Business Registers in Florida: Division of Corporations (Sunbiz)

Overview

Florida's corporate information is centralized under the Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations, which operates the state's official business register through the Sunbiz portal. As one of the most popular U.S. states for business formation, Florida maintains a large and actively updated register covering corporations, limited liability companies (LLCs), partnerships, and other legal entities.

Company information filed with the Division of Corporations is publicly accessible at no charge under Florida's broad public records framework. However, Florida — like other U.S. states — does not maintain a public register of beneficial ownership, and private companies are not required to file financial statements publicly. For KYB purposes, the Sunbiz register anchors entity identification, status verification, officer details, and registered agent information, while ownership and financial data require other channels.

Official Registers

Florida Division of Corporations (Sunbiz)

The Division of Corporations is the principal register for business entities formed or authorized to do business in Florida. It falls under the Florida Department of State and maintains records for corporations (profit and non-profit), LLCs, limited partnerships (LPs), limited liability limited partnerships (LLLPs), and general partnerships that elect to register.

The register records:

• Entity name and any fictitious names (DBAs)
• Document number (the unique entity identifier, e.g., L23000012345 for LLCs)
• Legal form (corporation, LLC, LP, etc.)
• Status (active, inactive, dissolved, etc.)
• Date of incorporation or registration
• Registered agent name and address
• Principal office and mailing address
• Officers and directors (for corporations) or managers/managing members (for LLCs)
• Annual report filing history

Search is freely available through the Sunbiz search tool, and entity detail pages display the above information without charge. Updates land as filings are processed by the Division. Historical filing records and document images (such as articles of incorporation or organization) are also accessible online.

Fictitious Name Registry

Florida requires any person or entity operating under a name other than their legal name to register a fictitious name (also called a DBA — "doing business as") with the Division of Corporations. This is particularly relevant for sole proprietors, who are not otherwise required to register with Sunbiz.

Florida Department of Revenue

The Florida Department of Revenue handles tax-related registrations, including sales tax dealer permits and employer tax accounts. This is a separate system from the Division of Corporations and does not serve as a corporate identity register, but businesses must register with it for tax purposes where applicable.

Beneficial Ownership — FinCEN (Federal Level)

Florida does not maintain a state-level beneficial ownership register. At the federal level, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) administers Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). However, following a 2025 interim final rule, FinCEN revised the definition of "reporting company" to cover only entities formed under the law of a foreign country that have registered to do business in any U.S. state. Domestic reporting companies—entities formed in the United States—are now exempt from BOI reporting requirements. BOI reports filed with FinCEN are not publicly accessible; they may only be viewed by authorized government agencies and, under specific conditions, by financial institutions conducting customer due diligence.

Registration and Publication Requirements

Corporations (Profit and Non-Profit)

Corporations must file Articles of Incorporation with the Division of Corporations to obtain legal existence. The filing fee is $70 for a domestic for-profit corporation. Articles can be submitted online or by mail. Once filed, the corporation must designate a registered agent and maintain a principal office address on record.

All active corporations must file an annual report with the Division of Corporations by May 1 each year. This is an administrative filing confirming officers, directors, registered agent, and address; it is not a financial filing. There is no obligation for private corporations to file financial statements publicly in Florida. Failure to file the annual report by the third Friday of September results in the entity being administratively dissolved or revoked.

Non-profit corporations follow similar registration and annual report requirements, though they are exempt from late filing fees.

Limited Liability Companies (LLCs)

LLCs are formed by filing Articles of Organization with the Division of Corporations. The registration fee for a new Florida LLC is $125. LLCs must also file annual reports by May 1 and maintain a registered agent. As with corporations, there is no requirement to file financial statements publicly.

Partnerships (LP, LLP, LLLP)

Limited partnerships and limited liability limited partnerships must register with the Division of Corporations. General partnerships are not required to register, though they may voluntarily file a statement of partnership authority. Registered partnerships are subject to the same annual reporting requirements.

Sole Proprietorships

Sole proprietors are not required to register with the Division of Corporations. A sole proprietor may operate under their own legal name without any state-level business filing. However, if using a fictitious name, the sole proprietor must register that name with the Division of Corporations. Sole proprietors who plan to hire employees must also obtain a federal Employer Identification Number (EIN).

Associations and Non-Profits

Non-profit corporations register through the same Division of Corporations process as for-profit entities, using dedicated articles of incorporation for non-profit corporations. Unincorporated associations generally do not appear in the corporate register unless they choose to incorporate.

With Topograph

Topograph provides access to Florida business entity data sourced from the Sunbiz register through two complementary data sources.

Available Data

Company Profile (sourced from the Sunbiz Corporate Data File — daily-refreshed, fast and authoritative):

• Legal name
• Document Number (12-character, letter prefix — e.g. `P99000001570`)
• Legal form (corporation, LLC, LP, LLLP, etc.)
• Status (active, inactive, dissolved, and others)
• Date of incorporation or registration
• Registered office and mailing address

Legal Representatives

• Officers and directors sourced from the Sunbiz Corporate Data File. Titles are standardised using a deterministic code mapping: P = President, V = Vice President, T = Treasurer, S = Secretary, C = Chairman of the Board, D = Director.
• Registered agent is returned as an other key person.

For entities with more than 6 officers, Topograph supplements the bulk data with a live read from the Sunbiz entity detail page to return the full officer list.

Search: by Document Number (primary) or FEI/EIN number.

Shareholders, beneficial ownership data, and activity codes (NAICS/SIC) are not published by the Florida Division of Corporations.

Available Documents

---