How to Request a Florida Certificate of Status Online or by Mail

To get a Florida Certificate of Status, order it online through the Division of Corporations’ Sunbiz portal for a same-day PDF, or mail a written request to the Certification Section in Tallahassee. The fee runs from $5.00 to $10.00 depending on your entity type, and the online version arrives by email once payment clears.

What the Certificate Actually Confirms

Florida’s Certificate of Status is the state’s version of what other jurisdictions call a Certificate of Good Standing. It confirms that your entity’s organizing documents were accepted and filed, that fees owed to the Department of State are paid, that the most recent annual report is on file, and that no dissolution or revocation is on record.1The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 607.0128 – Certificate of Status Banks ask for one before approving commercial loans or opening business accounts, and other states often want it when you register to do business there.

Important to know before you pay: if any of those items are out of order, the certificate will show that. Ordering does not fix anything. It reports what the record says.

Check Your Status Before You Order

The most common reason a certificate comes back showing something other than active is a missed annual report. Every Florida profit corporation, LLC, limited partnership, and limited liability limited partnership must file an annual report by May 1 each year.2Florida Department of State. Secretary of State Cord Byrd Reminds Florida Businesses to File Annual Report before May 1 Deadline Miss it and a $400 late fee attaches; skip it entirely and the state can administratively dissolve the entity.3Florida Department of State. File Annual Report – Division of Corporations

Before ordering, search your entity on the Sunbiz database and confirm the status reads “active.” You can look up by name or by document number.4Florida Department of State. Search Records – Division of Corporations If anything else appears, file the missing reports and clear the fees first. While you’re on the search page, note your Florida document number, a six-digit or twelve-digit identifier assigned when your entity was originally filed. You’ll need it either way.

Ordering Online Through Sunbiz

The online route is the fastest, and for most people it’s the right choice. The steps are short:5Florida Department of State. Order Certificate of Status – Division of Corporations

  • Enter your Florida document number.
  • Enter the email address where the certificate should be sent.
  • Pay the fee through the secure payment gateway.

Once payment processes, the Division emails the certificate as a PDF. No mail, no waiting queue. If you’re working against a closing or funding deadline, this is the option to use.

Ordering by Mail

Some international filings and certain third parties want a paper original rather than a PDF. There’s no pre-printed request form; you send a written letter that includes:6Florida Department of State. Certificate of Status – Division of Corporations

  • The exact legal name of your entity as it appears in Division records.
  • Your Florida document or registration number.
  • A check or money order in U.S. currency from a U.S. bank, payable to the “Florida Department of State.”
  • The return address where you want the certificate sent.li>

Send it to the Certification Section, Division of Corporations, P.O. Box 6327, Tallahassee, FL 32314.

Fees by Entity Type

The fee depends on the type of entity, and it’s the same whether you order online or by mail:

For a mail-in request, make sure your check or money order matches the amount for your entity type.

How Long It Takes

Online orders arrive by email within minutes of the payment clearing.5Florida Department of State. Order Certificate of Status – Division of Corporations Mail requests take longer because of postal transit both ways and manual processing at the Certification Section. The Division publishes a running list of document processing dates showing which day’s requests it is currently working; check that page before mailing to gauge the current turnaround.9Florida Department of State. Document Processing Dates Wait times stretch around the May 1 annual report deadline, when the office is at its busiest.

Verifying the Certificate

Every certificate has a tracking number at the bottom. Anyone who receives it, whether a bank, a business partner, or another state’s filing office, can enter that number on the Division’s authentication page to confirm it’s genuine.10Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations. Certificate of Status Authentication Mention this to the requester when you send the PDF; it usually settles any question about whether a digital copy is acceptable.

If You Need It Recognized Abroad

A Certificate of Status by itself isn’t recognized in most foreign countries. For use in a country that belongs to the Hague Apostille Convention, the certificate needs an apostille from the Florida Secretary of State. That’s a separate mail-in step handled by the Division’s Apostille Section, requires the original certificate rather than a photocopy, and costs $10.00 per document, payable by check or money order only.11Florida Department of State. Authentications (Apostilles and Notarial Certifications) If you ordered your certificate online, confirm with the Apostille Section whether a printed PDF qualifies before mailing it.

If You Also Need to Prove Tax Compliance

The Certificate of Status covers filings with the Division of Corporations only. It says nothing about whether your business is current on state taxes. Buyers, lenders, and some grant programs may separately want either a Certificate of Compliance or a Clearance Letter from the Florida Department of Revenue.12Florida Department of Revenue. Tax Clearance Letter Request Those come from a different agency, require the requester to be a listed officer, registered agent, or power-of-attorney holder, and take roughly seven to ten business days.

If Your Entity Isn’t Active

An administratively dissolved entity, usually one that missed annual reports or lost its registered agent, cannot obtain an active Certificate of Status until it reinstates. Reinstatement is available online, and the fees compound with each missed report year:13Florida Department of State. File Reinstatement

  • Profit corporation: $600.00 base plus $150.00 per missed report year.
  • Nonprofit corporation: $175.00 base plus $61.25 per missed report year.
  • Limited liability company: $100.00 base plus $138.75 per missed report year.

An LLC dissolved for two years, for example, owes $377.50 before it can even order the Certificate of Status. Entities dissolved for less than one calendar year and paying by credit card are typically reinstated immediately online; those out longer should allow two to three business days while the Division checks whether the entity name is still available. Once the status returns to active, order the certificate.

The cheaper path is not falling behind. The annual report itself is $150.00 for profit corporations and $138.75 for LLCs, with a $400 late fee after May 1.8Florida Department of State. Fees – Division of Corporations A calendar reminder for April costs nothing.