New in Florida
Florida protected series LLCs
Since July 1, 2026, one Florida LLC can hold several protected series, each with its own assets and its own debts. We file the designations. This is what to know before you create one.
Updated 2 October 2026
The short version
- Since July 1, 2026, any active Florida LLC can create protected series by filing a designation online with the Division of Corporations. The state fee is $25 per series.
- A protected series is not a separate company. It files no annual report of its own, and the parent LLC's registered agent is, by statute, the agent for every series. Your agent fee does not multiply.
- The protection is only as good as the records behind it. A series has to keep records that identify its assets and set them apart from the LLC's and from every other series. Without them a creditor can reach across.
- Outside Florida the shield is less certain. States without series laws, and courts abroad, may not respect it.
- We file the designations for a flat $99 per series. Whether a series fits your business, and the operating agreement terms that make it work, are legal questions for a lawyer.
What a protected series is
A protected series is a compartment inside a Florida LLC. The LLC designates the series by a public filing, assigns assets to it, and can give it its own members and its own business. If the records are kept properly, the debts of one series can be collected only from that series' assets, not from the LLC or from any other series.
Florida adopted the Uniform Protected Series provisions in 2025, as sections 605.2101 through 605.2802 of the Florida Statutes, and they took effect on July 1, 2026. Florida joins a group of states, including Delaware and Texas, that already allow series.
Who tends to use one
Owners who would otherwise form several LLCs to keep risks apart. The common examples are:
- A real estate investor holding each property in its own series
- A company running separate brands or product lines
- A family holding company keeping each venture or each branch of the family apart
- An owner abroad who wants one Florida company, one registered agent and one annual report, with assets kept in compartments
A series is not always the right answer. Separate LLCs remain simpler to explain to a bank, a lender or a court in another country, and some owners will be better served by them.
What it costs
Flat fees, per series. State fees are paid to Florida at cost.
| Service | HNM Agents fee | Florida state fee |
|---|---|---|
| Protected series designation, per seriesFiled online with the Division of Corporations, usually processed within hours | $99 | $25 |
| Certificate of status for a seriesAdded to the designation filing at the same time | incl. | $5 |
| EIN for a series, owner has an SSN or ITINMany banks expect a separate EIN for each series. Confirm the tax treatment with your accountant | $149 | none |
| EIN for a series, owner has neitherForm SS-4 filed with the IRS as your third party designee | $349 | none |
| Change, dissolution or cancellation of a seriesStatement of designation change, articles of protected series dissolution, or statement of designation cancellation | $99 | at cost |
A protected series adds nothing to your annual report or to your registered agent fee. The LLC files one annual report, as it always has, and its agent serves every series.
The part that decides whether it works
The shield between series depends on records. Each series must keep records that identify its assets well enough that a reasonable person could tell them apart from every other asset of the LLC and of every other series. When an asset moves between the LLC and a series, the records should show what was paid, who paid and who received it.
If the records fall short, a creditor of one series can try to reach the assets of the LLC or of another series. A filing at the state does not cure that. The discipline has to start on the first day and continue every day after.
In practice that means a separate bank account for each series, contracts and invoices signed in the name of the right series, title to property held in the series' name, and a ledger of what each series owns.
If you or your assets are outside Florida
Florida respects the shield between series. Not every state has a series law, and a court in a state without one may not. Courts outside the United States are less predictable still.
If a series will own property, sign contracts or face creditors in the Dominican Republic, Central America, Europe or another US state, weigh that before choosing a series over a separate LLC.
What we need to file
- The exact name and document number of your Florida LLC. The LLC must be active on the state's records.
- The name you want for each series. Florida requires the name to begin with the LLC's exact name, to include "PS", "P.S." or "Protected Series", and to be distinguishable from every other series.
- Confirmation that your registered agent has agreed to serve the LLC and each series. Florida law requires that agreement before a designation can be filed, and whoever signs the designation affirms it.
If we are your registered agent, our terms already include that agreement. If another company is your agent, either confirm it has agreed or move your agent service to us. We pay for the change of agent filing when you switch.
When a lawsuit or notice arrives that names a particular series, we say so on the record we send you.
What we do, and what the law firm does
HNM Agents prepares and files the designation and the related state filings, obtains EINs, and serves as registered agent for the LLC and every series. Those are filing services, not legal services.
Deciding whether a series suits your business, and drafting the operating agreement terms that govern the series, their members and the recordkeeping, is legal work. H New Media Law International handles that under a separate written engagement.
Sources
Florida Statutes sections 605.2101 through 605.2802, including section 605.2203 on the registered agent, and the Division of Corporations guidance on Florida series limited liability companies. State fees verified October 2026 and subject to change. This page is general information, not legal advice.