Florida LLC formation · Sunbiz
Sunbiz LLC Filing, Step by Step (or Have Us File It)
Sunbiz is where every Florida LLC is created. This page walks through the Sunbiz e-file form screen by screen, lists the reasons the Division of Corporations sends filings back, and shows how to check on one. If you would rather not do it yourself, we prepare the Articles of Organization and file them on Sunbiz for you.
Updated November 1, 2026. Facts checked October 2026.
Have it filed on Sunbiz for you
One short application. We check the name, draft the Articles of Organization and submit it through Sunbiz.
Form Your Florida LLCWhat Sunbiz Is
Sunbiz is the website of the Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations, at dos.fl.gov/sunbiz. The Articles of Organization that create a Florida limited liability company are filed there under section 605.0201 of the Florida Statutes, the Division reviews them, and the approved record is published on the same site, where anyone can look a company up by name or document number. The annual report that follows every year is filed on Sunbiz too.
Sunbiz is a filing system, not a guide. It accepts what you type, charges the state fee and puts the filing in the Division's queue. It does not tell you that a name is taken, that the agent's address is a mailbox store, or that a professional LLC needs a stated purpose. Those come back as rejections days later, which is where most of the trouble with a do-it-yourself Sunbiz filing starts.
We prepare Florida articles of organization filings and submit them through Sunbiz for customers, the way an accountant or attorney would. Florida's fee is the same whether you file on Sunbiz yourself or we file for you; this page explains both routes so you can pick one.
- Filing portal
- Sunbiz
- Run by
- Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations
- Document filed
- Articles of Organization
- State fee
- $125
- State expedite tiers
- None
- Facts checked
- October 2026
Expedite amounts are the state's own and sit in the facts box on the Florida LLC page. See expedited options by state.
Before You Start on Sunbiz
- No account. Sunbiz does not ask you to register or sign in to file Articles of Organization. The e-file form opens from the Start a Business page and is completed in one sitting; have the agent's details, the addresses and a card ready before you begin.
- Card payment inside the filing. Florida's fee is paid by credit or debit card as part of the online submission. The filing is not queued until the payment goes through.
- An email address that will last. Sunbiz sends the acknowledgment letter, and any certified copy or certificate of status you order, to the correspondence email typed on the form. The same address receives the annual report notice every January, so use one the company will still have next year.
- Search the name first. Sunbiz's Search Records page shows every name on file in Florida. The e-file form will accept a name that is already taken; the Division rejects it in review, after you have waited for it.
The Sunbiz LLC Filing, Step by Step
Step 1: Open the Florida LLC e-file form
From dos.fl.gov/sunbiz choose Start a Business, then Florida Limited Liability Company. Read the instructions page: it lists what the form asks and what Florida will and will not accept, and it is the only guidance Sunbiz gives.
Step 2: Enter the company name (Article I)
The name must contain Limited Liability Company, LLC or L.L.C. and be distinguishable from every name on the Division's records. A professional limited liability company uses PLLC and must state one specific professional purpose. Sunbiz checks none of this at submission.
Step 3: Give the principal office and mailing address (Article II)
A street address for the principal office, and a separate mailing address if mail goes elsewhere. Either can be outside Florida. Both become part of the public record.
Step 4: Name the registered agent and type the acceptance (Article III)
The agent's name and a Florida street address, never a PO box. The agent accepts the appointment on the articles, which on Sunbiz means typing their name into the acceptance field. A member or manager can serve; the LLC cannot be its own agent. If you choose our registered agent service, our agent's Florida address goes here instead of yours.
Step 5: List managers or authorized representatives (Article IV, optional)
Names and addresses of managers (MGR) or authorized representatives (AR). Florida does not require this, and members should not be listed here, but banks often look for a named person on the public record before opening the company's account.
Step 6: Set the effective date (Article V, optional)
Up to five business days before, or 90 days after, the Division receives the filing. A January 1 effective date on an October to December filing keeps the company off the books for the current year, which defers its first annual report by a year.
Step 7: Sign as authorized representative and add the correspondence email
At least one person authorized to execute and file records signs by typing their name. The correspondence name and email is where Sunbiz sends the acknowledgment and, each year, the annual report notice.
Step 8: Choose extras, pay the state and keep the confirmation
A certified copy and a certificate of status are optional add-ons on the payment screen. Pay Florida's fee by card and keep the on-screen confirmation and the email until the acknowledgment letter arrives.
Rather not work through Sunbiz yourself?
One short application covers the name search, the Articles of Organization and the submission through Sunbiz.
Form Your Florida LLCWhy Sunbiz Filings Get Rejected
- A name that is the same as, or not distinguishable from, a Florida entity already on file. Sunbiz does not stop a taken name at submission; the Division rejects it in review.
- A registered agent with a PO box or an out-of-state address, or an agent acceptance left blank.
- A professional limited liability company without one specific professional purpose stated.
- An effective date outside the window Florida allows: five business days before the filing or 90 days after it.
- A card payment that does not go through, or that is short of the state's fee.
A rejection costs the days the filing sat in the queue, and in some states the name you wanted. Our name check and field review happen before the filing goes to Sunbiz, which is most of what you pay us for. The form itself, field by field: the Florida Articles of Organization.
