What Is a PLLC in Florida and Who Can Form One?

A PLLC in Florida, short for Professional Limited Liability Company, is the business structure state law requires when the owners are licensed professionals such as doctors, lawyers, dentists, architects, or accountants. It costs $125 to form and follows most of the same rules as a standard LLC, with three important twists: every owner must hold the same professional license, the company can only provide that one professional service, and the structure will not protect you personally from your own malpractice.¹

How a PLLC Differs From a Regular LLC

If your work requires a Florida professional license, you cannot simply form a standard LLC and start practicing. Florida channels licensed professionals into the PLLC structure, which layers extra rules on top of the familiar LLC framework. The differences come down to three things: who can own the business, what it can do, and how liability works for professional mistakes.

Ownership is restricted. In a regular LLC, anyone can be a member. In a PLLC, members must be individuals, professional corporations, or other PLLCs, and every member must be licensed to perform the same professional service the company provides. You also cannot transfer your membership interest to anyone who is not licensed in that profession.¹

Purpose is restricted. A standard LLC can engage in any lawful business activity. A PLLC is locked into a single, specific professional service, and the Articles of Organization must state that purpose narrowly.²

Liability protection is partial. A regular LLC shields members from most business debts and lawsuits. A PLLC gives you that same shield for business obligations, but it does not protect you from your own professional negligence. If you commit malpractice, you are personally on the hook. The PLLC does protect you from malpractice committed by a fellow member, as long as that person was not working under your direct supervision.³

Who Has to Form a PLLC

Florida defines a professional service as any personal service to the public that requires a license as a condition of practice. The statute specifically lists certified public accountants, public accountants, chiropractic physicians, dentists, osteopathic physicians, physicians and surgeons, podiatric physicians, architects, veterinarians, attorneys, and life insurance agents.¹

Every member must hold a current Florida license for the exact service the company provides. A dentist and a physician cannot form a single PLLC together, because each is licensed in a different profession. You can still employ unlicensed support staff like receptionists, bookkeepers, and technicians; the professional work itself must flow through licensed members.¹

What a PLLC Protects You From, and What It Doesn’t

This is the part people most often misunderstand. A PLLC protects your personal assets from the company’s ordinary business debts, vendor disputes, lease defaults, and general lawsuits. It does not insulate you from claims tied to your own professional work.

Under Florida Statute 621.07, each member is personally liable for their own negligent or wrongful acts while providing professional services, and for the acts of anyone working under their direct supervision and control.³ That supervision piece catches people off guard. An attorney supervising a junior associate who makes a serious error can be held personally liable even without touching the case directly.

The PLLC itself can also be held liable, up to the full value of its assets, for professional negligence committed by its members, managers, officers, or employees while working on the company’s behalf.³ A single malpractice claim can therefore reach both your personal assets and everything the company owns. Professional liability insurance is not optional in practice, even where your licensing board does not require it.

How to Form a Florida PLLC

Pick a Compliant Name

Your PLLC’s name must be distinguishable from every other entity on the Florida Division of Corporations records, which you can check on Sunbiz before filing. The name must include one of these designations: “Professional Limited Liability Company,” “P.L.L.C.,” “PLLC,” or “Chartered.”² The standard “LLC” or “L.L.C.” abbreviations are not permitted.

Appoint a Registered Agent

Every Florida PLLC must designate a registered agent with a physical street address in the state. A P.O. box does not qualify.² The agent accepts legal documents and official notices during regular business hours. You can serve as your own agent if you have a qualifying Florida address, or hire a commercial service.

File the Articles of Organization

The Articles of Organization formally create your PLLC. File online through Sunbiz or by mail. The filing must include the PLLC’s name, its principal mailing and street addresses, the registered agent’s name and address, and a statement of the specific professional service the company will provide. That purpose statement must be narrow, such as “the practice of law” or “accounting services,” not a broad description of professional consulting.²

The total filing fee is $125, which breaks down into a $100 filing fee plus a $25 registered agent designation fee.⁴

Draft an Operating Agreement

Florida does not require you to file an operating agreement with the state, but you should have one. This internal document covers ownership percentages, profit and loss distribution, management responsibilities, and procedures for admitting or removing members. Under the Revised LLC Act, an operating agreement is enforceable even for single-member PLLCs and binds managers and transferees regardless of whether they signed it.⁵

For a PLLC specifically, the agreement should also spell out what happens when a member loses their professional license, since that person can no longer legally remain a member. Clear buyout or transfer provisions keep you out of a messy dispute at the worst possible time.

Get an EIN

An Employer Identification Number is the federal tax ID you need to file taxes, hire employees, and open a business bank account. The IRS issues one free through its online application in a few minutes.⁶ Skip third-party sites that charge a fee for it.

Keeping Your PLLC in Good Standing

Annual Report

Every Florida PLLC must file an annual report with the Division of Corporations between January 1 and May 1 each year. The base fee is $138.75. Miss the May 1 deadline and a $400 late fee gets added, bringing the total to $538.75.⁴ Continued failure to file can lead to administrative dissolution, which cancels the entity’s existence.⁷

Active Professional Licenses

Every member must keep their individual professional license active and in good standing, including continuing education and timely renewals. If a member’s license lapses or is revoked, that person can no longer legally be a member of the PLLC, and because the company can only deliver its service through licensed individuals, a lapse can threaten its ability to operate at all.¹

Professional Liability Insurance

Because the PLLC structure leaves each member exposed to personal liability for malpractice, professional liability insurance functions as a practical necessity. Many licensing boards, hospital credentialing committees, and client contracts require it. Even where it is not legally mandated, going without coverage means a single claim can reach your personal savings, home, and other assets.

How a Florida PLLC Is Taxed

By default, a Florida PLLC is a pass-through entity for federal income tax purposes. The company itself pays no federal income tax; profits and losses flow to the individual members and show up on their personal returns. A single-member PLLC is treated as a disregarded entity, and a multi-member PLLC is treated as a partnership.

Florida has no personal income tax, so pass-through income is not taxed again at the state level. Florida does impose a 5.5% corporate income tax, but it only reaches entities taxed as corporations.⁸ Keep the default classification and the corporate tax does not apply to you.

Some PLLC owners elect to have the IRS treat the company as an S-corporation. The usual motivation is reducing self-employment tax: you pay yourself a reasonable salary subject to payroll taxes and take the remainder as distributions, which are not. The IRS scrutinizes these arrangements closely in professional services, where the members themselves generate the revenue, and an unreasonably low salary can trigger reclassification and penalties. Talk through the trade-offs with a tax professional before making the election.

1
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Chapter 621 – Professional Service Corporations and Limited Liability Companies
2
Florida Department of State Division of Corporations. Instructions for Articles of Organization (FL LLC)
3
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 621.07 – Liability of Officers, Agents, Employees, Shareholders, Members, and Corporation or Limited Liability Company
4
Florida Department of State Division of Corporations. LLC Fees
5
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Chapter 605 – Revised Limited Liability Company Act
6
Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number
7
Florida Department of State. Florida Division of Corporations – Annual Report Filing
8
Florida Department of Revenue. Florida Corporate Income Tax