Check the Florida Division of Corporations, known as Sunbiz, before you print a business card or sign a lease. Run an Entity Name search there and open the entity detail page for any close match. An “Active” status usually means someone else already claims that name; anything else needs a closer look before you assume you’re clear.

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TL;DR:

• A “no match” on Sunbiz does not guarantee the name is available because the division may still reject your application after review.
• Names marked as inactive can still be in use if a related active entity holds a similar name, requiring careful check of the filing history.
• Registering a fictitious name costs $50 with a processing time of 2 to 5 days and requires a one-week newspaper advertisement within the business’s county.
• Filing a DBA does not reserve the name or create legal protection, making it essential to form an LLC or corporation if liability protection is needed.
• Running a trademark search alongside Sunbiz is crucial to identify conflicts that Florida registration alone cannot flag.

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Table of Contents

• How to Check a Business Name in Florida Using Sunbiz
• Reading Sunbiz Status Codes Without Getting Burned
• Florida Fictitious Name (DBA) Filing: Fees, Publication, and Timing
• DBA or Formal Entity? How to Decide
• Your Name-Check Action Checklist
• What We See Go Wrong, and When to Call a Lawyer
• Get Help With Your Florida Name Check and Filing
• Sources

How to Check a Business Name in Florida Using Sunbiz

Start at the Sunbiz search page and choose the search that actually answers your question. The portal, run by the Florida Division of Corporations, tracks more than 3.5 million registered business entities, so it’s the closest thing Florida has to a single source of truth on who’s using what name.

Here’s the process, in order:

1. Pick the right field. Sunbiz lets you search by Entity Name, Officer/Registered Agent, FEI/EIN, or document number. For a name check, use Entity Name search — the others exist for looking up filings once you already know who you’re dealing with.
2. Strip out the noise. Drop “LLC,” “Inc.,” “Corp,” and punctuation before you search. Florida evaluates the distinctive words in a name, not the corporate suffix tacked onto the end, so searching “Sunshine Roofing LLC” instead of just “Sunshine Roofing” can quietly hide an actual match.
3. Test variations on purpose. Run the singular and plural (“Palm Grove” and “Palm Groves”), the possessive (“Palm Grove’s”), and any obvious misspelling. A five minute detour here catches problems a single search will not.
4. Open the detail page on anything close. Click into the entity record and check the status, document number, registered agent, and filing history. The detail page also links to scanned document images, which matter more than the summary line above them.

Don’t stop at the search results table. The real information, including amendments and prior name changes, lives one click deeper on that entity detail page.

Reading Sunbiz Status Codes Without Getting Burned

A search result is only useful if you know what the status code actually means. ACTIVE or ACT means the entity has a live filing on record, and in most cases that name is off the table. INACTIVE or INACT is trickier: it can signal an opening, but only after the state’s holding periods run out.

• Voluntary dissolution typically carries a 120-day holding period before the name frees up.
• Administrative dissolution or revocation carries a full one-year holding period.
• Some inactive names never truly clear because a related active filing still uses a near-identical name.

Pro Tip: Don’t treat a blank search result as a green light. Sunbiz itself notes that a “no-match” during your search is only a preliminary screen — the Division of Corporations makes the real call during its filing review, and it can still reject your application if it decides your name isn’t distinguishable from one already on file.

That gap between “no match” and “approved filing” trips up more founders than any other step in this process. Before you commit to a name, pull the filing history PDFs on any close match. Sometimes a name that looks like a conflict is actually a dissolved predecessor or a converted entity that no longer blocks you. Other times a “different” name turns out to be the exact same business after a legal name change, and now you know to steer clear or wait out the holding period instead of gambling.

Florida Fictitious Name (DBA) Filing: Fees, Publication, and Timing

Once your name search comes back clean, registering a fictitious name, what most people call a DBA, is a state-level filing with fixed costs and a real deadline attached to it.

• Filing fee: $50.00, payable to the Division of Corporations.
• Optional add-ons: a certified copy runs $30.00, and a certificate of status is $10.00.
• Processing time: typically 2 to 5 business days once submitted.
• Term: the registration stays valid through December 31 of the fifth year after filing, then needs renewal.
• Payment options: online by credit card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express) or by mail with a check or money order.

