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Sunbiz search 2026

Sunbiz search: find any Florida company, read its record and prove its status

Updated 13 November 2026Fees from the Division's October 2026 listAbout 9 minutes to read
The short answer

Search free on Sunbiz, the Florida Division of Corporations database, by company name, a person's name, a registered agent, an EIN, a document number or an address. Every LLC record names at least one manager or authorized person, with an address, and lists its last three annual reports.

A certificate of status costs US$5 and arrives by email as a PDF that anyone can test online.

Open Sunbiz Decode a status word
Search doors 9 different searches lead into the same Sunbiz record Seven of them work without knowing the company's name: a person, an agent, an EIN, a number or a street is enough.

An invoice from a Florida LLC just landed, or you're about to form one yourself. Either way, the answer sits on Sunbiz, and Florida puts more there than most states: real names, real addresses and a yearly paper trail.

What to know first

  • Nine search types, free, with no account. Seven of them start from something other than the company's name.
  • The detail page shows managers or authorized persons, the agent, both addresses, the last three annual reports and every filing as a PDF.
  • Active is the only reassuring status. The Division's own list has six other words, from Inactive/UA to Cross Ref.
  • A certificate of status is US$5, ordered with nothing more than the document number and an email address.
  • Members who don't manage stay off the record, but somebody with authority to manage is named every single year.
Chapter 1

Which Sunbiz search to use, depending on what you know

Most people type a company name and stop there. Pick what you actually have in hand and Sunbiz has a door for it.

The same Search Records page also covers Florida trademarks, fictitious names (Florida's version of a trading name), partnerships and judgment liens. A trading name that shows up only as a fictitious name isn't a company; look for the owner behind it.

Sunbiz may show a security check screen before the search appears. That screen belongs to the state's site, and a normal browser passes it; heavy automated tools don't.

1
Key takeaway

Know a person but not their company? Search Officer/Registered Agent as Last Name, First Name.

Chapter 2

The Sunbiz detail page, read line by line

123

Click a result and Sunbiz opens one long page. It looks plain, but every block answers a question you'd otherwise have to ask the company.

  • 1Document number. Six or twelve characters, assigned at filing. It survives a name change, so it's the safest way to be sure you mean the same company.
  • 2FEI/EIN. The IRS number, when the company reports one. A brand new LLC often has none yet.
  • 3Status and Last Event. Last Event names the latest filing, such as an amendment, a reinstatement or a dissolution.
  • 4Registered agent. Where court papers go, often a formation firm's Florida office. It says nothing about who owns the company.
  • 5Authorized persons. Name, address and title code for each manager or authorized member. Chapter 4 decodes the codes.
  • 6Annual reports. The year and filing date of the last three. A missing year means a report filed late or never.

The Division's search guide lists the same blocks. Corporations show "Officer/Director Detail" where an LLC shows authorized persons; the idea is the same.

2
Key takeaway

Three recent annual reports in a row is the quickest sign of a company someone actually looks after.

Chapter 3

Sunbiz status words, and the yearly clock behind them

Florida publishes its own explanation of status terms. It's brief, so here's what each word means when money is about to change hands.

Active

The entity exists and is current on the state's books.

Run the five minute check in chapter 6, then deal normally.

Inactive

No longer active: dissolved by the state or its owners, or withdrawn. The Last Event line usually says which.

Don't pay it until you see a reinstatement filed.

Inactive/UA

Inactive, and the name is held for a statutory period, so nobody else can take it yet.

Wanted the name? It isn't free until the hold ends.

Inactive/MG

Ended by a merger into another entity.

Find the survivor; the debts and contracts usually moved with it.

Inactive/CV

Ended by converting into a different kind of entity.

Search for the new form, often under a similar name.

Name HS

A former name of the entity, not a separate company.

Click through to the current name before relying on it.

Cross Ref

The entity's name in its home state, where it registered in Florida under a different one.

Look it up in the home state too.

How an Active Florida LLC turns Inactive

The annual report opens on 1 January. Miss the window and the price jumps, then the state acts in September.

1 Jan1 May3rd Fri Sep4th Fri US$138.75report window US$538.75with the US$400 late fee Inactivedissolved by the state
  • 1 Jan to 1 MayUS$138.75, the report window
  • After 1 MayUS$538.75, with the US$400 late fee
  • 3rd Friday of SeptemberLast day to file
  • 4th Friday of SeptemberDissolved by the state: Inactive

In 2027 those September dates are the 17th and the 24th. Reinstating costs US$100 plus each missed year's report, on the LLC fee list. Our Florida annual report guide has the rest.

