Florida Secretary of State

The original 1838 Florida constitution created the Secretary of State. It is an executive member of the Florida Government. Hence, the original task of the executive body is to be the "keeper of the Great Seal".

However, the mission of the Secretary of State has changed over the years. So, the Florida Secretary of State has a clear mission to:

Raise the standard of living
Collect and preserve public records for cultural purposes
Promote economic development
Create a competitive business atmosphere
Grant different programs to help communities
Promote tourism
Establish a stable and transparent government

The Florida Secretary of State is Cord Byrd. He was appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis. Besides, he is the 37th official to run for this position.

Getting Started With a Florida Business

As already mentioned, the government tries to promote a competitive environment for entrepreneurs. However, there are some regulations that a person has to know before establishing a company.

First, an individual should research the taxation system. To put it otherwise, companies must be aware of the taxes they must collect and pay. This way, they will be more prepared.

The Florida Department of Revenue provides a great deal of information on this. Thus, you can learn about taxes, as well as file tax returns through the official website.

Identify the Type of Business

The first step is researching the field. After that, one must decide the type of business entity. They are the following:

Profit/Non-Profit Corporation
Limited Liability Company (LLC)
Partnership
General Partnership
Limited Partnership
Sole Partnership

After the decision is made, it is time to move on to the next steps.

Form Your Business

After all the procedures, one can file the registration documents. For a profit or non-profit corporation, they are:

Profit Articles of Incorporation
Non-Profit Articles of Incorporation

In the case of a limited liability company, one should present Articles of Organization.

If the entity is a partnership, present the necessary form of:

General Partnership
Florida Limited Partnership
Foreign Limited Partnership

To be precise, you should fill out the documents and be ready to apply. There are two types of applications; online and offline.

Online Filing

These documents may be filed online. For this:

Read the filing instructions of the Articles of Incorporation for Profit Corporations.
Gather the necessary data for completing the form.
Make the payment.

Print and Mail

The aforementioned documents can also be filed by mail. For this:

Print the necessary paperwork (Profit Articles of Incorporation (PDF), Non-Profit Articles of Incorporation (PDF)).
Send via US Mail.

Note: payments that are going to be made by credit card are available only through the online application.

Corporation Name

Like other factors, the name of the corporation is also very important. To be on the safe side, a person has to choose a distinguishable name.

Thus, a person must do a search before submitting any paperwork. As a result, the application will be sound and reliable.

After the submission, the department either accepts or rejects the application. In both cases, the applicant will receive a notification.

Officer/Registered Agent

A registered agent is a company or person chosen to accept service of process (SOP). Accordingly, the department sends the necessary documentation to the agent's address.

An officer or employee of the company, such as the attorney or service provider, may serve as the agent. A firm may have some difficulties if it does not have one.

To be an agent, one must print and mail the necessary form. Besides, they are to pay the required fee for:

Fictitious Names

A fictitious name is also sometimes referred to as “dba.” The latter means “doing business as.” To clarify:

It varies from the person’s personal name in the case of a sole proprietor.
It varies from the entity’s legal name in the case of an incorporated or a separate legal entity.

Fictitious Name Registration

People can register both online and offline. To do it online:

Complete the sample using your computer.
Print and sign it.
Mail it to the Division of Corporations.
Pay the required fee.

For offline submission, you should:

Print the sample.
Complete and sign it.
Mail it to the Division of Corporations.
Pay the required fee.

Certificate of Status

To get a certificate of status, one must:

Click on the "Order a Certificate of Status".
Enter the document number (usually consists of 6 or 12 digits).
Enter the email address.
Pay the due fee.

Payment

The available payment methods are:

Credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover).
Debit Card (Visa or MasterCard only).
Prepaid Sunbiz E-File Account.

After the payment, the department will email the Certificate of Status. To receive that, check the email address mentioned in the application.

Mary T

Mary is a translator/interpreter by profession. She is an experienced translator and though translation/interpretation is her passion and she pictures herself in that area, content writing is of particular interest to her. She has cooperated with many different organizations and has written contents on various topics. She places all her skills and ken into her writings to provide the reader with a quality content to read and enjoy. She loves to study, gain new knowledge and share it with those who are eager to learn and enrich their outline, so content writing is the right field for her to operate. The scope of her interests is large, she wants to challenge herself, aspiring for the best. She also is passionate about creative writing and is trying to do her first steps into the literary world. She is also a creative writer with her unique style and interesting point of view.

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