PLEASE NOTE:  In Florida a Good Standing Certificate is called a Certificate of Status.  This sometimes causes confusion when the requesting party, commonly the Secretary of State in another state besides Florida, requests a "Good Standing Certificate".  In these cases a Florida Certificate of Status will fulfill the requirements for a Florida Good Standing Certificate.

A Florida Good Standing Certificate is issued by the Florida Secretary of State and is often required for loans, to renew business licenses, or for tax or other business purposes in the state of Florida or in any other state.

A Florida Certificate of Good Standing is evidence that your Florida business franchise - your Florida Corporation, LLC or LP - is in Existence, is authorized to transact business in the state of Florida, and complies with all state of Florida business requirements and therefore is in "Good Standing" in the state of Florida.

Also known as a Florida Certificate of Existence, a Florida Certificate of Status or a Florida Certificate of Authority, a Florida Good Standing Certificate is a one page document which looks like a letter and bears the seal of the state of Florida Secretary of State. A Florida Good Standing Certificate is provided by the Florida Secretary of State and is conclusive evidence of the existence of your Florida business franchise. In most cases a Florida Certificate of Good Standing can be valid up to a year depending on the requirements of the Good Standing Certificate requester.

To obtain a Florida Good Standing Certificate, your company must be registered as a legal entity with the Florida Secretary of State, i.e., your company is in existence in the state of Florida, and cannot be in default of Florida corporate rules, or suspended by the state of Florida.

Total cost for a Florida Good Standing Certificate depends on the type of company - Corporation, LLC, LLP, LP - and how fast you need the Certificate. Choose your options in the Good Standing Certificate Cost Calculator below to determine exactly how much your Florida Good Standing Certificate will cost.

• The Florida company must be registered as a legal entity with the Florida Secretary of State as a Corporation, LLC or LP.
• The Florida company cannot be in default or suspended as defined by the laws of the state of Florida.
• The Florida company must have filed all reports required by the Florida Secretary of State or any other state of Florida agency.

Some states verify that all taxes have been paid and all required reports have been filed. Other states include bare minimum language that confirms only that a company is in existence and has not been dissolved.

Along with the issuance date and signature of the Florida Secretary of State, a Florida Good Standing Certificate includes the following information:

A Corporation, LP or LLC that is registered in the state of Florida may require a Florida Good Standing Certificate to qualify as a "Foreign Corporation" in a state other than Florida.  A Foreign Corporation is a Corporation that is registered with a state agency, usually the Secretary of State, in one state and has the Authority to do business in another state. 

For example, a Corporation registered in the state of California that plans to do business in the state of Florida is a "Domestic Corporation" in California and a "Foreign Corporation" in the state of Florida.

All states require you to register as a Foreign Corporation with a state agency, usually the Secretary of State, in order to do business in their state.  In order to register as a Foreign Corporation in any state you must provide evidence that you are registered and are in Good Standing in another state as a Domestic Corporation or LLC.  This evidence is a Certificate of Good Standing from the state in which your Corporation or LLC was originally formed.

A Florida Good Standing Certificate is legal and official proof of Good Standing from the Florida Secretary of State.

If your Corporation, LLC or LP falls out of Good Standing with the FL Secretary of State it is technically illegal for your company to do business in the state of Florida or any other state. This could lead to the piercing of the corporate veil and make the owners of the Florida business liable for penalties and law suits.

In order to get back into Good Standing you will have to pay a Reinstatement Fee.

The cost to Reinstate a Florida Company depends on the exactly why the Corporation, LLC or LP is not in Good Standing. In some cases the fees for reinstatement of a Florida Company may be more expensive that those for walking away from the business and then creating an entirely new company.

A Florida Good Standing Certificate is issued by the Florida Secretary of State for business entities that have registered with the state of Florida.  A Sole Proprietorship or DBA is not normally registered with the Florida Secretary of State so a Florida Certificate of Good Standing cannot be issued for them.

If you own a Florida business and have not registered as a Corporation, LLC, LP or other legal entity with the Florida Secretary of State, then you are a Sole Proprietor by default.  Nothing needs to be filed with the Florida Secretary of State to create a Sole Proprietorship.  If you plan to use a name different from your first and last name then you would register in the Florida county in which you do business with your first and last name "Doing Business As" (DBA) the name of your business (for example: Sue Smith, DBA Sue's Florida Business).

In Florida a Good Standing Certificate is called a Certificate of Status.   A Florida Certificate of Status may be referred to by another name.

Yes. Each Florida Certificate of Status includes a unique Authentication ID which may be used to verify the Certificate with the Florida Secretary of State.

Yes.  A Florida Good Standing Certificate includes the Date of Incorporation for a Florida Corporation or the Date of Organization for a Florida LLC.

If you place your order for a Florida Good Standing Certificate before 1 PM Florida time we can get your Florida Good Standing Certificate as fast as 2-3 hours. We will send you a scanned copy of your Florida Good Standing Certificate by email and put a paper copy of your Certificate in the mail as soon as we get it from the FL Secretary of State.

The Florida Secretary of State reserves the right to extend expedite periods in time of extreme volume, staff shortage or equipment malfunction.  We are dependent on, and have no control over, the staff and systems of the Florida Secretary of State.  In our experience the time specified is the time it usually takes the Florida Secretary of State to process Good Standing Certificate orders.  We get your Florida Good Standing Certificate request to the FL Secretary of State ASAP.  Once it is at the state we have very little or no control over the Florida Good Standing Certificate process.

A valid expiration date is not written on a Florida Good Standing Certificate.  The validity of a Florida Certificate of Good Standing is usually determined by the intended recipient of the Good Standing Certificate.

Some institutions may request that a Florida Good Standing Certificate be less than a certain number of days old.  Generally the information included on a Florida Certificate of Good Standing is implied to be valid for 60-90 days but it really depends on the nature of the business for which the Florida Good Standing Certificate is being used.

Each Florida Good Standing Certificate comes with a Authentication ID.  A Florida Certificate of Good Standing may be verified using the Authentication ID on the Florida Secretary of State web site.

We can email you a copy of your Florida Good Standing Certificate the same day, usually within 2-3 hours after we get your order.  If the recipient of your Florida Certificate of Good Standing requires official validation, they can go to the Florida Secretary of State web site for quick verification.  The web address to verify a Florida Certificate of Good Standing on the Florida Secretary of State web site is printed on each Florida Good Standing Certificate.

If you need to verify that all outstanding tax liabilities for a Florida Corporation or Florida LLC have been paid then you need a Florida Tax Status Compliance Certificate.

In Florida a Tax Status Compliance Certificate is called a Tax Clearance Letter. A Florida Tax Clearance Letter is issued by the Florida Department of Revenue and is sometimes called a Tax Clearance Certificate or an Entity Status Letter or a Certificate of Account Status.

If you need a Good Standing Certificate from the highest Court in the state of Florida for a Florida Attorney we can help.

If you are ready to order a Florida Good Standing Certificate now, simply fill in the Good Standing Certificate Order Form below and press the Place Order button. If you have any questions you can call us at 855-771-2477 or email us at CorpServices@AllBizDocs.com.