Florida Business Name Change: Complete Guide for All Entity Types

To change a Florida business name, an LLC or corporation files Articles of Amendment with the Florida Division of Corporations: $25 for an LLC, $35 for a corporation. Online filings through Sunbiz.org are typically processed in 3-5 business days. Sole proprietors don’t file an amendment at all. They register a new fictitious name for $50.

The filing is the easy part. Most of the work comes afterward, updating your bank, the IRS, licenses, contracts and everything with your old name printed on it.

Do you need a legal name change or a DBA?

Decide this first, because it changes what you file.

A legal name change alters your entity’s official name in the Division of Corporations’ records. That name appears on your formation documents, tax returns, contracts and official correspondence. It takes Articles of Amendment and a filing fee.

A fictitious name (DBA) lets you operate under another name while your legal name stays the same. Many businesses keep one legal name and run under one or more DBAs.

Our view: if you’re rebranding for good, change the legal name. Running everything under a DBA works, but contracts and legal documents should still use the legal name, so you end up explaining two names to banks and customers for years.

How do you change a Florida LLC’s name?

1. Check availability. Search the Division of Corporations database at Sunbiz.org for your proposed name.
2. Get approval. Your operating agreement typically requires member or manager approval. Record it the way your operating agreement says to.
3. Prepare Articles of Amendment. Include the LLC’s current name and document number, the article being amended (typically Article I, Name), the new name exactly as it should appear, an effective date (leave blank for immediate effect), and the signature of an authorized member or manager.
4. File. Online at Sunbiz.org with a credit card is fastest. You can also mail the form and a $25 check to Division of Corporations, P.O. Box 6327, Tallahassee, FL 32314. The fee is $25 either way, but mail takes much longer.
5. Get your filed copy. Online filings are typically processed within 3-5 business days, and you’ll receive a filed copy showing the new name and its effective date.

The new name must include “Limited Liability Company” or an abbreviation such as “LLC,” “L.L.C.” or “Ltd. Liability Co.” It also has to be distinguishable from existing Florida names, can’t use restricted words like “bank,” “insurance” or “university” without proper licensing, and can’t suggest purposes beyond what the LLC is authorized to do.

How do you change a Florida corporation’s name?

The process is close to the LLC version, with more formality and a $35 fee (the same for for-profit and not-for-profit corporations).

1. Check availability on Sunbiz.org.
2. Hold a board meeting and approve the name change by resolution. The minutes should record the date and place, the directors present and voting, the resolution itself, and authorization for officers to file. Depending on your bylaws, you may also need shareholder approval.
3. Prepare Articles of Amendment with the current name and document number, the article being amended (usually Article I), the full text of the amended article, an optional effective date (it defaults to the filing date), and the signature of an authorized officer, typically the president or vice president.
4. File online at Sunbiz.org with the $35 fee. Mail and in-person filing are available but slower.
5. Update your corporate records, including stock certificates, the bylaws header and the minute book.

The new name must include “Corporation,” “Incorporated,” “Company” or an abbreviation like “Corp.,” “Inc.” or “Co.” Professional corporations follow extra naming rules for licensed professions.

What if you’re a sole proprietor?

A sole proprietorship isn’t a separate legal entity, so there’s no amendment to file. If you operate under your own name, you don’t need to register anything. If you operate under a registered fictitious name and want a different one, register the new name for $50.

The usual approach is to let the old registration expire (registrations are valid for 5 years) and register the new one. You can also keep both if you want to use two trade names.

A name change is also a natural time to form an LLC or corporation for liability protection. That means forming the new entity under the new name, moving the business’s assets and operations into it, closing out the sole proprietorship and canceling the old fictitious name.

Will Florida accept your new name?

Florida requires names to be “distinguishable” from names already on file. The Division of Corporations treats names as too similar if they differ only by articles (a, an, the), entity designators (LLC, Inc., Corp.), punctuation or spacing, or singular versus plural. If “Sunshine Services LLC” exists, you likely can’t register “Sunshine Service Inc.” or “The Sunshine Services Corp.”

