Guide
After your Florida company is formed
The state has stamped the articles. This is what comes next, in the order most owners handle it, and who does each part.
Updated 8 October 2026
The short version
- Get the EIN. Nothing at a bank moves without it.
- Put the ownership terms in writing. Florida does not ask you to file an operating agreement, but banks often ask to see one, and it is what governs the company between its owners.
- Open the bank account in the company's name and keep company money in it. The bank decides what it requires.
- Put May 1 of next year on the calendar. That is the first annual report.
- Check the registrations that depend on what the company does: Florida taxes, a local business tax receipt and any license for your industry.
The EIN
The Employer Identification Number is the company's federal tax number. If an owner has a Social Security number or ITIN, it is issued online the same day. If no owner has one, the application goes to the IRS on Form SS-4 and takes several weeks, so start it immediately.
The operating agreement
An operating agreement says who owns the company, who can sign for it, how money comes out and what happens if an owner leaves or dies. Florida does not require one to be filed, and an LLC without one is governed by the default rules in the statute, which may not be what the owners intended.
Drafting one is legal work. H New Media Law International prepares operating and shareholder agreements under a separate written engagement, and our Formation + operating agreement package includes one.
The bank account
Expect a bank to ask for the filed articles, the EIN confirmation letter, the operating agreement or a banking resolution, and a passport or other government identification for each owner. Some banks open accounts for owners abroad without a visit and some do not. Ask the bank before you plan around it.
We are not a bank and we cannot open an account for you. We can supply the company documents a bank asks for, including a certificate of status and, where it will be used abroad, an apostille.
The annual report
Every Florida LLC and corporation files an annual report between January 1 and May 1, beginning the year after it is formed. The state fee is $138.75 for an LLC and $150 for a corporation. After May 1 Florida adds $400, and a company that has not filed by the third Friday of September is administratively dissolved.
Registrations that depend on the business
- Florida Department of Revenue. A company that sells taxable goods or services in Florida, or that has employees here, registers with the Department before it starts.
- Local business tax receipt. Most Florida counties and many cities require one for a business operating within their limits.
- Fictitious name. A company that trades under a name other than its exact legal name registers that name with the Division of Corporations.
- Industry licenses. Importing, tobacco, alcohol, food, construction, finance and many professions carry their own permits.
Which of these apply is a question about your particular business. An accountant can answer the tax part, and the law firm can answer the licensing part.
Beneficial ownership reporting
A company formed in the United States does not file a beneficial ownership report. A FinCEN final rule effective August 14, 2026 permanently exempted domestic companies and all US persons. A company formed under foreign law that registers to do business in Florida still reports, and only as to its non-US beneficial owners.
Keeping the company separate from you
The limited liability an LLC or corporation offers depends on treating the company as its own person. In practice that means a bank account used only for the company, contracts and invoices signed in the company's name, and records of the decisions the owners make.
When an address, a manager or the registered agent changes, the public record has to change with it. Most changes can be made on the next annual report, or sooner by an amendment.
What we do, and what we do not
HNM Agents forms the company, obtains the EIN, serves as registered agent, files the annual report and amendments, and obtains certificates and apostilles. Those are filing services.
We do not give tax advice, open bank accounts or decide which licenses your business needs. Legal questions go to H New Media Law International under a separate written engagement.
Sources
Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations; Internal Revenue Service, Instructions for Form SS-4. State fees verified October 2026 and subject to change. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice.