Florida DBA License: Filing, Renewal, and Cancellation

A DBA in Florida — called a fictitious name registration under state law — is a $50 filing with the Florida Division of Corporations that lets you do business under a name other than your legal one. You file it online through Sunbiz after publishing notice in a newspaper in your county, and it stays active for five years. It is a public disclosure tool, not a license, not a separate legal entity, and not a trademark.

Who Has to Register

If you do business under any name other than your legal name, Florida requires you to register that name. For a sole proprietor, your legal name is your personal name. For a corporation or LLC, it is the exact name on your formation documents filed with the state. Anything else you put on a sign, invoice, or website is a fictitious name.¹

Entities formed in Florida or qualified to do business here must already be registered and in active status with the Division of Corporations before filing a fictitious name. You will need the entity’s Florida document number and, if it has one, its federal employer identification number.¹

What to Do Before You File

Two tasks come before the application itself.

First, search the Sunbiz database for your proposed name. The Division will not block a duplicate, so this is for your own information. If someone else is already using the name, registering it gives you no superior claim to it.

Second, publish notice of your intent to register. Florida law requires you to advertise the fictitious name at least once in a qualifying newspaper in the county where your principal place of business is located. The newspaper must meet the standards in Chapter 50 of the Florida Statutes, which generally means a newspaper of general circulation in that county.¹

The Division does not collect proof of publication. You certify on the registration form that the ad ran, and that certification is made under penalty of law, so keep the proof in your business records. Publication fees are set by the newspaper and typically run anywhere from $35 to over $100 depending on the county, which is an added cost on top of the state fee that catches many first-time filers off guard.

How to File and What It Costs

You file with the Florida Division of Corporations through its Sunbiz portal. Online filing is the fastest route and processes more quickly than a mailed paper form.²

The filing fee is $50, set by statute.¹ Online filers pay by Visa, Mastercard, Discover, or American Express. Paper filers mail a check or money order payable to the Florida Department of State.² The registration takes effect on the date the Division processes it.

You will need the exact name you want to use, the business mailing address, the name and address of each owner or registering entity, and the entity details above if you are filing for a corporation or LLC.

What a Florida DBA Does Not Give You

This is where people get tripped up. A fictitious name registration is not a business license. It does not create a legal entity. It does not provide any liability shield. If you are a sole proprietor operating under a DBA, you remain personally liable for the business’s debts.

It also does not grant you ownership of the name. The Division will not stop someone else from registering or using the same fictitious name in Florida.² If you want exclusive rights to a business name, logo, or slogan, that comes from a trademark, which is a separate process through the United States Patent and Trademark Office. A federal trademark gives you nationwide exclusive rights in connection with specific goods or services and the legal tools to stop others from using a confusingly similar name.³ A Florida DBA gives you none of that.

Before you commit to a business name, a quick search of the USPTO’s trademark database is worth the time. The database only covers federally registered and pending marks, so it will not catch state registrations or unregistered common-law marks, but it will flag the most serious conflicts.³

What Happens If You Skip It

Operating under an unregistered fictitious name is a noncriminal violation in Florida. There is no jail exposure, but there are fines, and the real sting is procedural: a business cannot file or maintain a lawsuit in Florida courts under an unregistered name until it completes the registration. The same bar applies to any successor or assignee for claims arising from the unregistered period.¹

Contracts you signed while unregistered are still valid, and you can defend yourself in court. But the other side in a dispute can be awarded reasonable attorney fees and court costs caused by your failure to register.¹ It is an entirely avoidable expense.

Renewing Your Registration

A fictitious name registration lasts five years and expires on December 31 of the fifth year. Register in 2026 and the registration expires December 31, 2031.⁴

Renewal costs $50, the same as the original filing.¹ You can update owner information during renewal, but you cannot change the fictitious name itself. A different name requires a brand-new registration.⁴

Miss the deadline and the registration expires with no grace period and no reinstatement. To keep using the name you would have to file a new registration, pay the $50 fee again, and republish the newspaper notice. Put the expiration on your calendar well ahead of time.⁴

Canceling a Registration

If you stop doing business under the name, Florida requires you to file a cancellation with the Division of Corporations within 30 days. The cancellation fee is $50.¹ You can file online through Sunbiz or by mailing a paper form.⁵

1
Justia Law. Florida Code 865.09 – Fictitious Name Registration
2
Florida Department of State. Florida Fictitious Name Registration
3
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Basic Facts About Trademarks: Should I Register My Mark
4
Florida Department of State. Fictitious Name Renewal
5
Florida Department of State. Fictitious Name – Division of Corporations