Florida Articles of Incorporation Profit Corporation

The Florida Articles of Incorporation Profit Corporation will be required by the Florida Secretary of State in order for an entity to operate as a stock or profit corporation. The articles will need to be filled out and submitted to the Florida Secretary of State’s Division of Corporation department. The original and the copy will both need to be submitted along with full payment of any applicable fees and any supporting or required documentation. The filing fee for the Florida Articles of Incorporation Profit Corporation is $35.00 and the Designation of Registered Agent Fee is $35.00. Both of these fees must be paid at the time of submittal. There are two additional options an Incorporator may purchase. The first is obtaining a certified Copy of the articles which are prices at $8.75 for the first eight pages with each page over costing an additional $1.00. The maximum is set at $52.50. Also one may attain a Certificate of Status for an additional $8.75. The submittal package and payment may be submitted by mail or electronically. You must pay by check (payable to Florida Department of State) when submitting by mail. If submitting electronically you may pay by American Express, Discover, MasterCard, an established Sunbiz E-file Account, or Visa. It should be noted that if submitting electronically, you may not change any information once you have submitted it. The submittal operates in real time.

How To File By Mail

Step 1 – Go to the Florida Secretary of State’s Division of Corporations Domestic Articles of Incorporation page located here: http://form.sunbiz.org/cor_form.html. Then locate the link next to the number 1 and labeled Profit Articles of Incorporation. Selecting this link will allow you to download the proper form. Step 2 – Each Florida Articles of Incorporation must be accompanied with a cover page. The Florida Profit Articles of Incorporation. Locate the first line on this cover page then document the corporation name the forming entity shall form. This name must be unique and must contain one of these suffixes: Corporation, Corp., Incorporated, Inc., Company, or Co. If this is a professional association the words Chartered, Professional Association, or P.A. must be present in the name. Step 3 – Next you must indicate the payment amount enclosed and the services requested. This may be done by checking one of the boxes below the Name Line. You must choose one of these boxes. If you merely wish to file these articles then select the first box, labeled “$70.00 Filing Fee.” If you would like to receive a Certificate Status then you must choose the second box labeled “$78.75 Filing Fee & Certificate Status.” Next to these choices will be two additional options one to obtain a certified copy of the articles and one to obtain a certified copy for the articles with a Certificate of Status, requiring a payment of $78.75 and $87.50 respectively.  Note, you must submit two copies of the articles regardless of which box you check. Step 4 – Next locate the line beginning with “From.” Here enter your printed or typed Name, Address, City/State/Zip Code, Daytime Phone Number, and E-mail Address. Step 5 – The next page shall be the Florida Articles of Incorporation Profit Corporation page. In the first article, document the name of the corporation being formed. This must be the same exact name as that listed in the Subject line of the cover letter. Step 6 – In Article II, report the full Street Address of the Principal Office of the corporation in the first column. In the second column, enter the full Mailing Address of the Principal office. Step 7 – In Article III. explain the purpose of this corporation. That is, why it is being formed and how it will conduct its business in the State of Florida. Step 8 – In Article IV, enter the total number of shares this corporation has been authorized to issue. Step 9 – In Article V, report the Full Name, Title, and Address of each Initial Officer and/or Director. There will be enough room to report on eight however if there are more they should be documented on a separate sheet of paper then attached to this form. Step 10 – In Article VI, enter the Full Name of the Registered Agent for this corporation. Then on the second line, enter the Full Address of the Registered Agent of this corporation. Step 11 – In Article VII, the Full Name and Address of the Incorporator of this corporation must be filled in. Step 12 – In Article VIII, there will be an option to name a date different from the filing date to be the Effective Date. If you choose this option bear in mind the effective date must be within five business days before the date of submission or not more than ninety business days after the filing date. Step 13 – Locate the paragraph eginning with “Having been named.”  