How to Get a Registered Agent in Florida: DIY, Hire, or Change

To get a registered agent in Florida, you name one on your Articles of Organization (for an LLC) or Articles of Incorporation (for a corporation) when you file with the Florida Division of Corporations through Sunbiz.org, or you file a separate designation afterward. The agent can be you, another Florida resident, or a commercial service authorized to do business in the state. Whoever it is must sign a written statement accepting the role and must keep a physical Florida street address staffed during normal business hours.¹

Who Can Serve as Your Registered Agent

Florida applies the same core rules to corporations and LLCs. The agent must be either an individual who lives in Florida or a business entity authorized to operate in the state.¹² The registered office must be a physical Florida street address, identical to the agent’s business address. P.O. boxes don’t qualify. The agent has to be available at that address during business hours to accept and sign for documents, and every agent (initial or successor) must file a written acceptance with the Division of Corporations.

The job itself is narrow. The agent receives lawsuits, government notices, and demands, then forwards them to the business at the most recent address on file.² Speed matters. Under Florida’s Rules of Civil Procedure, you generally have 20 days to answer a lawsuit, and a missed deadline can end in a default judgment.

Can You Be Your Own Registered Agent?

Yes. If you live in Florida, you can serve as your own agent. Any LLC member, corporate officer, or sole owner who is a Florida resident qualifies, provided the registered office is a physical street address in the state.² It costs nothing beyond your regular filing fees.

The tradeoffs are practical. You need to be at that address during business hours every weekday. Traveling, sick days, and lunch breaks all become exposure points if a process server arrives. Your registered office also becomes public record on Sunbiz.org, so if you use a home address, it’s searchable by anyone. Acting as your own agent tends to work well for single-member LLCs and small operations with a fixed office where someone is reliably present. For anyone else, the paid alternative deserves a look.

Hiring a Commercial Registered Agent Service

Commercial services typically charge $100 to $300 per year for single-state coverage. The lower tiers cover basic receiving and forwarding. Higher-priced plans usually add annual-report reminders and same-day digital scanning of anything that comes in. Multi-state businesses that need agents in several jurisdictions pay more.

A paid service is worth it in a few clear situations:

You don’t have a fixed Florida office. Remote businesses, home-based owners who want privacy, and out-of-state owners forming a Florida entity all need someone physically present in the state.
You travel often, or your schedule is unpredictable. A staffed office eliminates the risk of missing service of process.
You want your address kept off the public record. The service’s address goes on Sunbiz instead of yours.

Before you sign up, confirm the service has a real Florida street address (not a virtual mailbox), and ask how quickly they forward documents. Same-day digital notification is the standard worth paying for.

Designating the Agent on Your Formation Filing

You name your registered agent as part of the formation paperwork itself. For an LLC, the information goes into the Articles of Organization; for a corporation, into the Articles of Incorporation. Both are filed with the Division of Corporations, online through Sunbiz.org or by mail.

Your filing needs the agent’s full legal name, the Florida street address, and the agent’s signed acceptance of the appointment.¹ The registered agent fee is bundled into the total formation cost:

LLC: $125 total ($100 filing fee plus $25 registered agent fee).³
Corporation: $87.50 total ($35 filing fee plus $35 registered agent designation plus additional fees).⁴

Online filings through Sunbiz.org process faster than mailed documents. The Division of Corporations posts current processing dates on its website, so check them before filing if your launch timing matters.⁵ You’ll receive electronic confirmation once your filing is processed.

Changing or Replacing Your Registered Agent

Agents change often: the person moves out of state, you shift from DIY to a paid service, or you want a different provider. To make the switch, file a Statement of Change of Registered Office or Registered Agent with the Division of Corporations. The change takes effect once the department files it, and the new agent has to sign a written acceptance just like the original.⁶⁴⁷

You can also update the agent’s name or address on your annual report at no extra charge, so if your report deadline is close, do it there and save the separate fee.⁶ One caveat: if the change has already happened (your agent moved, changed names, or otherwise stopped matching the record), you have 30 days to file the update before the state can treat it as a compliance failure.⁸

If your agent resigns, they file a signed statement with the department and mail you a copy at your address on record.⁹¹⁰ The resignation becomes effective on the 31st day after the department files it, unless you appoint a replacement first. Use that window. Once it closes without a new appointment, your business is operating without an agent.

Why This Is Worth Getting Right

Failing to maintain a registered agent is an explicit ground for administrative dissolution of both corporations and LLCs.⁸¹¹ Dissolution ends your entity’s legal authority to operate. A dissolved business loses good standing, which can freeze bank accounts and block new contracts, forfeits the exclusive right to its name, and cannot file or maintain lawsuits in Florida courts. Even before formal dissolution, noncompliance can carry a $5-per-day penalty capped at $500.² Reinstatement is possible but costs money, takes time, and does nothing about damage done while the entity was dissolved. Naming a registered agent and keeping the record current is one of the cheapest, simplest compliance steps you take as a Florida business owner, and one of the most disproportionately costly to neglect.

1
Florida Senate. Florida Code 607.0501 – Registered Office and Registered Agent
2
Justia Law. Florida Code 605.0113 – Registered Agent
3
Florida Department of State. LLC Fees
4
Florida Department of State. Fees – Division of Corporations
5
Florida Department of State. Document Processing Dates
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The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 607.0502 – Change of Registered Office or Registered Agent
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Florida Department of State. Statement of Change of Registered Office or Registered Agent or Both for Corporations
8
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 607.1420 – Grounds for Administrative Dissolution
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The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 607.0503 – Resignation of Registered Agent
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The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 605.0115 – Resignation of Registered Agent
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Florida Senate. Florida Code 605.0714 – Administrative Dissolution