How to Start an LLC in Florida: 7 Steps for 2026

Starting your first LLC can feel overwhelming, especially when every form seems to come with another decision or optional service. But the process is manageable when you take it in order.

There are seven main steps: choose your name, appoint a registered agent, file your LLC, get an EIN, write an operating agreement, open a business bank account, and keep up with Florida’s annual requirements. The key is knowing what you actually need and what you can skip.

The Florida state filing fee is $125. If you use Northwest Registered Agent’s $39 formation offer, your starting total is $164. Add their optional $50 EIN service for applicants with a Social Security number, and the total becomes $214. You can also get your EIN directly from the IRS for free.

I’ll walk through those choices below, including the recurring costs that are easy to overlook. Prices and service terms can change, so review the current checkout before paying.

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Table of Contents

• Step 1: Choose Your Florida LLC Name
• Step 2: Choose Your Registered Agent
• Step 3: File Your Florida Articles of Organization
• Step 4: Get Your EIN
• Step 5: Write Your Operating Agreement
• Step 6: Open Your Business Bank Account
• Step 7: Keep Your Florida LLC Active
• Your Florida LLC Setup Checklist

Step 1: Choose Your Florida LLC Name

Before you spend money on a filing, make sure your business name will work. There are three basic rules to keep in mind:

• Include an LLC designation. Your name should end with LLC or Limited Liability Company spelled out.
• Avoid misleading wording. Don’t use words that make your business sound like a government agency or an unauthorized bank.
• Choose a distinguishable name. If another Florida business is already using the name, or yours is too similar, the state can reject your filing.

Search Sunbiz for similar business names

Use the free Florida business name search on Sunbiz. You don’t need an account or a login. Enter your proposed name and search.

Here’s the important part: the results aren’t just a list of exact matches. Sunbiz displays an alphabetical list around your search term. Look at the nearby names as well as the one you typed. A small spelling change doesn’t necessarily make a name distinguishable.

Check trademarks, domains, and social handles

Next, run a free USPTO trademark search. This is separate from Florida’s business name search. A name being available for a state filing doesn’t automatically mean it is clear of trademark issues.

Finally, check the domain name and social media handles you want. Ideally, your LLC name, website, and social profiles will be consistent. It’s much easier to make that decision now than after you’ve filed and started building your brand.

Step 2: Choose Your Registered Agent

Every Florida LLC needs a registered agent. This is the official contact who receives legal documents for your business at a real Florida street address during business hours.

You have two main options.

Option 1: Be your own registered agent

This avoids paying a registered agent service, but there are trade-offs:

• Your registered agent name and address become public record.
• If you use your home address, people can look it up.
• You need to be available at that address during business hours to receive legal documents.

If privacy and availability aren’t concerns, handling this yourself can keep costs down.

Option 2: Use a registered agent service

I would personally use a service, particularly for a home-based business. The option I use here is Northwest Registered Agent.

With the formation offer covered below, the first year of registered agent service is included. It then renews at $125 per year. Their registered agent address goes on the filing instead of your own.

However, don’t assume that appointing a registered agent automatically removes your home address from every part of the filing. Florida also asks for your business’s physical and mailing addresses. You’ll need to review those separately before the paperwork is submitted.

Step 3: File Your Florida Articles of Organization

The document that creates your Florida LLC is called the Articles of Organization. It is filed with the Florida Division of Corporations.

You can file directly through the state or pay a formation service to handle it:

• File it yourself: Pay the $125 state filing fee and handle the form and any follow-up yourself.
• Use Northwest: Pay $39 for the formation service plus the $125 state fee, with the first year of registered agent service included.

For a first-time business owner, I would lean toward Northwest because it simplifies the filing process. You’re paying for convenience and help, not avoiding the state fee.

The offer used here includes the $39 formation price and one year of registered agent service. If that’s the route you want to take, start with that offer and select Florida.

Complete the four checkout sections

Northwest’s initial setup has four sections: Formation, Company Name, Account, and Payment.

