The Florida corporation amendment cost is $35 in state fees for most changes, paid when you file Articles of Amendment with the Division of Corporations. That one fee covers the filing no matter how many changes you put in it. What pushes the total up is everything around it: expedited processing, certified copies, a service provider or attorney, or penalties if your annual report has slipped.
Here’s what each change costs, and where you can avoid paying more than you need to.
What are the Florida corporation amendment costs, fee by fee?
| Filing | State fee | Typical processing | Expedite option | Total if you file it yourself |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Articles of Amendment | $35 | 5-7 business days | +$52.50 (24hr) | $35 |
| Name change (via Articles of Amendment) | $35 | 5-7 business days | +$52.50 (24hr) | $35 |
| Registered agent change | $35 | 1-2 business days | +$52.50 (24hr) | $35 |
| Annual report (officer and director changes) | $150 | 1-2 business days | Not available | $150 |
| Name reservation (optional) | $35 | Immediate online | N/A | $35 |
| Certified copy | $30 | 5-7 business days | +$30 (24hr) | $30 |
| Certificate of Status | $5 | 5-7 business days | +$30 (24hr) | $5 |
| Reinstatement (if dissolved) | $600 + fees | 2-3 weeks | +$52.50 (24hr) | $600+ |
A service provider adds $149 to $1,000 or more on top of these, depending on who you hire.
What does Articles of Amendment cover?
The $35 Articles of Amendment fee applies to changes to your corporation’s founding documents:
- Corporate name changes
- Principal office address changes
- Stock structure changes
- Purpose clause amendments
- Changes to authorized shares
It’s a flat fee, whatever the complexity and however many changes the document includes. Standard processing typically takes 5 to 7 business days online and 2 to 3 weeks by mail. You can file online at dos.myflorida.com/sunbiz, by mail to the Division of Corporations in Tallahassee, or in person. Online is fastest and confirms receipt immediately.
How much does a name change cost?
The state fee is the same $35 Articles of Amendment filing. Search the name on Sunbiz first, which is free, to make sure it isn’t taken or too close to an existing business. If you want to hold the name while you prepare the amendment, a Name Reservation Application costs $35 and holds it for 120 days.
The filing is the cheap part of a name change. You’ll also pay for new business licenses in the new name, new business cards, signage and marketing, possibly a new domain, and federal trademark registration if you want to protect the name ($250 to $350 in federal filing fees). Depending on the size of your business, rebranding can run from several hundred to several thousand dollars.
How much does it cost to change officers or directors?
Florida corporations don’t file a separate document for this. Officer and director changes go through the annual report, which is due by May 1 each year and costs $150. The same filing updates the principal office address and confirms your registered agent and registered office.
If officers or directors change mid-year, you still file the annual report with the new information and pay the standard $150. The new officers and directors are on record as of the date you submit it.
Annual reports open for filing online on January 1. Online filings typically process within 1 to 2 business days. Mail takes 2 to 3 weeks.
How much does it cost to change your registered agent?
$35, using the Registered Agent/Office Change form. You pay the same fee if you’re switching between commercial services, moving from a commercial service to an individual, or just updating the agent’s address. The form asks for:
- The new agent’s name
- The new agent’s Florida street address (no P.O. boxes)
- The new agent’s signature accepting the appointment
- The effective date of the change
Online filings usually process in 1 to 2 business days. If your current agent resigns, you have 30 days to name a new one and file the change. Going without a registered agent puts the corporation at risk of administrative dissolution.
Commercial registered agent services typically charge $99 to $299 a year. That’s an ongoing cost, not a filing fee, but count it in what your agent really costs you.
What does the annual report cost, and what if you’re late?
Every Florida corporation files an annual report between January 1 and May 1, even if nothing has changed. The $150 fee is the biggest recurring cost of keeping a corporation, and it confirms you’re active, updates your officer, director and address information, keeps you in good standing and puts current information on the public record.
