When is the Florida LLC Annual Report due?

May 1st of every year. Florida runs a calendar-year filing window, January 1 to May 1, and the deadline does not move for weekends or holidays. Miss it and the late fee is $400, almost 3× the standard filing fee. The report is filed electronically through Sunbiz (sunbiz.org), the Florida Division of Corporations website. You can file as early as January 1 if you want it out of the way.

How much does the Florida LLC Annual Report cost?

$138.75 if filed on time (between January 1 and May 1). $538.75 if filed after May 1, the $400 late fee is non-negotiable and the Florida Division of Corporations does not waive it. Add $5.00 if you also want a Certificate of Status. Payment is by credit or debit card (posts within about 24 hours) or check/money order (up to 3 weeks to post). For LLCs the report is the same flat fee regardless of revenue, member count, or business activity.

What happens if I miss the May 1 Florida LLC deadline?

Two things. First, a $400 late fee gets added to your filing, total cost $538.75 instead of $138.75. Second, if you still haven't filed by the third Friday of September, the state administratively dissolves your LLC. Once dissolved, your liability shield is gone, your business name is held for only one year before anyone else can claim it, and you have to file for reinstatement ($100 plus each missed year's report fee) to restore the entity. The Florida Division of Corporations does not send certified mail notices. They send email reminders, which routinely land in spam.

What do I need to file the Florida LLC Annual Report?

Your entity's document number (6- or 12-digit number assigned at formation, on your original Sunbiz filing receipt), your FEIN (Federal Employer Identification Number 9 digits, no dashes), the LLC's principal place of business address (must be a street address, not a P.O. Box), a mailing address (can be a P.O. Box), the name and Florida street address of your registered agent, and the names of at least one manager or managing member. The annual report cannot change your entity name, name changes require a separate Articles of Amendment filing.

Can I be my own Florida LLC registered agent?

An LLC cannot be its own registered agent in Florida, but an individual member can serve as registered agent for their own LLC. The requirement is that the registered agent has a physical Florida street address (no P.O. Boxes) where they're available during normal business hours to accept legal service of process. If you live and work in Florida, listing yourself with your home or office street address is legal and free. Many small Florida LLCs do exactly this. If you move out of state or want a buffer between your home address and public records, commercial registered agent services run $100-$300/year.

Is the Florida LLC Annual Report fee tax-deductible?

Yes. The $138.75 filing fee (and any $400 late fee, if you missed the deadline) is a fully deductible ordinary and necessary business expense. Categorize it under 'Taxes and Licenses' on Schedule C (sole-member LLC taxed as disregarded entity) or on Form 1120-S Line 17 (LLC with S-Corp election). It's a small but legitimate deduction, track it in your bookkeeping the year you pay it.

Florida LLC Annual Report: Deadlines, Fees, and How to File

By Timothy LeGendre, CPA · Florida License #AC62625 · Published 2026-05-26 · Last reviewed 2026-08-20

A Florida CPA's guide to the Sunbiz LLC Annual Report, the May 1 deadline, $138.75 fee, $400 late penalty, what to file, and how to never miss it.

The yearly filing every Florida LLC owes, and most don't think about until April.

If you own a Florida LLC, you owe the state a $138.75 annual report every year by May 1. Miss it and the late fee is $400, almost 3× the on-time price. Miss it long enough and the state dissolves your LLC, your liability shield evaporates, and after a one-year hold your business name becomes available for anyone to claim.

None of that is a secret, but most Florida small-business owners only find out about the late fee the year they miss it. This guide covers what the annual report actually is, what to file, what trips people up, and how to never miss it again.

Written by a Florida CPA (license #AC62625, firm #AD72267). I handle annual reports for every bookkeeping client I have, the same way I'd want it handled if it were my LLC.

The basics, at a glance.

Item	Detail
Filing fee (on time)	$138.75
Filing fee (after May 1)	$538.75 ($400 late fee)
Deadline	May 1
Filing window opens	January 1
Where to file	sunbiz.org (Florida Division of Corporations)
Payment processing	Credit/debit: posts within ~24 hours. Check: up to 3 weeks.
Certificate of Status (optional)	+ $5.00
Administrative dissolution	3rd Friday of September if still unfiled

The deadline is hard. May 1 is May 1. It doesn't move for weekends or holidays. If May 1 falls on a Sunday, your filing was due Saturday April 30 or earlier. The state's late-fee billing does not care about weekends.

