How to File a Fictitious Name for an LLC in Florida
By Edmond Hui · Last updated October 6, 2026
Short answer
Florida requires an LLC that does business under a name other than its own to register a fictitious name. An LLC files the Application for Registration of Fictitious Name with the Division of Corporations. The filing fee is $50.00. Before filing, it must advertise its intention to register in a newspaper. Register before starting to do business under the name.
Florida Fictitious Name at a Glance
- Requirement
- Required
- Where to file
- Division of Corporations
- Fee
- $50.00
- How long it lasts
- 5 years
- Newspaper notice
- Required
- File online
- Yes
How an LLC Files
Register before starting to do business under the name.
An LLC files the Application for Registration of Fictitious Name with the Division of Corporations.
Filing needs the LLC in active status on the state's records.
You can file online.
Cost and Renewal
The filing fee is $50.00.
The registration has a 5-year term.
The registration counts the year it is filed as the first year and expires on December 31 of the fifth calendar year. Renewal is filed during the expiration year.
Renewal costs $50.00.
Publication
Before filing, you must publish notice of your intention to register the name once in a newspaper that qualifies under Florida law to publish legal notices, in the county where the principal place of business is or will be located.
Does it protect the name?
Registering does not give the LLC ownership of, or an exclusive right to, the name.
If you skip it
A business that has not registered its fictitious name cannot bring or maintain a lawsuit in a Florida court on behalf of the business until it registers. Failing to register is also a noncriminal violation punishable by a fine.
Sole proprietors
Florida requires a sole proprietor who does business under a name other than their legal name to register a fictitious name. A licensed Florida attorney, or a person licensed by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation or the Department of Health, practising the licensed profession under the licensed name does not need to register.
Register before starting to do business under the name.
A sole proprietor files the Application for Registration of Fictitious Name with the Division of Corporations.
The filing fee is $50.00.
The registration has a 5-year term.
The registration counts the year it is filed as the first year and expires on December 31 of the fifth calendar year. Renewal is filed during the expiration year.
Renewal costs $50.00.
Before filing, you must publish notice of your intention to register the name once in a newspaper that qualifies under Florida law to publish legal notices, in the county where the principal place of business is or will be located.
A business that has not registered its fictitious name cannot bring or maintain a lawsuit in a Florida court on behalf of the business until it registers. Failing to register is also a noncriminal violation punishable by a fine.
| Requirement | Required |
|---|---|
| Where to file | Division of Corporations |
| Fee | $50.00 |
| How long it lasts | 5 years |
| Newspaper notice | Required |
| File online | Yes |
Next steps
Frequently Asked Questions
This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. It reports what each state's filing office publishes about registering a business name, with the sources this page cites. A filing here does not register a federal trademark, and fees and forms change between our reviews. Confirm with the office named on this page before you file.
Sources
Each entry below is a document recorded in our verified Florida sources, and each entry says what the document is. Some statutory text is read from an accurate mirror rather than from the state's own host, and those say so.
- leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0800-0899/0865/Sections/0865.09.htmlFlorida Statutes 865.09, Fictitious name registration
- dos.fl.gov/sunbiz/start-business/efile/fl-fictitious-name-registration/Florida Division of Corporations, Florida Fictitious Name Registration
- form.sunbiz.org/pdf/CR4E001.pdfFlorida Division of Corporations, Application for Registration of Fictitious Name (CR4E001)
- dos.sunbiz.org/ficinam.htmlFlorida Division of Corporations, Search for a Fictitious Name by Name
- leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0050/Sections/0050.011.htmlFla. Stat. 50.011, Publication of legal notices
- leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0800-0899/0865/Sections/0865.09.htmlFlorida Statutes 865.09(3)(a)5, certification of prior advertisement
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.