How to start a nonprofit in Florida (2026 step-by-step guide)

How to start a nonprofit in Florida, step by step

You form a Florida nonprofit in two big moves. First you create a nonprofit corporation with the state. Then you apply to the IRS for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. Most small groups can do both themselves. Here is the whole path in order.

• Pick a clear mission and a name no other Florida entity is using.
• Recruit at least three directors.
• File your Articles of Incorporation with Sunbiz, the Florida Division of Corporations.
• Name a registered agent with a physical Florida address.
• Get a free federal EIN from the IRS.
• Adopt bylaws and a conflict-of-interest policy, and hold your first board meeting.
• File Form 1023 or 1023-EZ, then register to fundraise and apply for your sales tax certificate.

Step 1: Name your Florida nonprofit

Your name has to be distinguishable from other entities on record with the Florida Division of Corporations (Sunbiz). You can usually check availability through the state's online business search. Pick something clear and memorable, and confirm a matching web address is free before you commit.

Step 2: Appoint your directors and officers

Florida requires at least three directors. It does not force a specific slate of officer titles: your officers are whatever your bylaws describe, and one person can hold more than one office. Choose directors who will actually show up, because they are responsible for the organization.

Step 3: File your Articles of Incorporation

This is the step that legally creates your nonprofit. You file the Articles of Incorporation online through Sunbiz, the Florida Division of Corporations. The cost is $35 to file plus a $35 registered agent designation, so $70 to get started. The IRS wants specific purpose and dissolution wording in this document to grant 501(c)(3) status, so take care with the language.

Step 4: Name your registered agent

Every Florida nonprofit names a registered agent: a person who lives in Florida, or a company allowed to do business there, with a physical Florida address for receiving legal mail. You can be your own agent if you live in Florida and have a street address there (not a PO box), or hire a commercial agent. Florida charges a $35 fee to designate the agent when you file, which is included in the $70 above.

Step 5: Adopt bylaws and hold your first board meeting

Bylaws are your rulebook: how you elect directors, hold meetings, and make decisions. The IRS also expects a conflict-of-interest policy, and Florida requires one if you must register with FDACS to fundraise (Step 9). Each year, every director and officer signs a statement that they follow it, and you send it in with your FDACS registration. At your first board meeting, adopt both, appoint officers, and record the minutes. You will be asked for these documents again and again, so keep them in one place.

Step 6: Get your free EIN

An EIN is your nonprofit's federal tax ID, and you need it before you apply to the IRS for exempt status. You get one free and usually right away by applying online through the IRS. Never pay a third-party site for an EIN, because the IRS never charges a fee for one.

Step 7: Apply for 501(c)(3) status with the IRS

This is the federal step, and it is the same wherever you are. Most brand-new small nonprofits qualify for the shorter Form 1023-EZ, which has a $275 user fee. Larger groups file the full Form 1023, which has a $600 user fee. You pay on Pay.gov when you submit.

You can use Form 1023-EZ only if you project gross receipts of $50,000 or less for each of the next three years and hold $250,000 or less in assets. Work through the IRS Eligibility Worksheet honestly before you choose.

Step 8: Apply for Florida tax exemption

Florida has no state income tax for most nonprofits to worry about, so there is no state income-tax exemption to apply for unless you have unrelated business income. What is worth getting is the sales tax exemption: file Form DR-5 with the Florida Department of Revenue to receive a Consumer's Certificate of Exemption, at no cost, so your nonprofit can buy tax-free.

Step 9: Register to fundraise

Florida requires charitable registration before you solicit any contributions. You register with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) using its Solicitation of Contributions application. The fee is tiered by how much you raise, starting at $10 for the smallest organizations, and you renew it every year. Since July 2024, an organization with under $50,000 in contributions in its previous fiscal year whose fundraising is done entirely by unpaid volunteers files the free Small Charitable Organizations application (FDACS-10110) instead.

Step 10: Stay in good standing

Florida asks every nonprofit to file an annual report through Sunbiz by May 1, which keeps your corporation active. The fee is $61.25, and nonprofits are spared the steep late penalty that for-profit companies pay. You also renew your FDACS registration each year, and file a Form 990 with the IRS. Put them on a calendar. Ember Compliance can help here: it puts your Sunbiz annual report and Form 990 on a calendar and emails you before each one is due. Add your FDACS renewal date yourself.

What does it cost to start a nonprofit in Florida?

A bare-bones DIY start in Florida is mostly the state fees plus the IRS fee. Here is the honest breakdown.

• Articles of Incorporation and registered agent: $70
• Charitable registration (FDACS): free for small all-volunteer groups, otherwise from $10, tiered by size
• Sales tax certificate (DR-5): no fee
• IRS Form 1023-EZ: $275, or Form 1023: $600
• EIN: free, direct from the IRS

So many small Florida nonprofits get set up for roughly $345 to $745, plus the $61.25 annual report that comes due the next May.