What you actually need to file.

Sunbiz pre-populates most of it from last year's filing. You're really just reviewing and confirming. Have these handy before you log in:

Your entity document number

The 6- or 12-digit number Sunbiz assigned when you formed the LLC. On your original filing receipt. Also searchable on sunbiz.org by entity name.

Your FEIN (Federal EIN)

9 digits, no dashes. From your IRS confirmation letter (CP-575) or your business tax return. If you originally filed as "Applied For," you must provide the actual number this year.

Principal place of business address

Must be a physical street address, not a P.O. Box. This is the address where the LLC actually operates, even if that's your home office.

Mailing address

Can be a P.O. Box if you want to keep the home address off the mailing record. Different from the principal place of business address.

Registered agent name + Florida street address

Florida physical street address only, no P.O. Boxes. The LLC cannot be its own registered agent. An individual member can serve as agent for their own LLC. If you're changing agents this year, the new agent must sign accepting the designation.

Manager or managing member name(s)

At least one is required. MGR = outside manager (not a member). MGRM = managing member (a member who also manages day-to-day). For single-member LLCs, you're the MGRM. The database holds up to 150 principals, call (850) 245-6056 if you have more.

Note: the annual report cannot change your entity name. Name changes require a separate Articles of Amendment filing, which is a different form and a different fee. Try to change the name on the annual report and Sunbiz will reject the filing without refunding the fee.

What trips people up.

Most annual reports are routine. The ones that aren't share a few common patterns:

Spam-filtered reminder emails

Sunbiz sends email reminders, not certified mail. The reminders routinely land in spam, especially if you registered the LLC at a Gmail address you barely check. Don't rely on the reminder; calendar May 1 as a hard deadline yourself.

"Applied For" FEIN from formation

If you formed the LLC before you had an EIN and entered "Applied For" on the original filing, this year's annual report needs the actual number. If you've never used the EIN, get it from your IRS confirmation letter or call the IRS Business Specialty Line at 1-800-829-4933 for a reissue.

Registered agent moved or died

If your registered agent moves out of Florida, retires, or passes away, you have 30 days to designate a new one, separate from the annual report. Many LLCs accidentally lose their agent and only discover it when they try to file the report and Sunbiz flags an invalid address.

Treating the certificate of status as required

The $5 Certificate of Status is optional. You only need it if a bank, landlord, or licensing board specifically asked for a recent one. Most LLCs don't need it most years.

Trying to change the entity name on the report

Name changes require a separate Articles of Amendment filing, which costs an additional $25. Adding a new name on the annual report rejects the filing and you forfeit the $138.75. File the amendment first; then file the annual report under the new name.

What happens if you keep ignoring it.

The Florida Division of Corporations doesn't chase you. It just dissolves your LLC. The timeline:

January 1

Filing window opens. You can file any time between now and May 1 for $138.75.

May 1

Deadline. Past this date, the fee jumps to $538.75 ($138.75 + $400 late fee).

May 2 - 3rd Friday in September

Late period. You can still file, but it costs $400 extra. The LLC remains in good standing as long as you file in this window.

3rd Friday in September

Administrative dissolution. The Florida Division of Corporations administratively dissolves the LLC. Your liability shield is gone. Sunbiz holds the entity name for one year after dissolution; after that, it becomes available for anyone else to claim. Bank accounts in the LLC's name may be flagged.

After dissolution

You can file for reinstatement: $100 reinstatement fee + $138.75 for each missed annual report year. Florida law allows reinstatement at any time after dissolution, but the one-year name hold means waiting can cost you the name.

Want me to handle annual reports automatically?

For monthly bookkeeping clients, the annual report goes on my calendar, filed by mid-March every year, before there's any deadline pressure. Handled as part of the engagement.

See bookkeeping services

Pick a time on my calendar. No obligation.

