You can set up an LLC in Florida online through the Sunbiz portal run by the Florida Department of State’s Division of Corporations, for a total state filing fee of $125. Online filings are typically processed within two to five business days. Formation itself is one form, but a working LLC usually needs a few more steps after that: a federal tax ID, an operating agreement, and any state or local tax registrations your business activity triggers. Chapter 605 of the Florida Statutes governs how LLCs are created and operated in the state.
Pick a Name That Will Clear the System
Your LLC name has to meet two legal requirements before Sunbiz will accept it. It must be distinguishable from every other business entity already on file with the Division of Corporations, and it must include one of these identifiers: “Limited Liability Company,” “L.L.C.,” or “LLC.”1Florida Senate. Florida Code 605.0112 – Name
Run the free name search on Sunbiz before you start the application.2Florida Department of State. Florida Limited Liability Company If the filing system rejects your name mid-application because it conflicts with an existing entity, you have to start the filing over. When you type the name into the form, enter it exactly as you want it to appear in official records.
File the Articles of Organization on Sunbiz
The Articles of Organization is the document that creates your LLC. On the Sunbiz portal it is designated Form CR2E047, and the online version walks you through each field.3Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations. Articles of Organization for Florida Limited Liability Company (Form CR2E047)
Registered Agent
Every Florida LLC must designate a registered agent with a physical street address in Florida.4Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 605.0113 – Registered Agent This is the person or company that accepts legal documents and official state notices on behalf of the LLC. You can serve as your own agent, use another member, or hire a commercial service. A P.O. box does not qualify for the agent’s address, though you can use one for the LLC’s separate mailing address. The online form includes a signature field where the registered agent confirms acceptance of the role.
Addresses and Authorized Persons
You will enter a principal office address where the LLC’s records are kept, plus a mailing address if it differs. The form also asks for the names and addresses of the managers or managing members authorized to act for the business. All of this becomes part of the public record.
Management Structure
Florida LLCs are either member-managed or manager-managed. In a member-managed LLC, all owners share day-to-day decision-making. In a manager-managed LLC, one or more designated managers (who may or may not be members) run operations while the other members stay passive. If you don’t specify, Florida law defaults to member management. Decide which fits before filing, because the choice shapes who has authority and how outsiders deal with your company.
Effective Date
You can set a specific effective date up to five business days before the filing date or up to 90 days after. Leave it blank and the LLC becomes active the moment the Division of Corporations processes the filing. One practical use for this field: if you form the LLC between October and December but don’t plan to begin operations until the new year, picking an effective date of January 1 delays your first annual report by a full calendar year.5Florida Department of State. Instructions for Articles of Organization (FL LLC)
Signing, Paying, and Confirmation
After you review the form, you provide an electronic signature, which carries the same legal weight as a handwritten one under Florida law. The total state fee is $125: a $100 filing fee plus a $25 registered agent designation fee.6Division of Corporations – Florida Department of State. LLC Fees You can pay by credit card, debit card, or a prepaid Sunbiz account. The system then issues a tracking number so you can watch the status. When the Division accepts the filing, it emails a Letter of Acknowledgment to the address you provided, and that letter is your official proof of formation.
Write an Operating Agreement
An operating agreement is the internal document that spells out how your LLC will be run: how profits and losses are split, how decisions get made, and what happens when a member leaves. Florida does not require you to file it with the state, but the statute recognizes it as the governing document for relationships among members.7Official Internet Site of the Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 605.0105 – Operating Agreement; Scope, Function, and Limitations An operating agreement in Florida can even be oral or implied, though a written one is far safer.8Official Internet Site of the Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 605.0102 – Definitions
Skip the operating agreement and the state’s default rules apply. For example, profits and losses are allocated based on the value of each member’s contributions rather than in equal shares.9Official Internet Site of the Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 605.0404 Those defaults rarely match what co-owners actually intend, and sorting it out later is where disputes come from.
Get a Federal EIN
Once the LLC exists at the state level, apply for an Employer Identification Number from the IRS. The EIN is a nine-digit number that works like a Social Security number for your business. You need it to open a business bank account, file federal tax returns, and hire employees.10Internal Revenue Service. Employer Identification Number
The application is free on the IRS website.11Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number It asks for the LLC’s legal name exactly as it appears on your Articles of Organization and names a responsible party, usually a member or manager with a valid Social Security Number. The IRS issues the EIN immediately in a downloadable confirmation notice. Save that notice; you’ll need it for every federal tax interaction going forward.
The IRS doesn’t treat an LLC as its own tax category. It assigns a default based on membership: a single-member LLC is a “disregarded entity” (income and expenses flow onto the owner’s personal return), and a multi-member LLC is treated as a partnership (income and deductions flow through to each member’s return).12Internal Revenue Service. Limited Liability Company (LLC) You can elect corporate treatment instead by filing IRS Form 8832.
Register for State and Local Taxes You Actually Owe
Filing with the Division of Corporations does not register you with the Florida Department of Revenue. Whether you need to do anything there depends on what your business does.
Sales Tax
If your LLC sells taxable goods or provides certain taxable services, register with the Department of Revenue to collect and remit sales tax. You can register online or submit a paper Florida Business Tax Application (Form DR-1).13Florida Department of Revenue. Florida Sales and Use Tax Florida has no state income tax, but sales tax covers a wide range of activity, so check whether yours qualifies before you open for business.
Reemployment Tax
If you hire employees, you’ll likely owe Florida’s reemployment tax, the state version of unemployment insurance. Liability kicks in once you have one or more employees for any part of a day during at least 20 weeks in a calendar year. Register by the end of the month following the quarter in which you first meet that threshold, through the same Florida Business Tax Application used for sales tax.14Florida Department of Revenue. Florida Reemployment Tax
Local Business Tax Receipt
Many Florida counties and cities require a local business tax receipt (sometimes still called an occupational license) to operate within their jurisdiction. The fee varies by location and business type. Receipts expire September 30 each year and renew annually.15Official Internet Site of the Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Chapter 205 – Local Business Taxes Contact your county and city tax collector to find out whether yours applies and what it costs.
Mark the Annual Report Deadline Now
Every Florida LLC files an annual report with the Division of Corporations each year, whether or not the business earned any revenue. The fee is $138.75, and for the 2026 calendar year the on-time deadline is May 1, 2026. File after that and an extra $400 late fee is added.16Florida Department of State – Division of Corporations. File Annual Report
Missing it entirely is worse. If you still haven’t filed by the third Friday of September, the Division administratively dissolves the LLC at close of business on the fourth Friday of September. Bringing it back takes a reinstatement application, a $100 reinstatement fee, and $138.75 for each missed year’s report.17Division of Corporations – Florida Department of State. File Reinstatement During dissolution you lose the legal protections the entity was created to provide, so treat the deadline seriously.
What About the Beneficial Ownership Report?
You may have read that new LLCs have to file a Beneficial Ownership Information report with FinCEN under the Corporate Transparency Act. As of March 2025, an interim final rule exempts all domestic companies, Florida LLCs included, from that requirement by removing domestically formed entities from the definition of “reporting company.”18Federal Register. Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Requirement Revision and Deadline Extension19Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting If you form your LLC through Sunbiz, it’s domestic and you don’t need to file. BOI reporting currently applies only to entities formed under foreign law that register to do business in the United States. FinCEN has said it intends to finalize the rule through further rulemaking, so check its site before assuming nothing is required.