Some words need regulatory approval or licensing: banking terms (bank, trust, credit union), insurance terms (insurance, assurance, reinsurance), professional terms like engineering or architecture for unlicensed entities, and educational terms like university or college. Names also can’t be false or misleading about what the business does, include profanity, imply a government affiliation without authorization, or suggest an illegal purpose.

Beyond Sunbiz, check three more places before you commit: the USPTO’s trademark search system for federal conflicts, matching domain names, and social media handles.

Not ready to file yet? A Name Reservation costs $35 and holds the name for 120 days, which buys you time for board meetings, member votes or other approvals.

How long does a name change take?

Florida does not offer expedited processing for Articles of Amendment. Filings are processed in the order received, so if you’re on a deadline, file online as early as you can.

You can leave the effective date blank so the change takes effect when the Division of Corporations files your document, or set a future effective date up to 90 days from filing. We’d use the delayed date if you’re coordinating with a rebrand launch, a lease renewal or the start of a fiscal year, so your signage and your legal name change on the same day.

What do you need to update after you change your Florida business name?

This is where name changes drag on. Work through it in roughly this order.

The IRS. Your EIN stays the same. Form 8822-B covers address and responsible-party changes, not name changes. LLCs and corporations usually report a new name on their next federal return or by a signed letter to the IRS.

Florida Department of Revenue. Update your sales tax registration if you have one, your reemployment tax account and your corporate income tax records.

Your county and city. Update your local business tax receipts, business property registrations, and any local permits or zoning approvals.

Banks and payment processors. Take your filed Articles of Amendment to the bank to update the account name. You may need new signature cards and new checks. Notify credit card processors and payment gateways, business credit card issuers, and lenders, since loan agreements and credit lines may need amending.

Licenses and insurance. Contact each licensing authority individually, because procedures vary. That includes professional licenses (contractors, real estate, health care), industry permits (food service, alcohol, child care), environmental permits, federal licenses such as FCC or FDA, and your professional liability insurance.

Contracts and leases. Review existing contracts. Many have clauses requiring advance notice of a name change. Give your landlord documentation of the change and ask whether the lease needs amending. Tell vendors so invoices don’t bounce.

Everything customers see. Your website and domain, social media profiles, Google Business Profile, online directories, email addresses and signatures, business cards, letterhead, signage, vehicle wraps and promotional materials. Tell customers directly too, by email and on your site, so the new name doesn’t look like a different company.

Should you trademark the new name?

Florida approving your name doesn’t mean you have the right to use it. Trademark conflicts can lead to expensive disputes even after the Division of Corporations has accepted your filing.

Before you file, search the USPTO’s trademark database, Florida’s state trademark registry, and Google for businesses using the name without registering it. If you’re putting serious money into the new brand, a trademark attorney’s clearance search is worth the fee.

Federal registration makes sense if you do business across state lines or plan to, your name is distinctive rather than merely descriptive, and you want nationwide rights. It costs $250-$350 per class of goods or services through the USPTO’s online filing system. Florida state registration costs $87.50 and protects the name within Florida, which may be enough if you operate only in Florida and have no plans to expand.

How do DBAs work in Florida?

If you decide a fictitious name is the better route, you search Sunbiz.org to confirm the name isn’t taken, file the registration online, pay the $50 fee, and renew every 5 years. Florida requires you to advertise the fictitious name once in a newspaper in the county where your principal place of business is located before you register it.

A DBA lets you keep your existing contracts under the legal name, register several names under one entity, and drop or change a trade name more easily than a legal name. The trade-offs: it isn’t your legal name, not every system recognizes it for official purposes, it only adds a name rather than changing your registered one, and it expires if you forget to renew.

Quick reference by entity type

Before you file anything, run the name past all three checks: Sunbiz, the USPTO’s database and a domain search. A name that clears Florida but collides with a federal trademark can force you through this whole process a second time.