Florida Entity Search

A field guide to the public business registry, written beside the official search.

Florida Entity Search

Florida registered agent lookup

Quick answer. Every Florida corporation and LLC names a registered agent with a Florida street address on its Sunbiz record. Search the entity, read the agent block on the detail page, and treat that block as the location where service of process is sent. Changing the agent is a Division filing, either on the annual report or on a separate form.

Official office

Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations

Open the official search

Phone: (850) 245-6052

The Centre of Tallahassee, 2415 N. Monroe Street, Suite 810, Tallahassee, FL 32303

The Sunbiz name search is online. Division phone lines are staffed on state business days.

Steps

  1. Search the entity, not the agent’s marketing name

    Open the Sunbiz name search and find the company. The agent is a field on that company’s page. An agent search is useful later, when you want every entity listing the same agent.

  2. Read the street address

    The registered office is a Florida street address. A post office box alone does not satisfy the requirement. If the address is a commercial registered-agent service, the company can still be valid. The agent is not the owner.

  3. Match the agent to the latest filing

    An old article of organization can show an agent the company replaced on a later annual report. Use the agent printed on the current detail page, which reflects the latest accepted filing.

  4. Change the agent on the Division’s form

    During annual-report season the report itself can name a new agent and office. At other times, file the registered-agent change and pay the fee on the fee schedule. Resignation of an agent is a different form, with a different fee for active and inactive corporations.

What the agent is for

The registered agent accepts legal papers for the entity. Florida lawsuits and state notices go to that address. The agent does not, by that appointment alone, have authority to sell the company, sign a loan, or amend the articles.

Commercial agents often appear on hundreds of records. Seeing a familiar agent service on a sunbiz business search is normal. It is not proof the company is in good standing. Status is a separate line.

If the agent quit

An agent can resign by filing with the Division. The entity then has a limited time, set by statute, to appoint a new one. Until the new appointment posts, the Sunbiz page may show a resignation event in the history. Do not serve a lawsuit to an address the history shows as resigned without reading the current block and the statute that applies.

Common mistakes

  • Emailing the agent’s old address from a cached copy of Sunbiz.
  • Listing a registered agent in another state on a Florida LLC.
  • Confusing the registered agent with the officers named lower on the same page.

Questions

Can I look up a Florida registered agent by the agent’s name?

Yes. The Division’s inquiry includes a registered-agent search. You still open each entity if you need its status or document number.

Does the annual report update the agent?

It can. The Division’s annual-report instructions list a change of registered agent and registered office among the updates the report accepts.

Who answers agent-change questions?

Corporation amendments, including many agent changes, are listed at 850-245-6050 on the Division’s contact page. New filings use 850-245-6052.

Sources reviewed