florida Department of Revenue. Tax Information Publication – Floating Rate of Interest for January 1, 2026 Through June 30, 2026 Two years of unpermitted selling means two years of accrued interest when the state catches up.
On the local side, operating without the required Business Tax Receipt triggers that immediate 25% penalty, and the 150-day timer to court action starts running from the moment the tax goes unpaid.5Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 205 Section 053 – Business Tax Receipts Dates Due and Delinquent Penalties
None of this is catastrophic for a small operation, but it is also entirely avoidable. Most of the registrations here are free or inexpensive, and each one takes less than an hour online.
A Sensible Order to Set Everything Up
A practical sequence for a new Florida-based online seller:
- Pick your structure. Sole proprietor, LLC, or corporation. If you are forming an entity, file with Sunbiz first so the legal name exists before anything else is tied to it.
- Get an EIN from the IRS. Free, immediate, and required for LLCs, corporations, partnerships, or any business with employees.
- Register a fictitious name if you will operate under anything other than your legal name or entity name ($50).
- Apply for your Certificate of Registration through Form DR-1 on the Department of Revenue site (free online).1Florida Department of Revenue. Account Management and Registration
- Buy your Business Tax Receipt(s) from the county tax collector and, if you are inside city limits, from the city.
- Check whether what you sell needs a DBPR or FDACS permit, and get it before your first sale.
- If you own business equipment on January 1, file Form DR-405 with the county property appraiser by April 1 to claim the $25,000 tangible personal property exemption.17Florida Department of Revenue. Property Tax – Taxpayers – Tangible Personal Property
Have a physical business address, a short description of what you sell, your EIN or SSN, and your chosen business name on hand before you start the applications. The paperwork moves quickly when those details are already decided.