A fictitious name in Florida is any name you use to run a business that is not your full legal name, and state law requires you to register it with the Florida Division of Corporations before you start transacting business under it. The filing fee is $50, and you have to advertise the name in a qualifying local newspaper before you submit the application. Most people call this a “DBA,” short for “doing business as.”
The registration is handled through Sunbiz.org and creates a public record so customers, creditors, and courts can trace a business name back to the person or entity behind it.1Florida Department of State. Florida Fictitious Name Registration It does not give you exclusive rights to the name. Nothing stops another business from registering the same one. If you want legal protection against competitors using your name, that is a trademark question, filed separately with the state or federal government.
Who Has to Register
The rule in Florida Statute 865.09 is straightforward: if you transact business under any name other than your full legal name, you have to register it.2Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 865.09 – Fictitious Name Registration A sole proprietor named Jane Doe doing business as “Jane Doe” needs no filing. The same person operating as “Doe Design Studio” does.
Corporations, LLCs, and limited partnerships already registered with the Division of Corporations are exempt as long as they operate under the exact name on file. Add, drop, or change a single word, and you need a fictitious name filing.1Florida Department of State. Florida Fictitious Name Registration General partnerships are not on the exempt list, so a partnership operating under anything other than the partners’ legal names still has to register. Florida-licensed attorneys forming a law practice and some DBPR-licensed professionals whose boards don’t require it are also exempt.
Names You Can’t Use
Two sets of restrictions trip up first-time filers.
You can’t put a corporate suffix in your fictitious name unless one of the owners listed on the registration actually is that type of entity and is authorized to do business in Florida.3Florida Department of State. Fictitious Name Registration Instructions A sole proprietor can’t register “Smith Consulting LLC” because a sole proprietorship is not a limited liability company. The same goes for “Inc.,” “Corp.,” “L.P.,” and “P.A.”
You also can’t use financial-industry words unless you are an authorized institution. Florida Statute 655.922 blocks terms like “bank,” “banc,” “banker,” “banking,” “trust company,” “savings and loan association,” “savings bank,” and “credit union” in a business name.4Florida Legislature. Florida Code 655.922 – Restrictions on Use of Certain Words The Division will reject these filings.
How to Register
Step 1: Advertise the Name
Before you submit anything to the state, you have to publish notice of the proposed fictitious name at least once in a newspaper in the county where your principal place of business is located.1Florida Department of State. Florida Fictitious Name Registration The paper has to qualify under Chapter 50 of the Florida Statutes, which generally means a paper that has been publishing legal notices for at least two years.5Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 50.031 – Newspapers in Which Legal Notices and Process May Be Published Expect to pay roughly $30 to $50 for the ad, depending on the county and paper.
When you later sign the application, you certify under penalty that the ad ran. The state doesn’t verify it up front, but a false certification can make the registration legally unenforceable.
Step 2: Gather Your Information
The application asks for the fictitious name, the full name and mailing address of every owner, and the Florida county where the business operates. If an owner is itself a business entity, that entity must be active with the Division of Corporations and you’ll need its Florida document number.3Florida Department of State. Fictitious Name Registration Instructions Business-entity owners also provide a Federal Employer Identification Number if they have one.6Florida Legislature. Florida Code 865.09 – Fictitious Name Registration
Step 3: File and Pay
File online at Sunbiz.org or mail a paper application to the Division of Corporations in Tallahassee. The fee is $50, paid by credit card or through a prepaid Sunbiz E-File account. Processed registrations appear in the state’s searchable database within a few business days, and most banks will want to see the registration before opening a business account in the fictitious name.1Florida Department of State. Florida Fictitious Name Registration
How Long It Lasts and How to Renew
A fictitious name registration runs for five years and expires on December 31 of the fifth year. Renewal is $50 through Sunbiz during the expiration year. You can update owner information and your mailing address at renewal, but you cannot change the fictitious name itself. To change the name, you have to cancel and re-register.7Division of Corporations – Florida Department of State. Fictitious Name Renewal
There is no grace period. Miss December 31, and the registration expires. You lose the ability to bring lawsuits on behalf of the business until you re-register, which means running through the full process again, including a new newspaper ad and another $50 fee.6Florida Legislature. Florida Code 865.09 – Fictitious Name Registration
What Happens If You Don’t Register
The practical penalty is bigger than the dollar penalty. An unregistered business cannot file or maintain a lawsuit in any Florida court. You can’t sue a customer who owes you money, enforce a contract, or pursue any claim in the business’s name until you come into compliance.6Florida Legislature. Florida Code 865.09 – Fictitious Name Registration The same block applies to anyone who later buys the business or is assigned its claims. Your existing contracts, deeds, mortgages, and liens stay valid, and you can still defend yourself if someone sues you. But a party harmed by your noncompliance can ask the court for reasonable attorney fees and costs.
Operating without registration is a noncriminal violation, not a crime, so there’s no jail exposure.2Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 865.09 – Fictitious Name Registration The maximum fine is $500.8Florida Legislature. Florida Code 775.083 – Fines The real cost is being locked out of the courthouse at the moment you need it most.
Cancelling or Changing Ownership
If you stop using a registered fictitious name, you have 30 days to file a cancellation with the Division of Corporations.6Florida Legislature. Florida Code 865.09 – Fictitious Name Registration Cancellations can’t be filed online. You download the paper form from the Division’s website and mail it in.
Selling the business works as a simultaneous cancellation and re-registration on a single form: the current owner cancels, and the new owner re-registers. The new owner has to meet every normal requirement, including the newspaper ad. The combined fee is $50.7Division of Corporations – Florida Department of State. Fictitious Name Renewal The same procedure applies if you want to change the wording of a name you already have, since alterations aren’t allowed at renewal.