3
Key takeaway

Only Active is good. An Inactive record with a fresh Last Event needs a phone call, not a payment.

Chapter 4

AMBR, MGR, AP: what the title codes on Sunbiz mean

AMBRMGRAP

Sunbiz squeezes every role into a few letters. One person holding several jobs gets them run together, so PDST means president, director, secretary and treasurer at once. Type any code you've seen.

    Codes come from the Division's title abbreviations list, which says itself that it isn't complete. On an LLC, three do nearly all the work: MGR, AMBR and AP.

    4
    Key takeaway

    AMBR points to an owner. MGR and AP only prove authority, not ownership.

    Chapter 5

    Florida certificate of status, certified copies and apostilles

    $5

    Banks, payment firms and landlords rarely accept a screenshot. Florida's paper proof is cheap, and the cheapest one is usually enough.

    US$0US$5US$10US$30 Record and PDFsCertificate of statusApostille, eachCertified copy
    Florida certificates and copies, 2026
    You needOrderCost
    To see it existsThe detail page and its document imagesFree
    Proof it's active todayCertificate of status, online, emailed as a PDFUS$5
    A filing a court or bank can rely onCertified copy, by written requestUS$30
    Proof for use abroadApostille on the certificate or certified copy, by mailUS$10 each, so US$15 or US$40 in all
    1. Open the online order

      The Division's certificate of status page. You don't need to own the company.

      US$5
    2. Enter the document number and an email

      The 6 or 12 character number from the detail page.

    3. Pay by card

      Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Discover, a debit card, or a prepaid Sunbiz account.

    4. Test what you receive

      The Check Certificate of Status tool confirms a certificate someone sends you is genuine.

    Where will the certificate be used? your country

    Showing a certificate abroad usually means adding an apostille. We quote that with the certificate.

    5
    Key takeaway

    Five dollars and a document number get anyone a certificate of status by email.

    Chapter 6

    Checking a Florida company in five minutes before you pay it

    Tick each one as you go. None of them costs anything except the last, and that's five dollars the other side should happily pay.

    0 of 6 done

    One more habit: search the manager's name under Officer/Registered Agent. A long tail of inactive companies under the same person tells you more than any one record.

    6
    Key takeaway

    Name, status, a recent report and the right person: four free checks catch most problems.

    Chapter 7

    What Sunbiz will show about your own Florida LLC

    Forming in Florida from abroad? Then the page above will one day carry your company. Here's exactly what lands on it, and what never does.

    Public on Sunbiz

    • Company name and document numberFrom day one
    • Principal and mailing addressYour office abroad
    • Registered agentOurs, in Florida
    • At least one manager or authorized person, with an addressEvery annual report
    • The articles, and each annual report as a PDFFree to view

    Never filed in Florida

    • members who don't manage
    • ownership percentages
    • the operating agreement
    • bank details
    • your passport

    Your name appears if you manage the LLC yourself, which is what most banks expect to see. If you'd rather it didn't:

    A holding company as managerYour own company is named instead of you. Quoted first, since it depends on the holding.
    A nominee manager, US$480 a yearA professional is named on state filings. Never a way to hide an owner from banks or authorities: the IRS still knows the responsible party. How nominees work.

    Expect your details to travel. The Division offers free daily and quarterly data files of its records, and data sites republish them. That's why the same lines turn up far from Sunbiz.

    7
    Key takeaway

    Florida names a manager every year. Choose deliberately whose name that is.

    Chapter 8

    Sunbiz questions, answered

    ?
    Is Sunbiz search free?
    Yes. Searching, the detail page and the document images cost nothing and need no account. You pay only for a certificate of status (US$5) or a certified copy (US$30).
    Can I find the owner of a Florida LLC on Sunbiz?
    Sometimes. Managers and authorized members appear by name, so a member who manages shows up. A member who doesn't manage is never filed, and a manager can be a company or a nominee.
    What does Inactive/UA mean on Sunbiz?
    The company is inactive and its name is held for a statutory period, so it's unavailable to anyone else for now.
    How do I get a Florida certificate of status?
    Order it online with the document number and an email address, pay US$5 by card or a prepaid Sunbiz account, and it arrives as a PDF.
    What is a Florida document number?
    The 6 or 12 character number the Division assigns when an entity files. Use the digit zero, never the letter O, when you search by it.
    Can I download Sunbiz data in bulk?
    Yes. The Division publishes free daily files of new filings and quarterly files of all active entities.
    Do you form Florida LLCs?
    Yes: US$254 in year one, then US$207.75 a year, with the agent, an EIN without an SSN and the annual report filed before 1 May.

    Changelog

    • 13 November 2026: first published.
    Your own Florida LLC

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