Processing and Checking Status
Florida does not promise a turnaround for LLC filings, and neither do we. The Division of Corporations posts the date of the documents it is currently working on at its Document Processing Dates page, and filings are reviewed in the order received. Online filings are usually ahead of mail.
To check the status of a Sunbiz LLC filing, search the company name on Sunbiz Search Records. An approved LLC appears there with its document number, its filing date and an Active status, and the acknowledgment letter arrives at the correspondence email at the same time. If the company is not in the search yet, the filing is still in the queue. A rejected filing comes back to the correspondence email with the reason, to be corrected and resubmitted.
Official pages: Document Processing Dates (dos.fl.gov) · Sunbiz Search Records.
The speed we control is when the filing reaches Florida: same-day LLC filing sends it to Sunbiz the business day your details are in.
After Approval on Sunbiz
- The annual report. Every Florida LLC files an annual report on Sunbiz between January 1 and May 1, starting the year after formation (or after the effective date). The report confirms or updates the addresses, the registered agent and the managers; it is filed by document number, with no login. Filing after May 1 adds Florida's $400 late penalty, set by statute, and a company still unfiled at 5 PM Eastern on the fourth Friday of September is administratively dissolved.
- Changing the registered agent. Sunbiz lets the annual report itself name a new registered agent, with the new agent typing the acceptance, so no separate filing is needed if the change waits for the report. Between reports, a statement of change is filed on Sunbiz as well.
- Later changes. Articles of Amendment, a name change and a voluntary dissolution are all Sunbiz filings too, under the same document number. Florida has no newspaper publication requirement for LLCs.
File the Florida annual report online, or have it filed · Annual report e-filing on Sunbiz
Filing It Yourself vs Having Us File It
The state fee is the same either way; what changes is who does the work and who is watching when Sunbiz answers.
| Filing it yourself on Sunbiz | Having us file it | |
|---|---|---|
| Checking the name | You search Florida's records yourself; Sunbiz does not warn you about a taken name before you pay. | We search Florida's records before anything is submitted and tell you the same day if there is a conflict. |
| Drafting the Articles of Organization | You type each field into Sunbiz and read the state's instructions as you go. | We draft every field the way Sunbiz expects, from one short application. |
| The registered agent | You name one who qualifies under Florida's rule and get the typed acceptance. | Yours, checked against Florida's rule, or our registered agent service as an add-on. |
| Watching for a rejection | You watch the email Sunbiz has on file and resubmit if the filing bounces. | We watch the filing through to approval, and a rejection is corrected and refiled. |
| When it is submitted | Whenever you sit down to finish the form. | Standard orders go to Florida within 3 business days; same-day submission by 2 PM Eastern goes in that business day. |
| Who answers questions | The Florida Department of State's help pages and phone line. | A person on our team, by email, Monday to Friday. |
| The state fee | Paid to Florida on Sunbiz. | Paid to Florida, the same amount, itemized before you pay. |
Sunbiz LLC Filing Questions
Can I file an LLC myself on Sunbiz?+
Yes. Sunbiz accepts Articles of Organization from anyone, and Florida's fee is the same whether you file there yourself or we file for you. What you take on is the name search, the typed acceptance from the agent, the optional fields that banks expect to see filled in, and watching the correspondence email for a rejection. What we add is a human doing each of those before the filing goes in.
Do I need a Sunbiz account?+
No. Sunbiz has no login for a new LLC filing. You open the e-file form, complete it in one sitting and pay by card. The correspondence email you type is the only way the Division reaches you afterwards, so it has to be one you check.
How long does Sunbiz take?+
Florida does not publish a fixed time. The Division posts the date of the documents it is processing on its Document Processing Dates page, so you can see how far behind the queue is on any given day. We do not promise the state's time; when we file, we watch the queue and send you the approved articles the day they post.
What if my Sunbiz filing is rejected?+
The Division emails the reason to the correspondence address, and the filing is corrected and submitted again. The usual causes are a taken name, a missing agent acceptance and an agent address that is not a Florida street address. When we file for you, we check all three before submitting, and if the state rejects a filing because of our mistake we fix and refile it.
How do I check the status of my Sunbiz filing?+
Search the company name on Sunbiz Search Records. Once the Division approves the articles, the LLC shows with its document number and an Active status, and the acknowledgment letter is emailed. Until then it is in the queue, and the Document Processing Dates page tells you which day's filings are being worked.
Is America LLC Filing part of Sunbiz?+
No. Sunbiz belongs to the Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations, the government office that approves Florida LLCs. America LLC Filing is a private company. We prepare your Articles of Organization and submit them through Sunbiz on your behalf, the way an accountant or attorney would, and our fee is for that work, separate from the state's own fee.
Does the registered agent sign on Sunbiz?+
Yes. Florida requires the registered agent to accept the appointment on the articles. On Sunbiz that is a typed name in the agent acceptance field; on paper it is a signature. A filing without the acceptance is rejected. If you choose our registered agent service, the acceptance is ours to provide.
Have Your Florida LLC Filed on Sunbiz
Name checked, Articles of Organization drafted and submitted through Sunbiz, approval sent to your inbox.
Form Your Florida LLC