Here the Registered Agent must sign his or her name as an acknowledgement of their responsibility in delivering service of process documents should the corporation be sued. Beside this, the Registered Agent must provide the Date of his or her signature. Step 14 – Below the paragraph beginning with the words “I submit this document…” the Incorporator must sign his/her name then provide a Date for this signature. Step 15 – You may submit the articles and supporting documentation, in duplicate, with the full payment of all applicable fees (payable by check made out to “Florida Secretary of State”) by mail to: Department of State Division of Corporations P.O. Box 6327 Tallahassee, FL 32314 or if using a courier, have it dropped off to: Department of State Division of Corporations Clifton Building 2661 Executive Center Circle Tallahassee, FL 32301   How To File Electronically   Step 1 – Go to the Florida Secretary of State’s Division of Corporations home page here: https://articlesofincorporation.org/wp-admin/post.php?post=2446&action=edit&message=1. Then on the left side locate the link labeled “Electronic Filing” and select it with your mouse. This will direct the browser to the “Electronic Filing” page. Step 2 – Under the heading “On-Line Filing,” select the link labeled “New Florida For Profit Corporation.” This will direct the browser to the Disclosure and Acknowledgement page for this online form. Step 3 – Read the disclosure carefully, then check the a box next to the acknowledgement statement. Once this is done you may select the button “Add Filing & Pay Fee.” This will open the online form that needs to be submitted to the Secretary of State Division of Corporations.   Step 3 – The first area that may require attention is under the heading “Filing Information.”  If you wish the Effective Date of these articles to be on a specific day, report this on the first line. Any such date may range from five business days before filing to ninety business days after filing. If you do not desire a specific Effective Date, leave the first line blank. Step 4 – Next, locate the line with the words “Required Filing Fees: $70.00.” You will have an opportunity below this line to indicate if you would like to receive a Certificate of Status and/or Certified copy of the articles being submitted. Each one will cost $8.75 and must be paid in full, with the filing fee, at the time of submittal. Step 5 – In the text box labeled “Corporate Name,” enter the full name of the corporation being formed. This must be a unique name that is compliant with Florida State Laws. For instance it must have the words Corporation, Incorporated, or Company. If preferred, you may choose an abbreviation such as Corp., Inc., or Co. Some entities such as professional corporations will need any of the words in the name Chartered, Professional Association, or P.A. Step 6 – In the next text box enter the total number of shares this corporation has been authorized to issue. Step 7 – Under the heading “Principal Place of Business,” enter the Street Address of the principal office for this corporation. This should consist of a Street Address, Suite/Apartment Number, City and State, and the Zip Code. This must be the address where the corporation is physically located. Step 8 – The next section will give the opportunity to report on the Mailing Address, if it differs from the physical address listed above. If it is the same, place a check mark in the box labeled “Mailing address same as principal address.” If the Mailing Address does differ from the physical street address, then leave this box blank and enter the Mailing Address in the appropriately labeled text boxes below this beginning with the one labeled “Address.” Step 9 – The “Name and Address of Registered Agent” must be reported on the articles of incorporation in the State of Florida. The Registered Agent in this state may be an individual who is either associated with or not associated with the forming corporation or a separate business entity that is currently active. A corporation may not serve as its own corporation. This section will give an opportunity to name one Registered Agent. If this is an individual, then next to the word “Name,” enter the individual who has agreed to be the Registered Agent or you may enter the name of a business entity next to the words “Business to serve as RA.” Below enter the full address the Registered Agent maintains. Note this must be a Florida Address. The box below this section will give the opportunity for the Registered Agent to deliver his/her/its electronic signature (as per 831.06 Florida Statutes). Step 10 – Under the heading “Incorporator Name and Address,” enter the Full Name of the Incorporator on the first line. On the second and third line, enter the Incorporator’s Street Address and Suite, Apt. #. Then on the third line enter the City, State, and Zip Code of the Incorporator. The Incorporator must provide his/her electronic signature in the box below the address section. Step 11 – In the “Corporate Purpose” section, check the box labeled “Corporate purpose is ‘Any and all lawful businesses” if this is not a professional association. If this is a professional association then leave this box blank and enter the purpose professional association being formed in the text box provided. Step 12 – In the “Correspondence Name and E-mail Address” report your Full Name in the first text box. In the second text box, enter your E-mail Address, then in the third box re-enter your E-mail Address. This must be accurate since you will receive future correspondence at the E-mail address provided here, including future annual report notices. Step 13 – In the section labeled Officer/Director Name and Address, report the initial Officers/Directors of this forming entity. Each entry will require the Title, either the Full Name of an Individual or Business Entity serving as an Officer, and the Full Address of this party. Step 14 – Make sure all of the information has been reported accurately, once you select “Continue” you will be prompted for a payment and may not return to correct any errors. Furthermore, this submittal will occur in real time. Payment must be made in full for all applicable charges by a major credit card (American Express, Discover, MasterCard, or Visa) or an established Sunbiz account (you will be prompted to log in if you have not done so).