How to never miss it.

Pick one of these three approaches and the May 1 deadline becomes a non-event:

Calendar it as a hard recurring event.

Block out a 30-minute slot on March 1 every year (gives you 60 days of buffer before the May 1 deadline). Have the document number, FEIN, and registered-agent details in a single doc you reference yearly. Filing actually takes 10 minutes once you have the data ready.

Use a commercial registered agent service.

Most commercial registered agents ($100-$300/year) send their own deadline reminders separate from Sunbiz, and many will file the annual report on your behalf for an additional $50-$100. Worth it if you have a history of missing deadlines or if you operate multiple LLCs.

Have your bookkeeper or CPA handle it.

If you have monthly bookkeeping with a CPA, ask whether annual reports are included. For my clients, they are, filed automatically by mid-March every year, no separate fee. Same answer for most full-service CPA-managed engagements.

Whichever approach you pick, the actual filing is straightforward, Sunbiz pre-fills last year's data, you review/update, you pay the $138.75, you get a confirmation email. The hard part is remembering it exists. Build it into a system that doesn't depend on Sunbiz's reminder email reaching your inbox.

Related Florida small-business filings.

The annual report is one of three filings every Florida LLC owner should understand:

Frequently asked questions

When is the Florida LLC Annual Report due?: May 1st of every year. Florida runs a calendar-year filing window, January 1 to May 1, and the deadline does not move for weekends or holidays. Miss it and the late fee is $400, almost 3× the standard filing fee. The report is filed electronically through Sunbiz (sunbiz.org), the Florida Division of Corporations website. You can file as early as January 1 if you want it out of the way.
How much does the Florida LLC Annual Report cost?: $138.75 if filed on time (between January 1 and May 1). $538.75 if filed after May 1, the $400 late fee is non-negotiable and the Florida Division of Corporations does not waive it. Add $5.00 if you also want a Certificate of Status. Payment is by credit or debit card (posts within about 24 hours) or check/money order (up to 3 weeks to post). For LLCs the report is the same flat fee regardless of revenue, member count, or business activity.
What happens if I miss the May 1 Florida LLC deadline?: Two things. First, a $400 late fee gets added to your filing, total cost $538.75 instead of $138.75. Second, if you still haven't filed by the third Friday of September, the state administratively dissolves your LLC. Once dissolved, your liability shield is gone, your business name is held for only one year before anyone else can claim it, and you have to file for reinstatement ($100 plus each missed year's report fee) to restore the entity. The Florida Division of Corporations does not send certified mail notices. They send email reminders, which routinely land in spam.
What do I need to file the Florida LLC Annual Report?: Your entity's document number (6- or 12-digit number assigned at formation, on your original Sunbiz filing receipt), your FEIN (Federal Employer Identification Number 9 digits, no dashes), the LLC's principal place of business address (must be a street address, not a P.O. Box), a mailing address (can be a P.O. Box), the name and Florida street address of your registered agent, and the names of at least one manager or managing member. The annual report cannot change your entity name, name changes require a separate Articles of Amendment filing.
Can I be my own Florida LLC registered agent?: An LLC cannot be its own registered agent in Florida, but an individual member can serve as registered agent for their own LLC. The requirement is that the registered agent has a physical Florida street address (no P.O. Boxes) where they're available during normal business hours to accept legal service of process. If you live and work in Florida, listing yourself with your home or office street address is legal and free. Many small Florida LLCs do exactly this. If you move out of state or want a buffer between your home address and public records, commercial registered agent services run $100-$300/year.
Is the Florida LLC Annual Report fee tax-deductible?: Yes. The $138.75 filing fee (and any $400 late fee, if you missed the deadline) is a fully deductible ordinary and necessary business expense. Categorize it under 'Taxes and Licenses' on Schedule C (sole-member LLC taxed as disregarded entity) or on Form 1120-S Line 17 (LLC with S-Corp election). It's a small but legitimate deduction, track it in your bookkeeping the year you pay it.

Timothy LeGendre CPA LLC | Florida CPA License #AC62625 (firm #AD72267) | Mount Dora, FL | (407) 417-1064 | Contact