How Much Does an LLC Cost in Florida?
By Edmond Hui · Fees verified July 29, 2026 against the Florida Secretary of State fee schedule
Edmond Hui · Founder, MyStateLLC
Edmond Hui is a software engineer and serial entrepreneur based in New York who has founded multiple online businesses across e-commerce, media, and information publishing. Before transitioning into tech, he spent years as a commercial real estate professional closing deals totaling over 100,000 square feet, giving him firsthand experience with business formation and entity structuring. He built MyStateLLC to provide the free, state-specific LLC guidance he wished existed when forming his own companies.
What you actually pay in Florida
Florida's real LLC formation cost is $125, not $100: the Division of Corporations requires both a $100.00 filing fee and a $25.00 registered agent designation fee, and only reaches its advertised $160.00 "TOTAL" by adding an optional $30.00 certified copy and $5.00 certificate of status. The annual report is $138.75 and jumps to $538.75 the moment it is received after May 1 — a flat $400 late fee that Florida applies to LLCs by name, exempting only non-profit corporations. Miss it entirely and the LLC is administratively dissolved on the fourth Friday of September, after which reinstatement costs $100.00 plus every missed annual report fee. Florida sells no expedited service; instead it publishes a live processing queue, which on 07/29/2026 stood at online new-entity filings received 07/24/2026.
Florida LLC fee breakdown
| Cost | Amount | How often | Charged by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Articles of Organization | $125 | One time | Florida Secretary of State |
| Annual Report | $138.75 | Every year | Florida Secretary of State |
| Required state cost, first year | $263.75 | — | — |
| Registered agent service (optional) | $50–$300 | Every year | Commercial provider |
| Name reservation (optional) | $25 | One time | Florida Secretary of State |
| Certificate of good standing (optional) | $5 | Per copy | Florida Secretary of State |
The Division of Corporations fee table for a "New Florida/Foreign LLC" lists a $100.00 Filing Fee (required) plus a $25.00 Registered Agent Fee (required) — $125.00 unavoidable — with an optional $30.00 Certified Copy and optional $5.00 Certificate of Status bringing the published TOTAL to $160.00. The $100 and $25 amounts are statutory in Fla. Stat. § 605.0213.
No publication or newspaper-notice fee appears on the Division of Corporations fee schedule or in Fla. Stat. § 605.0213.
Registered agent is listed separately because it is a commercial service, not a state charge. Commercial registered-agent services, not a state charge. Range and $125 midpoint match the assumption used by /tools/llc-true-cost. Most states let you serve as your own registered agent at no cost if you have a physical in-state address. Run your own numbers in the true-cost calculator.
Florida LLC cost over five years
State charges only in the first column; the second adds a registered-agent service at the $125/yr market midpoint.
| Period | State cost only | With registered agent |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 (formation + first filing) | $263.75 | $388.75 |
| Each year after | $138.75 | $263.75 |
| Five-year total | $818.75 | $1,443.75 |
First filing timing: Fla. Stat. § 605.0212(3): "The first annual report must be delivered to the department between January 1 and May 1 of the year following the calendar year in which the limited liability company's articles of organization became effective." An LLC formed in 2026 files its first $138.75 report in the January 1 – May 1, 2027 window.
Is Florida expensive compared with other states?
Florida ranks 37th cheapest of 50 states on first-year cost — $29.22 above the $234.53 national average. On ongoing annual cost it ranks 40th.
A cheaper filing fee elsewhere rarely saves money if you live and operate in Florida. Doing business here with an out-of-state LLC generally means registering it as a foreign LLC in Florida anyway — paying both states. See foreign qualification in Florida before forming elsewhere to save on fees.
Florida filing deadline and late penalties
Annual Report
| Frequency | every year |
| Due | Between January 1 and May 1 of each calendar year (Fla. Stat. § 605.0212(3)); "your payment voucher and check or money order must be postmarked and mailed on or before May 1 to avoid a late fee" |
| Fee | $138.75 |
| Late penalty | $400 |
"A $400 late fee will be imposed on all profit corporations, limited liability companies, limited partnerships and limited liability limited partnerships. Non-profit corporations are not subject to the $400 late fee." The LLC fee table lists "Annual Report (received after May 1st) $538.75" — $138.75 + $400.
"If you do not file an annual report by the third Friday of September, your business entity will be administratively dissolved or revoked in our records at the close of business on the fourth Friday of September." Reinstatement costs a $100.00 Reinstatement Fee plus each year's annual report fee, all due at submission. For calendar year 2026 the last day to pay by check is September 18 and by credit card 5:00 pm EST on September 25, 2026. Fla. Stat. § 605.0212(6) also bars a non-filing LLC from maintaining or defending any action in a Florida court until the report is filed and all fees and penalties are paid.
Full Florida annual report filing guide · Deadline calculator
Cost traps specific to Florida
$400 late fee applies to LLCs and there is no way to buy it down
Filing the annual report one day after May 1 costs $538.75 instead of $138.75. Florida explicitly names limited liability companies as subject to the $400 late fee; only non-profit corporations are exempt.
The advertised $100 filing fee is really $125
Florida charges a mandatory $25.00 Registered Agent Fee on top of the $100.00 filing fee for every new LLC, so no Florida LLC can be formed for less than $125.00.
Administrative dissolution on the fourth Friday of September
An unfiled annual report leads to administrative dissolution at the close of business on the fourth Friday of September; reinstatement costs $100.00 plus each year's $138.75 report fee, and until you file, Fla. Stat. § 605.0212(6) bars the LLC from maintaining or defending any court action in Florida.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where these numbers come from
Every fee above was checked against Florida's own published sources on July 29, 2026 — the Florida Secretary of State fee schedule, the governing statute, and where a state-level tax applies, the state tax authority. Commercial formation-service pages were not used.
The first-year total is the Articles of Organization fee plus the first year of any recurring state charge. Where a state's first report is not due until the following year, that is noted above. The five-year total is the filing fee plus five years of recurring charges, which avoids the timing question entirely. Registered-agent service is excluded from all state figures.