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How to Get a Certificate of Good Standing in Florida
Florida calls it the Certificate of Status and charges $5. Here is how to order it and what must be current first.
At a glance
- Document name
- Certificate of Status
- State fee
- $5
- Online ordering
- Yes
- Typical turnaround
- Ordered online at Sunbiz the certificate is generated when payment clears and emailed as a PDF, and stays available for reprint for 24 hours from creation. Florida publishes no turnaround for a written request by post. It publishes a processed-through date instead, and on 14 August 2026 it was working certification requests received on 5 August, about seven business days behind. No expedited certification service is offered
- Issuing office
- Florida SOS ↗
How to order it
- Clear any past-due filings first. Check your entity status with the Florida SOS and resolve the requirements below. Tax clearance may be a separate document.
- Order it online. Search your LLC in the Florida portal, request the certificate, and download it. Link in the table above.
- Pay the $5 fee. Confirm payment methods and the total in the official portal; extra fees may apply.
- Use it inside the recipient's window. The certificate has no state expiration, but banks and other states usually want one dated within the last 30 to 90 days. Order it close to when you need it.
Would rather not deal with the agency yourself?
CorpNet orders the certificate for you
$69 service fee, plus the Florida state fee shown above · A filing service, not a registered agent. Ordering it yourself is cheaper and the steps above are the whole process.
Full ordering details for Florida
Florida issues a "Certificate of Status" through the Department of State Division of Corporations (Sunbiz), using the same name and the same $5 fee for domestic and foreign LLCs. The $8.75 rate applies to corporations and to every partnership type, so the LLC is the cheap entity here. The fee is set by Fla. Stat. 605.0213(12). Order online at dos.fl.gov/sunbiz and the certificate is emailed as a PDF once payment processes; post costs the same. You can also add a Certificate of Status to your annual report filing (LLC annual report is $138.75) by ticking the box. The annual report is due between 1 January and 1 May; missing it costs a $400 late penalty and brings administrative dissolution after the third Friday in September. A certified copy of record is a separate $30.
Important to know about Florida
- Florida charges different fees by entity type - $5 for LLCs, $8.75 for corporations and limited partnerships. Many third-party guides only cite the $8.75 figure.
- The annual report ($138.75 for LLCs) must be current before a Certificate of Status will be issued. At $138.75 it is the sixth highest annual report fee of the 37 states that charge one.
- Florida adds a $400 late fee if the annual report is filed after May 1 - one of the steepest late penalties in the country. If unpaid by the third Friday in September, the LLC is administratively dissolved.
- Payment is processed by NIC Services (Tyler Payment Services) - the credit card statement will read "NIC DOS DIVISION OF CORP" rather than Florida Department of State. Save the receipt as it contains tracking info.
- If your business is in "Inactive" status with Sunbiz, you cannot order a Certificate of Status until you reinstate (which requires filing all missed annual reports plus the $100 reinstatement fee per missed year).
This page provides general information based on publicly available Florida Secretary of State requirements. It is not legal advice. Names, fees, and procedures can change. Verify with the Florida SOS before ordering.