Florida Business Tax Application (Form DR-1): Who Files and How to Submit

Florida Form DR-1, the Florida Business Tax Application, is what you file with the Department of Revenue to register your business for state taxes before your first sale, first employee, or first taxable rental. One form covers sales and use tax, reemployment tax, and every other tax the Department administers. Most people file it online through the Department’s e-Services portal in a single sitting; a paper version exists for those who prefer to mail it in.

Who Has to File

Florida Statute 212.18 requires anyone acting as a dealer — selling or leasing tangible personal property, renting accommodations, or charging admissions — to apply for a Certificate of Registration before doing business.¹ The same rule reaches businesses that provide taxable services, employ workers in Florida, or owe any of the other taxes the Department administers.

Remote sellers with more than $100,000 in taxable sales to Florida customers in the previous calendar year are treated as dealers and must register.² Marketplace providers face the same $100,000 threshold, and a marketplace provider that crosses it collects and remits sales tax on facilitated transactions in place of the individual sellers on its platform.³

Each physical location in Florida needs its own Certificate of Registration. If you already hold an active certificate and are opening another site, you can use Form DR-1A to add the location instead of filing a full DR-1, but only if the existing account is active and you have already registered for reemployment tax where the new site will have employees. Otherwise, file a new DR-1.⁴

What the Application Registers You For

The DR-1 is a single door into every tax type the Department of Revenue administers. The two that apply to most businesses are:

Sales and use tax, at Florida’s general rate of 6 percent, with lower rates for narrower categories (3 percent on new mobile homes, 4 percent on amusement machine receipts).⁵
Reemployment tax, which new employers pay at 2.7 percent on the first $7,000 of wages per employee per calendar year. That rate stays in place until you have reported for 10 quarters.⁶

The same application also opens accounts for industry-specific taxes and fees where they apply — communications services tax, documentary stamp tax, the lead-acid battery fee, the new tire fee, rental car surcharge, severance taxes, and others. The online wizard picks the right ones based on the activities you describe, so you do not have to identify them yourself.⁷

What to Gather Before You Start

The online application will not let you save a partial form and come back. Have everything ready in one place:

Your Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN). Required for any entity registering for reemployment tax. Sole proprietors without employees may use a Social Security Number, but most businesses need the FEIN from the IRS first.⁸
Your six-digit NAICS code describing your primary business activity, plus any secondary codes if you operate across industries. The U.S. Census Bureau’s directory at census.gov/naics is searchable.⁹
The legal entity name exactly as registered with the Florida Department of State, plus your physical and mailing addresses.
Owner and officer identification. Sole proprietors and general partners provide a full Social Security Number, or a Visa number if ineligible for an SSN. Directors, officers, managing members, grantors, and trustees provide the last four digits of their SSN with their name, title, and home address.⁹
The date of first taxable activity — the date you first sell a product, hire an employee, or lease taxable property. This date sets when your filing obligations begin. Backdating creates immediate filing gaps; a future date that passes without registration triggers penalties.
Your entity type: sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC, corporation, or another structure. Picking the wrong one leads to amendments later.

If you claim any sales tax exemptions or hold special permits, keep that documentation nearby. The application asks about specific activities (importing goods, renting property, selling online) to decide which tax accounts to open.

How to Submit

Online

The fastest route is the Department’s online portal at floridarevenue.com/taxes/registration. An interactive wizard asks about your business type and activities, then builds the right registrations for you. You will get a confirmation number when the submission goes through — keep it, because you will need it to check status.⁷ Online applications are typically processed within about three business days.

By Mail

To file on paper, download Form DR-1 from the Department’s forms library and mail the completed application to:

Account Management MS 1-5730
Florida Department of Revenue
5050 W Tennessee St
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0160⁸

Paper filings take several weeks depending on volume. There is no fee for the standard application either way.

What You Receive Once You’re Approved

The Department issues two documents. The first is a Certificate of Registration (Form DR-11) containing the tax identification numbers assigned to your business. Florida law requires you to display it in a clearly visible place at your business location.¹⁰ The second is the Florida Annual Resale Certificate for Sales Tax (Form DR-13), which lets you buy inventory and other resale items without paying sales tax at the point of purchase.¹¹

The Certificate of Registration is location-specific. If you operate from more than one site, each one gets its own certificate.

What Happens if You Skip It

Operating without a Certificate of Registration is a criminal offense, not a paperwork lapse. Engaging in business that requires registration without registering is a first-degree misdemeanor. Once the Department formally notifies you of the duty to register, willfully continuing to operate unregistered becomes a third-degree felony.¹²

An unregistered business that should have been collecting sales tax also faces a $100 penalty registration fee, which the Department can waive for reasonable cause rather than willful neglect or fraud.¹² Separately, failing to file returns or remit tax you collected brings a penalty of 10 percent of the unpaid amount (minimum $50), plus interest at 1 percent per month from the original due date.¹³

Updating, Closing, or Moving the Account

Once you’re registered, how you notify the Department of a change depends on what changed:

Same owner, same entity type, but the business name or address changed: use the Department’s online “Request a Change of Business Name, Address, and/or Account Status” form.
Change of ownership or a change in legal entity, such as an LLC converting to a corporation or a sale to a new owner: file a new DR-1. This is a fresh registration, not an update.
Moving to a different Florida county: file a new DR-1, or a DR-1A if your account is active and eligible. The old county certificate will be canceled.¹⁴

When you stop operating, the same online form gives you two choices. “Inactivate” suspends the account if you plan to resume later; “Cancel” permanently closes it, and the Department warns that cancellations cannot be reversed. Either way, you must file a final return and pay all taxes due within 15 days of the inactivation or closing date. That final return covers the period from your last filing through the date you stopped. Missing the 15-day window starts penalties and interest running immediately.¹⁴

The DR-1 Does Not Replace a Local Business Tax Receipt

Filing the DR-1 handles your state tax registration. Most Florida counties and municipalities separately require a Local Business Tax Receipt before you can operate within their jurisdiction, and the two registrations are independent. Many counties will ask for your Florida sales tax certificate number on the local application, so completing the DR-1 first makes the local process easier. Regulated occupations — contractors, plumbers, physicians, real estate agents, and others — must also show proof of current state certification when applying locally. Annual fees for local receipts vary by jurisdiction, typically from $25 to several hundred dollars. Your county tax collector’s office has the specifics for your area.

1
Florida Statutes. Florida Code 212.18 – Administration of Law; Registration of Dealers; Rules
2
Florida Statutes. Florida Code 212.0596 – Remote Sales
3
Florida Department of Revenue. Tax Information Publication TIP No: 21A01-03
4
Florida Department of Revenue. Application for Registered Businesses to Add a New Florida Location (Form DR-1A)
5
Florida Department of Revenue. Florida Sales and Use Tax
6
Florida Department of Revenue. Reemployment Tax Rate Information
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Florida Department of Revenue. Account Management and Registration
8
Florida Department of Revenue. Florida Business Tax Application (Form DR-1)
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Florida Department of Revenue. DR-1 Florida Business Tax Application Instructions
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Florida Department of Revenue. Florida Sales and Use Tax
11
Florida Department of Revenue. Florida Annual Resale Certificate for Sales Tax
12
Florida Senate. Florida Code 212.18 – Administration of Law; Registration of Dealers; Rules
13
Florida Statutes. Florida Code 212.12 – Dealer’s Credit; Penalties; Department’s Duties
14
Florida Department of Revenue. Request a Change of Business Name, Address, and/or Account Status