Florida — statewide
Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations
In short
Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations issues 5 permits we publish for Florida — statewide, last verified 2026-09-03. Each carries the fee as the agency publishes it, with a link to the schedule it was read from.
What this agency issues
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Articles of Organization (LLC)only if it applies to you | Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations | $125 one-time filing | no expiry, but an annual report is due every year by 1 May | 2026-09-03 |
| Articles of Incorporationonly if it applies to you | Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations | $70 one-time filing | no expiry, but an annual report is due every year by 1 May | 2026-09-03 |
| Annual Report (LLC)only if it applies to you | Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations | $138.75 — a $50 base fee plus the $88.75 annual supplemental corporate fee — rising to $538.75 if it is filed after 1 May, because a $400 late charge attaches to the supplemental fee | annual, due by 1 May | 2026-09-03 |
| Annual Report (Corporation)only if it applies to you | Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations | $150.00 — a $61.25 base fee plus the $88.75 annual supplemental corporate fee — rising to $550.00 if it is filed after 1 May | annual, due by 1 May | 2026-09-03 |
| Local Business Tax Receipt | Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations | No fee | annual — every receipt expires on 30 September | 2026-09-03 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
About each permit
Articles of Organization (LLC)
$125 is the required minimum — $100 for the articles and a further $25 to designate a registered agent, which is not optional. Sunbiz displays a total of $160 on its fee page, and that figure adds two things you do not have to buy: a certified copy at $30 and a certificate of status at $5. Budget $125 unless you specifically need either. The recurring cost matters more than the formation cost here: Florida's annual report is $138.75 for an LLC and jumps to $538.75 if it arrives after 1 May.
Articles of Incorporation
$70 all in — $35 for the articles and $35 to designate a registered agent. Incorporating is cheaper than forming an LLC in Florida, which reverses the usual pattern: $70 against $125. Sunbiz shows $87.50 because it includes an optional certified copy and certificate of status at $8.75 each. The corporation pays slightly more each year afterwards, though: its annual report is $150 against the LLC's $138.75.
Annual Report (LLC)
The single most expensive routine filing an ordinary Florida business faces, and the deadline is unforgiving: miss 1 May and the fee quadruples from $138.75 to $538.75. The $400 is a late charge on the supplemental corporate fee, not a penalty that can be argued down, and the only relief in the statute is for an entity that was administratively dissolved, applied for reinstatement and paid the reinstatement fee. The odd-looking $138.75 is two statutory fees stacked — a $50 base and an $88.75 supplemental corporate fee — which is worth knowing because only one of them ever moves when the Legislature amends the law. A non-profit files under a section the supplemental fee does not reach and pays $61.25 with no late charge.
Annual Report (Corporation)
$150 a year, and $550 if it lands after 1 May. Like the LLC's, this is a composite: $61.25 under the corporations fee schedule plus the $88.75 supplemental corporate fee that applies to every entity required to file an annual report. So while incorporating costs half what forming an LLC costs in Florida, the corporation is $11.25 a year dearer to keep — the difference reverses after the first year.
Local Business Tax Receipt
Florida has no statewide general business license. What stands in its place is the Local Business Tax Receipt, and the thing to understand is that a county and a municipality may each levy one — so a business inside city limits can need two, because a county levy reaches incorporated areas as well. No amount is shown here because the state sets none; each authority fixes its own by ordinance, and levying is permissive, so some jurisdictions charge nothing at all. Every receipt expires on 30 September regardless of when it was issued. It is a tax rather than a license, and the statute is explicit that it never substitutes for a regulatory license from a board or agency. If you are reading anything written before 2007 it will call this an occupational license. Selling the business or moving it within the same jurisdiction costs a transfer fee of up to 10 per cent of the annual tax, never less than $3 nor more than $25.
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- Florida — statewide
- Phone
- Not verified — use the website
- Website
- dos.fl.gov/sunbiz/
Contact details are taken from the agency’s own site or its published fee schedule. Where we have not verified a phone number we leave it blank rather than guess.
Sources
Every fee and term above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- Florida Statutes chapter 205, Local Business Taxes — county and municipal authority to levy a business tax receiptThe Florida Senate · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Florida Statutes section 605.0213 — Division of Corporations fees for limited liability companiesThe Florida Senate · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Florida Statutes section 607.0122 — Division of Corporations fees for corporationsThe Florida Senate · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Florida Statutes section 607.193 — annual supplemental corporate fee of $88.75 and the $400 late charge after 1 MayThe Florida Senate · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
Other Florida statewide offices
- Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Board of Cosmetology and Barbers' Board
- Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Division of Hotels and Restaurants
- Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Board of Veterinary Medicine
- Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Construction Industry Licensing Board
- Florida Department of Children and Families, Child Care Licensure
- Florida Department of Revenue
Florida jurisdictions
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.