Every Florida LLC must have a registered agent, and the state requires you to keep one in place for as long as the company exists. Under Section 605.0113 of Florida’s Revised Limited Liability Company Act, your LLC must continuously maintain both a registered agent and a registered office within the state.1Florida Senate. Florida Code 605 – Section 605.0113 – Registered Agent Skip it or let it lapse, and the consequences stack fast: your LLC loses the right to file lawsuits, racks up daily penalties, and can eventually be dissolved by the state.
What a Registered Agent Does
A registered agent is the person or company officially designated to receive legal documents for your LLC. If someone sues your business, the agent is who gets served with the papers. The agent also receives government notices, tax correspondence, and compliance documents from the Florida Department of State.
The agent’s core duty is to forward whatever they receive to the LLC at the most recent address the company has on file.1Florida Senate. Florida Code 605 – Section 605.0113 – Registered Agent Reliability is everything here. If a lawsuit is served and your agent never passes it along, the court can enter a default judgment against your LLC without you ever knowing you were sued.
Who Can Serve as Your Registered Agent
Florida allows two options. The first is an individual who lives in Florida and whose business address matches the registered office. The second is a business entity authorized to operate in Florida, again with a business address identical to the registered office.1Florida Senate. Florida Code 605 – Section 605.0113 – Registered Agent A P.O. box does not qualify. The registered office must be a physical street address in Florida where documents can be hand-delivered during normal business hours.
Being Your Own Registered Agent
You can name yourself if you live in Florida and have a physical street address in the state. Plenty of single-member LLC owners do it because it costs nothing. The catch is availability. You have to be at that address during regular business hours to accept service of process. If you travel, work remotely, or don’t want to be tied to a desk, this gets impractical quickly.
Privacy is the other trade-off. Your agent’s name and street address become part of the public record through the Florida Division of Corporations. If you run the LLC from home and list yourself as the agent, your home address is searchable by anyone, including solicitors and opposing parties in litigation.
Hiring a Commercial Service
Professional registered agent services handle the role for a yearly fee, generally somewhere between $35 and $300 depending on the provider and any bundled features. You get a business address for public records instead of your personal one, someone available during business hours, and systematic document forwarding. For owners with day jobs, frequent travel, or a preference for keeping their home address off the state database, the cost is usually worth it.
Naming an Agent When You Form the LLC
You designate your registered agent when you file the Articles of Organization with the Florida Department of State. The filing must include the agent’s name, Florida street address, and written acceptance.2Official Internet Site of the Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 605.0201 – Formation of Limited Liability Company; Articles of Organization You cannot list someone without their consent.
The total filing fee is $125: $100 for the filing itself and $25 for the registered agent designation.3Florida Department of State. LLC Fees – Division of Corporations You can file online through the Sunbiz website or by mail.
Keeping the Designation Current
This is not a one-and-done requirement. Your LLC has to maintain a registered agent and valid registered office for its entire existence.1Florida Senate. Florida Code 605 – Section 605.0113 – Registered Agent Every year, you confirm or update the information when you file the annual report.
The annual report fee is $138.75. File after May 1 and a $400 late fee is added, bringing the total to $538.75.3Florida Department of State. LLC Fees – Division of Corporations Miss the September deadline entirely and the state can administratively dissolve your LLC.4Florida Department of State. File Annual Report – Division of Corporations
Changing Your Registered Agent
To switch agents, file a statement of change with the Department of State under Section 605.0114. The filing must list your LLC’s name, the current agent’s name, the new agent’s name and Florida street address, and the new agent’s written acceptance.5Official Internet Site of the Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 605.0114 – Change of Registered Agent or Registered Office
The fee is $25.3Florida Department of State. LLC Fees – Division of Corporations You can submit the change online, by mail, or as part of your annual report. Handled with the annual report, there’s no separate $25 charge.
When Your Agent Resigns
A registered agent can quit. Under Section 605.0115, the agent resigns by delivering a signed statement to the Department of State and mailing a copy to the LLC.6Official Internet Site of the Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 605.0115 – Resignation of Registered Agent The resignation takes effect on the earlier of two dates: the 31st day after the Department files it, or the day the LLC files a record naming a replacement.
That 31-day window is your grace period. Name a replacement before it closes. If day 31 passes with no new agent on file, your LLC is out of compliance and exposed to every penalty below. The state charges an $85 fee to process a resignation for an active company.3Florida Department of State. LLC Fees – Division of Corporations
What Happens If You Don’t Maintain One
Florida doesn’t treat a missing agent as a minor slip.
- You lose court access. An LLC out of compliance cannot file or maintain a lawsuit in any Florida court until it fixes the problem, pays all owed fees, and, if ordered by a court, pays $5 per day of noncompliance up to a $500 cap.1Florida Senate. Florida Code 605 – Section 605.0113 – Registered Agent
- You can miss being sued. Without a working agent, you may never learn a lawsuit was filed. Courts enter default judgments against businesses that don’t respond, and undoing one is expensive and uncertain.
- Your LLC can be dissolved. If noncompliance runs through the annual report cycle and you miss the September deadline, the Department of State can administratively dissolve the company, stripping its legal standing to do business in Florida.
Reinstating a Dissolved LLC
If your LLC has already been dissolved, you can bring it back, but it costs. You file an application for reinstatement (or a current annual report serving that purpose) signed by both the registered agent and an authorized representative.7Official Internet Site of the Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 605.0715 – Reinstatement Following Administrative Dissolution The application lists the LLC’s name, principal office address, date of organization, federal employer identification number, and at least one person with authority to manage the company.
The reinstatement fee is $100, plus the annual report fee for every year the LLC was dissolved. At $138.75 per year, a company dissolved for three years owes $100 plus $416.25 in back reports, before any late fees assessed along the way.3Florida Department of State. LLC Fees – Division of Corporations Keeping an agent in place year-round is cheaper than any of it.