Foreign LLCs and corporations in Florida
Get your out-of-state company authorized in Florida
We complete the Florida application, obtain your home state's certificate of existence, line up your registered agent and file with the Division of Corporations.
- $125Florida filing fee
- 4LLC, Corporation, LP, Nonprofit
- 4What you receive
What you receive
- FloridaFiled Florida applicationThe Division of Corporations record showing your company active in Florida.
- FloridaLetter of acknowledgmentIssued by the Division when it files your application.
- FloridaRegistered agent acceptanceOur signed acceptance, or the one from the agent you named.
- FloridaAnnual report reminderThe January 1 to May 1 window, and the year your first report is due.
An LLC formed in another state gets Florida authority by filing the Application by Foreign Limited Liability Company for Authorization to Transact Business in Florida (Form CR2E027) with the Division of Corporations and paying $125; a corporation files Form CR2E007 and pays $70. Florida Foreign Registration completes the application, orders the certificate of existence that has to be attached, arranges the registered agent's signed acceptance and files it for $199, in addition to the state fee.
The $125 for an LLC is two charges added together, $100 to file the application and $25 to designate the registered agent, and we pass both along at cost. The yearly calendar matters too: Florida wants an annual report January 1 to May 1, and a report filed after May 1 costs $538.75 instead of $138.75 with no way to waive the difference.
- Filed with the Division of Corporations
- May 1 report date sent with your filing
- Florida registered agent available
Every order includes
Application completed
Form CR2E027 for LLCs, Form CR2E007 for corporations, filled in from what you tell us at checkout.
Certificate of existence
Florida rejects one dated more than 90 days before filing. We request a new one from your home state.
Delivered to Tallahassee
We send the application, certificate and fee to the Registration Section and track it to approval.
Registered agent in Florida
Use us, or name an agent you already work with. Either way they sign the acceptance.
The report calendar
Florida's annual report window is January 1 to May 1. We send you the first year it applies.
Answers by email
Ask the people who prepare your Florida paperwork, before or after you order.
What we do once you order
Check that Florida applies
Florida lists 13 activities that do not count, and counts income-producing property you own in the state as doing business. The Florida registration test explains both.
Collect your company details
Exact name, home state, EIN if you have one, the date Florida business began, the principal and mailing addresses, the people who manage the company and whether you want our Florida registered agent.
Order the certificate of existence
Florida takes one no older than 90 days at delivery, so we order it from your home state close to the filing.
Prepare the packet
The completed Form CR2E027 or Form CR2E007, the cover letter, the certificate and one check for the right total.
Send it to Tallahassee and follow up
We deliver it to the Registration Section, confirm it is registered and send you the acknowledgment with a note of your first annual report window.
Florida registration in one table
- LLC filing
- Form CR2E027, Application by Foreign Limited Liability Company for Authorization to Transact Business in Florida
- Corporation filing
- Form CR2E007, Application by Foreign Corporation for Authorization to Transact Business in Florida
- Filed with
- Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations (Sunbiz), Registration Section
- State fee
- $125 for an LLC ($100 filing plus $25 agent designation), $70 for a corporation or nonprofit
- Home-state certificate
- A certificate of existence no older than 90 days at delivery
- How it is filed
- On the paper form with a cover letter and one check, mailed or couriered to the Registration Section in Tallahassee
- Acknowledgment
- A letter of acknowledgment, free once the application is registered
- Registered agent
- registered agent with a Florida street address and a signed acceptance
- Yearly filing
- Annual report, filed online, January 1 to May 1, $138.75 for an LLC
- Late report
- $400 added after May 1, and Florida says there is no provision to waive it
What each entity type pays Florida
| Entity type | Filing | State charge |
|---|---|---|
| Limited liability company | Form CR2E027 | $125 ($100 + $25) |
| Profit corporation | Form CR2E007 | $70 ($35 + $35) |
| Nonprofit corporation | By email order | $70 |
Optional papers add to these totals: a certificate of status and a certified copy are listed on the Florida fee page with a worked total.
Must your company register?
Florida defines the duty by listing what does not count rather than by a threshold. Thirteen listed activities are safe, from defending a case to owning a subsidiary, and the list is not complete. The rule that surprises people runs the other direction: holding Florida real estate or equipment for rent or other income counts as transacting business. A Delaware LLC that owns a rental condo in Miami therefore needs a certificate of authority even if it has no office and no staff here. Does my LLC need to register in Florida? walks through rentals, employees, online sales and one-off deals.
The May 1 annual report
Every authorized LLC files an annual report online between January 1 and May 1, starting the year after it is authorized. The fee is $138.75. Miss May 1 and the cost becomes $538.75, and a report missing altogether by the third Friday of September puts the certificate of authority up for revocation on the fourth Friday. The Florida annual report page sets out the calendar, the payment options and how to reinstate.
What waiting costs
There is no late registration fee as such. Instead a company that did business without authority owes what registering on time would have cost in fees and penalties, plus a civil penalty of $500 to $1,000 for each year or part of a year. It also cannot start a lawsuit in Florida until it registers. See the Florida penalty page.
