How To Set Up A Professional Corporation In Florida

Setting up a professional corporation in FLorida is a very attractive proposition for a number of reasons. Florida is one of the most business friendly states in the United States. The state has one of the lowest overall tax burdens in the country. Successive state governments have promoted policies that have made Florida among the top 10 states in terms of ease of doing business.

The first step in setting up a professional corporation in the state, is to file your company’s articles of incorporation with the state’s Secretary of State.

Your company’s name must be distinguishable from other companies, as per the records of the Secretary of State. Before you submit your documents, you should do a preliminary search by name to ensure your company name is unique. The company’s name must include Corporation, Company, Incorporated, Corp., Inc. or Co.;or, Chartered, Professional Association or P.A. if your company is a professional association. Finally, you should not assume that your desired company name has been approved until you have received formal acknowledgement from the Department of State’s Division of Corporations.

The articles of incorporation must include your company’s principal place of business address; mailing address; registered agent name and address; registered agent’s signature; purpose; officers and directors; the effective date at which the corporation submitted its articles; the numbers of shares that the company will be authorized to issue; the incorporator’s signature; correspondence name and email; and an annual report. You may also request a certificate of status for a fee of $8.75 and a certified copy of the articles of incorporation for $8.75.

The annual report deserves some extra words: you need to submit an annual report, not only when incorporating, but every year of the company’s existence in order to preserve an “active” status in the Department of State’s records. If the company fails in its obligation, the Department will administratively dissolve it. Filing periods are from January 1to May 1of the calendar year after your company’s date of filing or, if it is listed, its effective date. Though the annual report may contain financial statements, it is not in itself a financial statement. The Department uses the annual report to keep its records up-to-date.

It costs just $35 to file the articles of incorporation. To get a registered agent designation, you will have to pay a further $35.

Remember that Under s.817.155, F.S., you should not:

• Knowingly conceal or falsify any material facts,
• Make false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements or representations, or
• Make or make use of any false documents.

If you violate any of the above conditions, you are guilty of a third-degree felony that is punishable by law. (s.775.082, s.775.083, or s.775.084, F.S.)

When you have completed your articles of incorporation, you can mail them along with the necessary fees, to: The Department of State, Division of Corporations, P.O. Box 6327, Tallahassee, FL 32314.

If you have any questions, you may call the Division of Corporations on: 850-245-6052.

You may choose to deliver the articles of incorporation in person, in which case, the Division of Corporations is located in the: Clifton Building 2661, Executive Center Circle, Tallahassee, FL 32301.
As you can see, the whole process of setting up a professional corporation, even if it’s just a Dermani medspa franchising business, is very easy.