Florida: Domestic LLC Formation Filing Requirements

Requirements one by one

Governing law and filing record

Florida uses Articles of Organization under the Florida Revised Limited
Liability Company Act. One or more persons acting as authorized representatives
sign and deliver the articles to the Department of State.

The current Division of Corporations page offers an online filing and links the
official paper Form CR2E047.

Organizer and signature

Florida calls the formation signer an authorized representative. Section
605.0203 requires at least one authorized representative to sign the initial
articles and permits a duly appointed agent, legal representative, or attorney-
in-fact to sign if the record states that authority.

The signer does not have to be listed as a manager or member merely because the
signer delivers the articles.

Required entity and purpose terms

The required entity term is the compliant LLC name. Section 605.0112 requires
“limited liability company,” “L.L.C.,” or “LLC,” distinguishability on the
Department's records, and a name that does not imply an unauthorized purpose or
government connection.

The minimum list in § 605.0201 contains no purpose or duration statement for
an ordinary LLC. Specialized entities can face separate rules.

Addresses and service fields

The articles state both the street and mailing addresses of the principal
office. They also state the initial registered agent's name and Florida street
address and include the agent's written acceptance.

Section 605.0203 permits the signed acceptance to appear in the articles or in
an attached statement. Agent eligibility and office-hour duties are covered in
the registered-agent survey.

Management and owner disclosure

Manager and member names are optional in the formation filing. Section
605.0201(3) permits a manager-managed declaration and the names and addresses of
one or more managers or members, but does not make them part of the minimum
articles.

Form CR2E047 labels this management information optional at formation. A later
annual report has a different disclosure rule.

Optional and restricted provisions

The articles may add a management declaration, names and addresses, a person's
authority or an authority limitation, and other relevant matters. Section
605.0201(3) bars those additions from varying the nonwaivable provisions named
in § 605.0105(3).

An optional clause therefore belongs in the articles only if Florida law permits
the public record to carry it; the filing is not a substitute for the operating
agreement.

Filing method, fee, and attachments

The current total is $125: a $100 articles fee under § 605.0213(2) plus the
required $25 registered-agent designation fee. A certified copy costs an
optional $30 and a certificate of status an optional $5.

The Division currently accepts an online credit-card filing or a signed PDF by
mail. The paper form asks for a cover letter with return contact information.

Formation and effective date

The LLC is formed only when the articles become effective and at least one
person is a member. By signing, the authorized representative affirms that the
company has or will have that member at the effective time.

Florida's effective-date range has a formation-specific feature discussed
below.

Publication and initial follow-up

Florida's formation statute, current form, and current LLC filing page state no
statewide newspaper-publication or proof-of-publication duty for an ordinary
LLC.

There is also no immediate annual report. Section 605.0212(3) places the first
report between January 1 and May 1 of the calendar year after the articles
become effective. Later cycles belong to the periodic-report survey.

What trips people up

A filed record alone is not enough if no member exists. Section 605.0201(4)
makes formation depend on both the articles becoming effective and at least one
person becoming a member at that time. The formation signer affirms that this
condition is or will be met.

Florida allows a short retroactive formation date. Initial articles may
state a date up to five business days before filing. A future effective date may
extend no later than the 90th day after filing. Section 605.0207 supplies the
statutory time rules; an agency processing estimate does not.

Optional management names become public if supplied. They are not required
in the articles, but Form CR2E047 warns that filing information appears on the
public Sunbiz record. The next year's annual report separately requires at least
one person with authority to manage the LLC.

Common questions

Does filing the LLC name establish ownership of it? Not by itself. Section
605.0112(5) says the name filing is for public notice and creates no ownership
presumption beyond common law.

What are the optional $30 and $5 charges? They buy a certified copy and a
certificate of status. Neither is part of the required $125 formation total.

Can the paper form be completed by hand? Yes. The current Division page
allows the PDF to be printed, completed in blue or black ink, signed, and mailed
with payment.

Statutes and sources

• Fla. Stat. §§ 605.0112, 605.0201 — name rules, authorized representative,
  required and optional article fields, member-at-effectiveness condition, and
  signer affirmation.
  https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0600-0699/0605/Sections/0605.0201.html
  (accessed 2026-07-29)
• Fla. Stat. § 605.0203 — authorized-representative signature, agent
  acceptance, and agent or attorney-in-fact signing.
  https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0600-0699/0605/Sections/0605.0203.html
  (accessed 2026-07-29)
• Fla. Stat. § 605.0207 — acceptance-time, prior-date, delayed-date, and
  effective-time rules.
  https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0600-0699/0605/Sections/0605.0207.html
  (accessed 2026-07-29)
• Fla. Stat. §§ 605.0212 to 605.0213 — first annual-report window and the
  $100 articles plus $25 agent-designation fees.
  https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0600-0699/0605/Sections/0605.0213.html
  (accessed 2026-07-29)
• Florida Department of State Form CR2E047 and LLC filing pages — optional
  management fields, effective-date range, optional copies, cover letter,
  online/paper routes, and current $125 total.
  https://form.sunbiz.org/pdf/cr2e047.pdf
  (accessed 2026-07-29)