Agent, DIY and leaving
The Florida registered agent rules list who qualifies and what it costs to change or resign one. If you want to file the paper application yourself, the self-filing walkthrough follows the form line by line. Delaware and Wyoming LLCs each have a page: Delaware LLC in Florida and Wyoming LLC in Florida. When the company stops doing business in the state, the withdrawal page covers Form CR2E057 and its $25 fee.
What the Division does with the application
Unless the Division finds that the application does not comply with the filing requirements, it files the application once the fees are paid, and the filing is what authorizes the LLC to transact business (Fla. Stat. 605.0903). The authority stays subject to suspension or revocation. Because the Division works from a paper packet, a defect can mean the packet is returned, so we check the finished packet against the form before it goes out.
When the company is not a plain LLC or corporation
A foreign series LLC may be asked to apply separately for each series or cell, and a protected series has its own form, Form CR2E221. A limited partnership, LLP or nonprofit uses a different Division form, which we prepare by email order. If you are unsure which category your company falls into, send us the home-state formation document and we will tell you the form and the fee before you pay.
What we need from you to start
Checkout asks for the company's legal name exactly as the home state shows it, the jurisdiction, the federal employer identification number if one exists, the date Florida activity began, if earlier, the principal office and mailing addresses, and who manages the company, with each person's title and address. If your name will not work in Florida we tell you before anything is sent, because an alternate name has to be settled before the form is signed.
Registered agent: first year included, then $149 a year
$199 plus the state fee, including your first year of registered agent service; after that the agent service renews at $149 a year.
$199, Florida fee at cost
Qualify in Florida
Florida
$199
+ $125 Division of Corporations fee
- Form CR2E027 for an LLC or Form CR2E007 for a corporation, completed for you
- Your home state's certificate of existence, which we order so it is dated inside the window
- Sent to the Division of Corporations in Tallahassee
- A Florida registered agent: ours, or one you have already
- The filed authorization and your first annual report date
- Renewal: after the first year, the agent service renews at $149 a year
Our fee and the Florida fee appear on separate lines at checkout. The state fee is not marked up. $199 plus the state fee, including your first year of registered agent service; after that the agent service renews at $149 a year.
Florida registration questions
How much is the Florida charge for a foreign LLC to register?
The Division of Corporations charges $125: $100 for the application and $25 for the registered agent designation. We add $199, and the annual report is a separate $138.75 each year.
Does Florida require a certificate from my home state?
Yes. The application goes in with a certificate of existence or an equivalent record issued in the last 90 days before delivery (Fla. Stat. 605.0902(2)).
Can the application be filed online?
The instructions for Form CR2E027 tell applicants to mail or courier a cover letter, the application, the certificate and one check to the Registration Section. We send the packet for you.
What happens if I miss the May 1 report deadline?
The report costs $538.75 instead of $138.75, and Florida says it cannot waive the $400 late fee. If no report is filed by the third Friday in September, revocation follows on the fourth Friday.
Who can serve as my Florida registered agent?
We can, at checkout. The agent has to be an individual who resides in Florida and whose business address is the registered office, or a Florida or foreign corporation, LLC, LLP or limited partnership authorized to transact business in Florida, whose business address is the registered office.
Does a corporation use the same form?
No. A corporation files Form CR2E007 and pays $70, and its annual report costs $150. See the corporation form page.
My company name is taken in Florida. What now?
Florida requires an alternate name that follows its naming rules, entered in the application and linked to your real name in the state records.
Do you file for partnerships and nonprofits?
Yes, by email order. A nonprofit corporation pays $70 to register and $61.25 for its annual report, and a limited partnership files a different Division form.
Do I need an office in Florida?
No. The company needs a registered office with a Florida street address, which its registered agent provides, and a principal office address that can be anywhere.
How long does Florida take to approve the application?
We deliver the packet once the certificate, the signatures and your details are in, and we send you the acknowledgment when the Division registers the application. A complete packet with a current certificate is the best protection against delay.
How do I stop doing business in Florida?
File Form CR2E057, the notice of withdrawal, for $25. Until it is filed, the annual report keeps coming due.
Sources for this page
- Florida Division of Corporations, LLC fees
- Florida Division of Corporations, Form CR2E027 instructions (foreign LLC)
- Florida Division of Corporations, Form CR2E007 (foreign corporation)
- Florida Statutes 605.0902 (application for certificate of authority)
- Florida Division of Corporations, corporate fees
- Florida Statutes 605.0905 (activities not transacting business)
- Florida Statutes 605.0904 (transacting business without a certificate)
- Florida Statutes 605.0903 (effect of a certificate of authority)
- Florida Division of Corporations, Form CR2E221 (foreign protected series)
- Florida Statutes 605.0113 (registered agent)
- Florida Division of Corporations, annual report fees
Bringing your company into Florida?
Order in a few minutes. We gather the certificate, complete the application and file it for you.