Miss May 1 and a $400 late fee is added, turning $150 into $550. If you still haven’t filed after September 30, the corporation faces administrative dissolution. Getting back means paying the overdue annual reports and late fees, and potentially a $600 reinstatement fee.
The state sends reminder notices, but filing on time is your responsibility. We’d file in January, as soon as the window opens, and be done with it.
Is expedited processing worth paying for?
Florida offers a few expedited options, each charged on top of the base fee:
- 24-hour expedite, $52.50: processing within one business day of receipt, for online and in-person filings. Add mailing time if you’re sending paper.
- Same day service, $30: only for in-person filings at the Division of Corporations office in Tallahassee, processed while you wait or by the end of the day.
- Certified copy expedite, $30: cuts certified copy turnaround from 5-7 days to 24 hours.
Expedited Articles of Amendment come to $87.50 ($35 plus $52.50). That’s more than double the base cost, so pay it only when a deadline actually depends on it, like a closing, a contract, or a license or permit that needs the updated documents. For routine changes, standard processing is fast enough.
What do certified copies and Certificates of Status cost?
A certified copy costs $30. It’s an official copy of a filed document bearing the state seal, used for opening bank accounts, loan applications, real estate deals and court proceedings. You can order one for your Articles of Incorporation, any Articles of Amendment, annual reports, merger documents or anything else on file.
A Certificate of Status costs $5. Sometimes called a Certificate of Good Standing, it confirms the corporation is properly registered, its annual reports are current, it hasn’t been administratively dissolved and it’s authorized to operate in Florida. Banks, investors and government agencies ask for it often, and it’s typically treated as valid for 30 to 60 days depending on who’s asking. Order it close to when you need it so you don’t pay for a second one. If you know several parties need one, order them together.
Both can be ordered online through Sunbiz, by mail or in person. Standard online orders typically take 5 to 7 business days, or 24 hours with the $30 expedite fee.
Should you file yourself or pay someone?
| Option | Cost on top of state fees | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| File yourself on Sunbiz | $0 | Name changes, address updates, registered agent changes, routine annual reports |
| Amendment filing service | $149-$299 | Hands-off filing of a standard amendment |
| Business attorney | $300-$1,000+ | Stock structure changes, restructuring, amendments tied to mergers or acquisitions, anything needing legal advice |
Filing services such as Northwest, Incfile (now Bizee), LegalZoom and ZenBusiness charge $149 to $299 for an amendment, which puts a basic amendment at $184 to $334 with the $35 state fee. That typically covers document preparation, filing, tracking and delivery of the filed documents. Registered agent services ($99 to $299 a year) sometimes include filing help, document storage, compliance reminders and email alerts when documents arrive, mostly at the higher end of that range.
Our take: for a name change, an address update or a registered agent swap, file it yourself. The Sunbiz forms are simple, and the state has instructions for each document type. Pay for help when the amendment has legal or tax consequences, when you’re making several changes at once, or when a mistake would actually hurt the business.
How do you keep the costs down?
Put everything in one filing. One $35 Articles of Amendment can cover a name change, an address update and a stock change together. Filing them separately triples the fee.
Search the name first. A free Sunbiz search before a name change keeps you from losing $35 on a rejected filing.
File online and proofread. Online filings move faster than mail and flag problems immediately. Simple errors cause rejections, and a rejection means filing and paying again.
Keep your records current. If your internal records are accurate, the state filings come out right the first time.
Stay in good standing. Reinstatement costs $600 plus every overdue annual report and late fee. A filed-on-time annual report costs $150.
Where to start
Before you file anything, pull up your corporation on Sunbiz and list every change you need: name, address, officers, registered agent, shares. Then sort them. Officer and director changes go on the annual report. Everything that changes the Articles goes into a single $35 amendment. That one list is usually the difference between paying $35 and paying it three times.
The Division of Corporations’ site at dos.myflorida.com/sunbiz has the current fee schedules, filing instructions and the corporate records search.