State guide — Florida

Incorporate a nonprofit in Florida

State facts checked against Florida official sources — October 2026

Quote Florida honestly: the real price is $70, not $35. The registered-agent designation carries its own mandatory $35 fee, and any guide that headlines $35 is setting you up for a surprise. Florida's instructions are equally direct about the 501(c)(3) wording — specific purpose, purpose clause, dissolution provision, all required in the articles.

The steps

1. Choose a name and confirm it is available in Florida — and distinguishable from existing entities in the filing office's records.
2. Line up your agent: registered agent with a Florida street address — the agent must sign the acceptance in the articles.
3. Draft the articles with the 501(c)(3) clauses in them — see the language section below. This is the step that decides whether the IRS accepts your application months from now.
4. File with Department of State and pay the state fee. File on Sunbiz. Your registered agent must sign the acceptance block in the articles themselves — an unsigned designation is a rejection waiting to happen.
5. Get the EIN — free from the IRS once the corporation exists. The EIN guide covers the traps.
6. Run the eligibility checker and file Form 1023-EZ or Form 1023 on Pay.gov. Then handle Florida charity registration (below) before you fundraise.

The 501(c)(3) language in Florida

The Division's instructions require Article III to state a specific purpose — a generic purpose statement is not accepted for this filing — and state that articles intended for IRS charitable exemption must contain the required purpose clause and a provision for the distribution of assets on dissolution. Draft both into the articles before you file; amending later costs another filing and another fee.

The federal requirement underneath all of this is the organizational test: your organizing document must limit the organization to exempt purposes and permanently dedicate its assets to exempt purposes on dissolution. The IRS publishes sample wording — a purpose clause and a dissolution clause — and the kit's generator builds both into your articles automatically.

Florida traps and notes

• The $70 is two fees. $35 to file, $35 to designate the registered agent. Both are mandatory.
• The annual report is a real ongoing cost, due each year between January 1 and May 1. Missing it leads to late fees and eventually administrative dissolution — put it on the compliance calendar from day one.
• Specific purpose in Article III. Florida rejects the vague-purpose approach the IRS also rejects — one drafting pass solves both.

After incorporation: Florida charitable solicitation registration

Status: Required. Regulator: Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services — Division of Consumer Services.

Florida charities register with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services before soliciting contributions in the state, and renew annually. Small organizations may qualify for an exemption under Florida's rules — confirm your category with the Division before assuming either way.

The national picture — which states require registration, which don't, and the exemptions that actually apply — is in our guide to charitable solicitation registration.