Florida also requires you to advertise the name for one consecutive week in a newspaper in the county where your business is principally located, a rule tucked into Chapter 50 of the Florida Statutes. You don’t have to file proof of that publication, but you’re certifying it under penalty of perjury when you sign the application. Skip it and you’ve made a false statement on a state filing, not just a paperwork oversight.

Pro Tip: Publication surprises more filers than the fee does. Line up your newspaper notice before you submit the online filing so you’re not scrambling to certify something you haven’t actually done yet.

One more thing worth saying plainly: registering a fictitious name does not reserve it and does not create a separate legal entity. Someone else can still file the same name after you if you haven’t formed an LLC or corporation to lock in that protection.

DBA or Formal Entity? How to Decide

A fictitious name works fine if you’re a sole proprietor or an existing LLC operating a second brand under a different trade name. It does nothing for your personal liability.

• Choose a DBA when you just need a trade name for marketing, invoicing, or a storefront, and your existing entity (or your status as a sole proprietor) already covers your liability needs.
• Form an LLC or corporation when you need to separate personal assets from business debts, or when you want the name tied to a distinct legal entity rather than just a trade name.
• Form the entity first if liability protection can’t wait. Your name filing then rides along with the formation paperwork instead of being a separate step.
• Run a trademark search beyond Sunbiz. Florida registration only protects you within the state; a USPTO search catches conflicts that could shut you down nationally even after Florida approves your filing.

If you’re still weighing structure against trade name, our guide to choosing the right business entity walks through the tradeoffs in more depth.

Your Name-Check Action Checklist

Work through this in order and you’ll avoid the two most common failure points: relying on one search, and forgetting publication.

1. Confirm every close match on the Sunbiz detail page, including document images, not just the summary status.
2. Run a trademark search on top of your Sunbiz search to catch brand conflicts Florida’s own database won’t flag.
3. Decide your path: reserve the name if applicable, then file your fictitious name registration or formation documents.
4. Arrange publication in your county newspaper and keep your own dated proof, even though the state doesn’t require you to file it.
5. Set renewal reminders now. Fictitious names expire December 31 of the fifth year, and annual reports for LLCs and corporations have their own separate deadlines.

Pro Tip: Put the renewal date directly into your calendar the same day you file. A lapsed fictitious name is an easy, avoidable way to lose a trade name you’ve spent years building.

What We See Go Wrong, and When to Call a Lawyer

The most common mistake we see is a single Sunbiz search treated as final proof, when it’s really just a first filter. The second most common: filers assume a fictitious name gives them ownership of the brand, when it doesn’t touch trademark rights at all. The third: skipping publication because the online filing felt complete without it.

Call an attorney when ownership history is murky, when a co-owner dispute is brewing, when a near-match raises real trademark risk, or when you’re on a tight launch timeline and can’t afford a rejected filing to cost you another week.

— Matthew

Get Help With Your Florida Name Check and Filing

A Sunbiz search tells you what’s on record. It doesn’t tell you whether a near-match will get your filing rejected, whether your trade name creates a trademark problem down the road, or whether you should be forming an LLC instead of filing a DBA at all. That’s the gap Fornarolegal closes for South Florida founders who want the filing done right the first time, not refiled after a rejection.

Legal counsel can handle the full sequence: running the Sunbiz and trademark searches, preparing and filing your fictitious name registration, coordinating the required newspaper publication, and forming your LLC or corporation when liability protection matters more than a trade name does. If a name conflict shows up mid-process, you can get a referral for trademark counsel instead of a guess.

If you’re ready to move past the search stage, our business formation services page outlines how we structure that work, or you can look at our guide for startups choosing a lawyer if you’re still deciding how much legal support your launch actually needs. Either way, the next step is a conversation before you file, not after a rejection notice.

This article is general information, not a substitute for advice from a qualified lawyer. Consult a qualified legal professional about your own circumstances before acting on anything here.

Sources

• Sunbiz — Florida Division of Corporations
• Florida Fictitious Name Registration — Division of Corporations
• Fictitious Name Registration Instructions — Division of Corporations

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