A Florida Certificate of Status is a document issued by the Florida Division of Corporations confirming that your LLC, corporation, or other registered entity is active and current on its state filings. You can order one online at Sunbiz.org in a few minutes for as little as $5, and the PDF usually arrives by email almost immediately.
What the Certificate Actually Confirms
The certificate is a snapshot of your entity’s compliance on the day it’s issued. It states your entity’s legal name, the date it was organized under Florida law, whether all fees owed to the Division have been paid, and whether the most recent annual report has been filed.1Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 605.0211 – Certificate of Status
It also discloses whether the entity has been administratively dissolved or has filed articles of dissolution. So the document works both ways: if your entity has lapsed, the certificate will say so rather than paper over the problem. It carries the seal of the Florida Department of State.
You’ll sometimes hear it called a Certificate of Good Standing. Same document. What it is not is a certified copy of your articles of incorporation or organization. Those are separate filings you’d order if someone needs your formation documents themselves.
When You’ll Be Asked for One
Banks nearly always request a Certificate of Status when you open a business account, and lenders run the same check before approving a loan or line of credit. It also comes up during business sales, mergers, and acquisitions, when the buyer wants confirmation the entity is in good standing before closing. Government contracts and some business license renewals require one as well.
Expanding into another state is another common trigger. Most states ask for a current certificate from your home state as part of foreign qualification. Florida itself requires incoming foreign LLCs to submit a certificate from their home state issued within the last 90 days.2Florida Department of State. Foreign Limited Liability Company Registration Instructions
The certificate itself has no printed expiration date, but the party asking for it usually wants one dated within the past 30 to 90 days. If yours is older than that, order fresh.
How to Order Online
The fastest route is Sunbiz.org, the Division of Corporations website.3Florida Department of State. Order Certificate of Status You need two things before you start: your entity’s document number and a valid email address.
The document number is a 6- or 12-digit identifier assigned when your entity was first filed. If you don’t have it, search for your business by name on the Sunbiz entity search page and it will appear next to your entity’s status.4Florida Department of State. Corporation Records
On the order page, enter the document number, add your email, and pick the certificate type. Payment options include Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, debit cards carrying a Visa or MasterCard logo, and prepaid Sunbiz E-File accounts. The certificate arrives as a PDF in your inbox once payment clears. For most orders it’s essentially instant.
Ordering by Mail
You can mail a written request to the Certification Section, Division of Corporations, P.O. Box 6327, Tallahassee, FL 32314.5Florida Department of State. Telephone Numbers, Addresses and Email Include your entity’s name, its Florida document number, the type of certificate you need, and a check or money order payable to the Florida Department of State.6Florida Department of State. Certificate of Status – Request by Mail
Mail requests run weeks behind the online path once you add processing and postage. The Division posts current turnaround times on its document processing dates page.7Florida Department of State. Document Processing Dates If you have a deadline, order online.
Fees by Entity Type
The fee is the same whether you order online or by mail.8Florida Department of State. Fees
- LLC: $5.00
- Profit corporation: $8.75
- Nonprofit corporation: $8.75
- Limited partnership: $8.75
- General partnership: $8.75
- Fictitious name registration: $10.00
Stay Current or the Certificate Won’t Help
You cannot get a clean Certificate of Status if you’ve fallen behind on annual reports. Every Florida LLC, corporation, and limited partnership must file an annual report through Sunbiz.org each year. The LLC report costs $138.75.9Florida Department of State. LLC Fees Profit corporations pay $150, and nonprofits pay $61.25.8Florida Department of State. Fees
Reports filed after May 1 trigger a $400 late fee. If you still haven’t filed by the third Friday in September, the Division will administratively dissolve or revoke your entity by the close of business on the fourth Friday of September.10Florida Department of State. File Annual Report Any Certificate of Status issued after that will show the entity as dissolved rather than active.
If Your Entity Has Already Been Dissolved
Administrative dissolution isn’t permanent. You can reinstate through Sunbiz.org at any time after the dissolution date, and reinstatement is available for LLCs, corporations, limited partnerships, and limited liability limited partnerships.11Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 605.0715 – Reinstatement The cost is the pinch: a base reinstatement fee plus a penalty for each missed annual report.
- Profit corporation: $600 reinstatement fee plus $150 per missed report year
- Nonprofit corporation: $175 reinstatement fee plus $61.25 per missed report year
- LLC: $100 reinstatement fee plus $138.75 per missed report year
An LLC dissolved for three years, for example, owes $100 plus $138.75 for each missed report, totaling $516.25.12Florida Department of State. File Reinstatement
If your entity was dissolved less than a year ago and you pay by credit card or prepaid Sunbiz account, reinstatement posts immediately. Entities dissolved for more than a year should allow two to three business days. Once reinstated, the legal effect reaches back to the dissolution date, so the entity is treated as if the dissolution never happened.13Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 607.1422 – Reinstatement Following Administrative Dissolution You can order a Certificate of Status at the same time you file for reinstatement to confirm the restored active status.
Verifying a Certificate Someone Gives You
If a counterparty hands you a Certificate of Status and you want to confirm it’s real, every certificate includes a tracking number printed at the bottom. Enter that number on the Division’s Certificate of Status Authentication page and the system will tell you whether it’s genuine.14Florida Department of State. Certificate of Status Authentication The tool works only for Certificates of Status, not for other certified documents the Division issues.