Florida Secretary of State Entity Search
How bridge lenders verify an LLC or corporation in Florida — portal, steps, returned data, and the gotchas.
Methodology authored by Zach Wade, Wade Intel — operator-led lender tech methodology firm. State-specific procedures validated against production validation runs with working bridge lenders. · Last reviewed 2026-07-10
How do I look up an LLC or corporation in Florida?
Use Sunbiz. Free, real-time results. Real-time processing.
LLCCorporationLPLLPForeign entities
Step-by-step lookup
- Step 1. Go to Sunbiz (search.sunbiz.org).
- Step 2. Select ‘Search by Entity Name’ and enter the business name.
- Step 3. Click Search. Results load immediately.
- Step 4. Click the entity name to view the detail record.
- Step 5. Check the Status field — ‘Active’ is good. ‘Inactive’ means the entity has been dissolved or revoked.
- Step 6. Review Annual Reports section — Florida requires annual reports by May 1. Missed reports lead to administrative dissolution.
- Step 7. Check the Registered Agent section for current agent name and address.
What data the Sunbiz returns
- Entity name
- Document number
- Filing date
- Status
- Registered agent
- Annual reports
- Principal address
- Officer/Member names
Florida gotchas for lenders
- Florida dissolves LLCs automatically if the annual report is not filed by the third Friday after September 1. Reinstatement is possible but not automatic.
- Sunbiz shows both domestic and foreign entities. A foreign entity registered in Florida may be formed in another state — verify in both states.
- Florida does not require LLCs to list members publicly. Only ‘authorized person’ or ‘manager’ names appear in filings.
- The ‘FEI/EIN Number’ field in Sunbiz is the federal tax ID — useful for cross-referencing.