1. Formation: Leave the entity type set to LLC and confirm that the state is Florida. Review the state fee and order summary.
2. Company Name: Enter your chosen name and check the preview showing how it will appear on state records. Decide whether to add EIN filing.
3. Account: Enter your first and last name, phone number, and email address, then create a password. Use an email you check regularly because filing updates and account access depend on it.
4. Payment: Enter your payment information and billing address, review the total, and submit the order.

The formation page also lists extras such as a domain name, business email, business address, open-source website, phone line, and brand protection. Review the terms of any extras you plan to use rather than choosing a package based only on the word “free.”

You’ll also see annual compliance listed as included. That does not mean future annual report filings are free. Northwest’s filing service costs $100 per year plus the state’s annual report fee, with nothing due for that service at the initial checkout. I’ll explain that decision in Step 7.

Decide whether to pay for EIN filing

An EIN is your business’s federal tax identification number. Think of it as an identifying number for the company rather than for you personally. It is commonly used for business banking, tax administration, and hiring employees.

Northwest offers to obtain it after the LLC is approved:

• With a Social Security number: $50 for the EIN filing service.
• Without a Social Security number: $200 for the EIN filing service.
• Apply directly through the IRS: Free.

I chose the $50 option for convenience. If keeping startup costs as low as possible matters more to you, skip it and apply directly through the IRS after approval.

Review the total before paying

Here’s the cost breakdown for the setup I chose:

• Northwest formation service: $39.
• Florida state filing fee: $125.
• Optional EIN filing with a Social Security number: $50.
• First year of registered agent service: Included.
• Total at checkout: $214.

Without the EIN add-on, that total would be $164.

Check your addresses after checkout

Once payment goes through, there are still company details to complete before Northwest files your paperwork.

Pay close attention to the business physical address and mailing address. In this setup, both initially default to the address supplied at checkout, and both can appear on public record.

If you’re using Northwest for address privacy, replace those entries with the Northwest address available through the service where permitted. Review every address field rather than assuming the registered agent selection has handled them all.

Choose how your LLC will be managed

The next decision is your management structure:

• Member-managed: The owners run the business.
• Manager-managed: Management is assigned to a manager rather than handled by the owners simply because they are members.

If it’s just you, or you and a partner actively running the business, member-managed is generally the straightforward choice.

Understand the optional add-ons

You may also encounter four additional services. None is required just to form the LLC, and I would skip them initially unless you already have a specific need.

• S corporation election: This changes the business’s tax treatment, not its underlying LLC structure. It may offer tax savings at an appropriate profit level, but it also adds payroll and bookkeeping responsibilities. For a new business, I would revisit this with an accountant.
• Mail forwarding: Registered agent service handles legal mail. Regular business mail scanning or forwarding is a separate service.
• Trademark filing: Federal trademark registration may be worth considering for brand protection, but it is separate from creating your Florida LLC.
• DBA: A “doing business as” name lets you operate under a name different from the LLC’s legal name. For example, Smith Ventures, LLC might use Main Street Coffee as its business name. If your public business name and legal name match, you generally don’t need this just for formation.

You can revisit these services later. There’s no reason to purchase all of them simply because they appear during setup.

Save your approved formation documents

After your company details are complete, Northwest submits the filing. When the state approves it, you’ll receive an email and your documents will appear in your account.

Download your filed Articles of Organization. This is the state’s official record of your LLC’s formation and includes its document number. Save it somewhere easy to find because you’ll use it during the next steps.

Step 4: Get Your EIN

If you purchased Northwest’s EIN service, they handle the application after your LLC is approved.

If you skipped that option, use the official IRS EIN application page. The IRS does not charge for an EIN.

For eligible applicants, the online process can take about 10 minutes and provide the number at the end of a successful application. Check the IRS eligibility requirements, particularly if you don’t have a Social Security number or another required taxpayer identification number.

Wait until Florida has approved your LLC before applying. Once you receive the EIN, keep the confirmation with your Articles of Organization and other business records.

Step 5: Write Your Operating Agreement

Your operating agreement explains how the LLC actually works. It sets out matters such as:

• Who owns the business and each owner’s percentage.
• Who has authority to make decisions.
• How profits are divided.
• What happens when an owner leaves.

