Florida Registered Agent Requirements Under the Florida Revised LLC Act

Every LLC formed in Florida must designate a registered agent as part of the formation process. The governing provision is Fla. Stat. § 605.0113, and the requirement has no exceptions: your Articles of Organization (form CR2E047) cannot be filed without an agent, and the LLC must keep one continuously for as long as it exists.

What a Registered Agent Does in Florida

The registered agent is your LLC's official point of legal contact. In practice, the agent receives:

• Service of process. If your LLC is sued, the complaint and summons are served on the registered agent, and service on the agent counts as valid service on the LLC. A served document nobody sees can become a default judgment.
• Division of Corporations correspondence. Annual report reminders, administrative notices, and compliance warnings.
• Department of Revenue notices. Tax-related correspondence from the Florida DOR.
• Other agency communications. Notices from DBPR, the Department of Health, or other regulators depending on your industry.
• Third-party legal filings. Subpoenas, demand letters, and other documents requiring formal delivery.

The agent must be available to accept these during regular business hours at the registered office address on file.

Who Can Serve Under Fla. Stat. § 605.0113

Eligible:

• An individual who resides in Florida, maintaining a Florida street address
• An authorized entity: a domestic company, or a foreign one authorized to transact business in Florida

In either case, the agent's business address must be identical to the registered office street address. That identical-address language is Florida's distinctive twist: the agent does not merely need an address in the state, the agent's business address and your registered office must be one and the same.

Not eligible:

• The LLC itself. Florida law does not permit an LLC to name itself as its own registered agent.
• A non-resident individual, even one who owns Florida property or keeps a Florida mailing address while living elsewhere.
• An entity with no Florida authorization.

Eligible but often misunderstood:

• A member or manager can serve, if they are a Florida resident with a qualifying street address. Common for single-member LLCs.
• An employee can serve on the same conditions.

Address rules:

• A physical street address in Florida
• No P.O. boxes
• No virtual addresses unless there is a real suite where someone can accept hand-delivered documents during business hours
• The address is public record on Sunbiz, visible to anyone who looks up your LLC

Designating Your Registered Agent

The agent is designated in your Articles of Organization (form CR2E047) at the time of filing. The $125 formation total already includes the $25 registered agent designation fee.

You will provide:

1. Whether the agent is an individual or a business entity
2. The agent's full legal name
3. The agent's physical Florida street address
4. The agent's acceptance of the designation

Critical: The agent must consent before you list them. Filing someone's name without their agreement violates the filing requirements and can leave your LLC without valid representation when it matters.

Why Use a Professional Registered Agent Service

You or a fellow member can lawfully serve, yet many Florida owners hire it out:

• Privacy. Your home address stays off Sunbiz, which anyone can search for free. The service's commercial address appears instead.
• Reliability. Someone is present every business day. Serving yourself means being physically at the registered office during business hours; a vacation or an errand is all it takes to miss a process server.
• Lawsuit handling. A served complaint is forwarded immediately with the response deadline flagged, instead of sitting in a pile.
• Deadline protection. Reminders ahead of the May 1 annual report deadline are worth real money in Florida, where filing late costs a non-waivable $400 and continued default ends in administrative dissolution.
• Address stability. Move house and nothing changes on the public record, because the service's address stays put.

Our registered agent service is $99 per year, with same-day digital forwarding of everything we receive. Form through us for $199 and the first year of agent service is included.

Changing Your Registered Agent

To change agents after formation, file the Statement of Change of Registered Office or Registered Agent or Both, form INHS18, with the Division of Corporations. The fee for an LLC is $25. Do not confuse it with the corporation version of the same filing, which runs $35. You can also make the change as part of your annual report filing.

The new agent must accept the designation. Common reasons to switch:

• Moving from self-service to a professional agent for privacy or coverage
• Your current agent moved out of Florida
• The member serving as agent left the LLC

See our change registered agent guide for the step-by-step process.

What Happens Without a Valid Agent

If your agent resigns, moves away, or goes dark:

1. The Division may send notices to your last known address
2. Service of process may be attempted at your principal office
3. Florida procedure allows substitute service in some cases, meaning a lawsuit can proceed on documents you never personally received
4. Continued failure to maintain an agent invites administrative action against the LLC

None of these are good outcomes. A valid, responsive registered agent is baseline equipment for a Florida LLC.

FAQ

Can my LLC be its own registered agent?

No. Under Fla. Stat. § 605.0113 the LLC cannot designate itself. An individual member or manager who is a Florida resident with a qualifying street address can serve, but the entity itself cannot appear in the agent box.

What happens if my registered agent misses a document?

The process server documents the failed attempt, and the plaintiff can turn to alternative service methods that Florida procedure authorizes. The lawsuit proceeds either way, and your LLC may first learn of it after a default judgment is already entered.

What does a Florida registered agent service charge?

Ours is $99 per year, including same-day digital forwarding, annual report reminders ahead of the May 1 deadline, and a commercial address on your Sunbiz record in place of your home address. The first year is included when we handle your $199 formation.

Can I use a residential address for my registered agent?

Yes, if it is a physical Florida street address where someone is present during business hours. Many single-member owners start this way. The trade is that the home address becomes public record on Sunbiz.

Does the registered agent need to be in the same city as my business?

No. The agent can be anywhere in Florida; the address does not need to match your business location. What matters is a physical Florida street address, identical to the registered office, with someone available during business hours.