
Start a business
Steps to Starting a Business in Florida: Startup Checklist
A practical launch checklist organized around decisions, agency filings and proof that each step is complete.
Read the guideIndependent Florida filing guide
Know what to file, where to file it and what to check next. Plain-English guides with links to the real agency, not a government look-alike.
Find your next step
The practical index
Start with the task. Follow the guide. File directly with the right agency.
Looking for “my Florida corporate filings”? Start with the task, not a checkout. FileMyFlorida explains Florida business filings in plain English, then points you to Sunbiz or the responsible agency. We are an independent guide, not the State of Florida, and this site does not currently submit filings for you.
A business formation, an annual report and a professional license solve different problems. Registering an LLC does not by itself approve a regulated trade. An annual report updates the state’s entity record; it is not a tax return. Knowing which record needs attention helps you avoid buying the wrong service or overlooking a separate requirement.
Starting a company? Compare Florida LLC formation with forming a corporation. Our startup checklist puts the paperwork in a practical order, from identifying the business to checking activity-specific requirements. It does not assume that every business needs the same registrations.
For an active LLC or corporation, begin with the annual-report guide and the Sunbiz filing walkthrough. Sunbiz describes the annual report as an update or confirmation of its records, even when nothing has changed. Save the accepted filing and check the public record afterward.
If the company is already administratively dissolved, read the reinstatement guide instead of assuming that a new LLC will repair the old one. Contractor businesses should also check the separate license and business-qualification records.
Use the Florida business-license guide to identify which agency and local authority to ask. Construction businesses can read about qualifying an LLC under a contractor license, an eligible owner’s workers’ compensation exemption and building-permit exemptions. A filing in one system is not blanket permission in another.
Our pages link to government instructions and the law behind material rules. We distinguish state charges from private services, and we leave out amounts or deadlines we cannot substantiate. For the current application, begin at the Division of Corporations website or the agency identified in the guide, not a payment link in an unsolicited notice.
The domain came under new ownership in November 2026. This is not a continuation of the previous filing service. Read our research and editorial policy to understand the limits of these guides and how to report a correction.
Our free deadline reminder emails are a planning aid, not a state notice or proof of filing. Done-for-you filing is coming soon from FileMaven; no checkout is available here. Until then, you can use the guides to prepare, file directly with the responsible agency and retain your own confirmation.
General information, not legal or tax advice. FileMyFlorida is independent and is not affiliated with the State of Florida, Sunbiz or any agency.
Choose the entity, prepare the record and check what your business activity requires.

Start a business
A practical launch checklist organized around decisions, agency filings and proof that each step is complete.
Read the guide
Start a business
Separate the required $125 state filing from optional documents, private services and recurring costs.
Read the guide
Start a business
Incorporation is a Florida filing. S corporation treatment is a separate federal tax election for eligible businesses.
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Start a business
What the agent must do, who can serve and how to build a reliable records and notice system around the appointment.
Read the guideUnderstand the annual update, filing window and what happens after a missed report.

Annual reports
The annual-report rules, current state fees and projected 2027 calendar, with direct links to Sunbiz and a clear distinction between filing and reinstatement.
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Annual reports
Follow the state e-file information groups, avoid common field errors and confirm that the right annual report appears in the public record.
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Annual reports
Separate the May 1 fee deadline from the September dissolution process, and check the right next step if your report is already overdue.
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Compliance
Sunbiz reinstatement starts by checking your record. If Sunbiz shows your company as “administratively dissolved” or “revoked,” first confirm why. An entity that lost active status for failing to file annual reports may be eligible for the Division of Corporations’ reinstatement process. That is different from starting a new company, reversing a voluntary dissolution or reactivating a professional license.
Read the guideKeep entity records, professional licensing, owner exemptions and project permits separate.

Licenses & permits
Separate local tax receipts, professional licenses, tax registrations and permits before opening.
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Licenses & permits
To qualify a new Florida LLC under a contractor license, first separate entity formation from licensing. Forming an LLC on Sunbiz does not automatically authorize that LLC to contract under your Florida construction license. The business organization and the individual license holder are different parts of the licensing record. You must use the appropriate Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) process to connect them.
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Licenses & permits
A Florida workers’ compensation exemption is a personal election by an eligible business owner—not an insurance policy for the company. In construction, it can remove an eligible corporate officer or LLC member from workers’ compensation coverage for that business. It does not exempt employees, replace general liability insurance or make an unlicensed contractor licensed.
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Licenses & permits
Florida now has a limited statewide building-permit exemption for certain work valued at less than $7,500 on a single-family owner’s property. It is not a general rule that every home project below that price can proceed without permits.
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Licenses & permits
A Florida permit fee refund request starts with the applicable review deadline. Florida law requires local governments to decide covered building-permit applications within specified periods. If a department misses an applicable deadline, section 553.792, Florida Statutes , can require a 10% building-permit-fee reduction for each late business day .
Read the guideBuild a repeatable paperwork system and decide when a professional is worth hiring.

Compliance
A practical recurring-deadline framework, with separate tracks for entities, taxes, local receipts and professional licenses.
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Business resources
A practical risk screen for deciding when direct filing makes sense and when an administrative form needs legal, tax or insurance advice.
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Business resources
A working system for filing calendars, agency records, missing confirmations and the paperwork that changes when the business grows.
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Annual reports
An optional email nudge for annual-report season. Keep your own calendar, file directly with Sunbiz and verify your accepted report.
Read the guideCheck current federal guidance before acting on an old reporting notice.

BOI
FinCEN’s final rule exempts U.S.-formed companies. Here is who remains potentially covered and why Sunbiz annual reports are still separate.
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BOI
A short yes/no screening path based on formation jurisdiction, U.S. registration and confirmed entity exemptions. No report is submitted.
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BOI
A focused reading list for understanding beneficial ownership reporting and finding the current federal guidance.
Read the guideVerified 2026-11-12. Official sources are the final authority.