Florida

The requirement in Florida

Every LLC, corporation, and — in most cases — limited partnership or registered nonprofit formed in Florida must continuously maintain a registered agent and a registered office in Florida, from the day the formation is filed until the day the entity is dissolved. The duty also attaches to out-of-state companies that qualify to do business in Florida: foreign qualification and the appointment of a registered agent are filed together, and neither works without the other.

The registered office must be a physical street address in Florida where the agent can be found during normal business hours. It is published in the state's business record — which is why whose address it is becomes a privacy decision as much as a legal one.

Who may serve in Florida

Two kinds of agent are recognized: an individual — an adult resident of Florida with a physical address there — and a business entity authorized to do business in Florida whose office is the registered office. You, a co-owner, or an employee can serve if you meet the individual test. A commercial agent meets the entity test and sells the standing. In a growing number of states the agent must formally consent to the appointment; everywhere, an agent who has not agreed to serve is a coverage failure waiting for its first lawsuit.

Changing course in Florida

Agents are changed by filing a change of registered agent / registered office with the Department of State — Division of Corporations (Sunbiz) — the office publishes the current form and any fee on its own schedule. The safe sequence never changes: the new appointment takes effect first, the old agent's resignation follows, and you confirm the change in the public record before you consider it done.

An agent may also resign on their own initiative. How a resignation takes effect, and how long you then have to name a successor, are set by Florida law and differ from state to state — what does not differ is that the seat cannot sit empty on paper while the company trades. Treat a resignation letter as a deadline, and file the change immediately.

Reports and the agent in Florida

Florida's annual report is due between January 1 and May 1, and late fees are steep. It is also where most Florida agent changes are actually made.

Verify the agent of record

Do not take any plate's word for your own record — check it. Search your entity by name in the Department of State — Division of Corporations (Sunbiz)'s official business database and read the agent and address exactly as filed: the official entity search. If what is filed is not who would actually be standing there on a Tuesday, file the change before anything else on your list.

Plate verified against the Department of State — Division of Corporations (Sunbiz)'s published rules — October 2026.

Before you appoint anyone in Florida

• Price the renewal year, not the advertised year.
• Decide whose address goes on the public record — the DIY ledger is honest about the trade.
• Run your facts through the Navigator, set to Florida.