Florida does not require you to file an operating agreement with the state, and a written agreement is not required to form the LLC. But I would still put one in place.

Banks often ask for it. For a single-member LLC, it also helps document that the business is being treated as separate from its owner. It isn’t a substitute for actually keeping your business affairs separate, but it is part of a solid setup.

Northwest provides free Florida operating agreement templates, including versions for single-member and multi-member LLCs. Choose the version that fits your structure, complete it, sign it, and keep it in your records.

If you have business partners, I recommend having a lawyer review the agreement before anyone signs. Ownership, decision-making, and exit terms are worth getting right at the beginning.

Step 6: Open Your Business Bank Account

Once your formation documents, EIN, and operating agreement are ready, open a dedicated business bank account.

The rule is simple: business income goes into the business account, and business expenses come out of it.

Keeping business and personal money separate supports the separation between you and your LLC. Mixing the two can undermine that separation and makes bookkeeping harder. A separate account doesn’t create liability protection by itself, but it is an important part of maintaining sound business practices.

Have these documents ready:

• Your approved formation documents.
• Your EIN confirmation.
• Your operating agreement.

Check the bank’s specific requirements before applying. You can use a bank that fits your needs; if you want a starting point, here’s my business banking recommendation for beginners.

Step 7: Keep Your Florida LLC Active

Getting approved is not the final responsibility. You need to keep the LLC’s state information current and check any licensing requirements that apply to your business.

File your Florida annual report

Florida LLCs must file an annual report with the Division of Corporations. Despite the name, it is mainly a confirmation or update of your business details on Sunbiz, not a lengthy report about business performance.

• State filing fee: $138.75.
• Filing window: January 1 through May 1.
• First report: Due the calendar year after your LLC is formed.
• Late fee: $400 if you miss the May 1 deadline.

If the report remains unfiled through the September cutoff, your LLC faces administrative dissolution. Don’t let a short yearly filing turn into a much bigger problem.

I would set a recurring January 15 reminder now, starting in the year your first report is due. That gives you plenty of time before May 1. Use the state’s official annual report guidance to confirm filing instructions and deadlines.

Decide whether to keep Northwest’s annual compliance service

Northwest’s annual compliance service is enabled by default in the setup described here. It is separate from registered agent service.

About 90 days before the deadline, Northwest sends a reminder. A few days later, it charges the card on file for $100 plus the state filing fee and handles the annual report.

The reminders are free either way. The $100 pays for having Northwest file the report for you.

Here’s how I would decide:

• If you reliably track deadlines: Cancel the filing service in your Northwest account and file the annual report yourself.
• If a yearly deadline might slip past you: Keeping the service may be worth the convenience.

Make that decision during setup, not months later when an automatic charge is approaching.

Also remember the separate $125 annual registered agent renewal after the included first year. If you keep both Northwest services, the listed recurring costs are $125 for registered agent service, $100 for annual report filing assistance, and $138.75 for Florida’s annual report fee.

Check state and local licenses

Florida does not have one universal statewide business license, but that doesn’t mean your business has no licensing requirements.

Some occupations need a state license or permit. Many cities and most counties also require a local business tax receipt, which functions as a local business authorization.

Check with your county tax collector and any applicable city office. The state’s Open My Florida Business website is a useful starting point for identifying requirements by industry.

Your Florida LLC Setup Checklist

Before you consider the setup complete, make sure you have:

• A checked business name and an appointed registered agent.
• Approved Articles of Organization saved with your document number.
• An EIN and its confirmation.
• A signed operating agreement.
• A separate business bank account.
• An annual report reminder and a clear decision about recurring services.
• A plan for any required state licenses, local permits, or business tax receipts.

The goal isn’t to buy every service offered during checkout. It’s to get the LLC formed, keep good records, separate your business finances, and stay on top of the requirements that keep it active.

I’m not a lawyer or an accountant, so treat this as a practical starting point rather than personalized legal or tax advice. If your ownership structure, tax situation, or licensing needs are unclear, speak with a qualified professional before moving forward.