How To Register A Non Profit Organization In Florida

To start a nonprofit corporation in Florida, begin by filing nonprofit Articles of Incorporation with the Florida Department of Land'southward Division of Corporations. You tin file your articles online or by mail service. The manufactures of incorporation cost $70 full to file. But truly preparing a nonprofit to pursue its mission involves several additional steps.

Hire Northwest to start your Florida nonprofit, and y'all can benefit from the costless use of our Florida business address and limited free mail service forwarding. Additionally, all of our services come with Privacy by Default® and the ongoing assistance of our local Corporate Guides®.

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Download the Florida nonprofit Articles of Incorporation. Fill out the form and submit to the state.

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To incorporate a Florida nonprofit, you lot must complete and file nonprofit articles of incorporation with the Florida Division of Corporations. See the document below and click on whatever number to see what data is required in the corresponding section.

1. Corporate Name

Your nonprofit'south proper name must incorporate a corporate suffix ("Corporation," "Corp.," "Incorporated," or "Inc."), and the proper noun must be distinguishable from other organizations on file with the State of Florida. Florida's Segmentation of Corporations no longer provides name reservations and preliminary name searches, but yous can search the state's records yourself at the Segmentation's website.

2. Principal Role

Include the street accost and mailing accost (if dissimilar) of your nonprofit's principal identify of business, and proceed in mind that whatever street accost you put down goes onto the public record. When you sign upwards for Northwest'south registered agent service, you can list the Tampa, FL, street address of our office in place of yours.

3. Purpose

Florida wants a detailed description of your nonprofit's purpose (and gives yous plenty of room on the form to write it). If your nonprofit intends to seek 501(c)(3) federal tax-exempt status, be sure to include the specific tax-exempt language required by the IRS.

four. Way of Election

Briefly betoken how your nonprofit will elect and engage its directors.

5. Initial Officers and/or Directors

You have the selection to list the names, addresses, and titles of your nonprofit's directors or officers (at to the lowest degree three).

six. Registered Agent

Include the name and Florida street accost of your nonprofit's registered agent. Your registered agent is the individual or business (like Northwest!) authorized to accept services of procedure (legal notices) on your nonprofit'south behalf. Florida requires an arrangement'due south registered agent to officially accept the position past signing and dating the articles of incorporation.

7. Incorporator

Include the name and address of at to the lowest degree i incorporator. An incorporator is simply a person authorized to complete, sign, and submit your nonprofit's articles of incorporation. Hire Northwest to class your nonprofit, and we'll be your incorporator.

8. Effective Date (Optional)

Your system's effective date is simply the date of its official creation, which is usually but the date the Division of Corporations processes the articles of incorporation. Even so, Florida gives nonprofits the option to push button the effective appointment back five days prior to the actual filing date or xc days after—you but need to signal the effective appointment on your manufactures of incorporation. Nearly nonprofits go out this department blank.

How Much Does It Cost to Comprise a Florida Nonprofit?

Florida charges a $lxx in combined fees to file nonprofit articles of incorporation, a full that includes a $35 filing fee and a $35 designation of registered amanuensis fee. Hire Northwest to form your nonprofit, and your total cost, which includes a full year of registered amanuensis service, is $295.

How Long Does It Have to Start a Florida Nonprofit?

If you file online, Florida will process your articles inside well-nigh 5 business days (mailed filings, of form, may accept a chip longer). When you lot rent Northwest to form your Florida nonprofit, we'll file your manufactures online, and you can expect a response from the state within 5 business organisation days.

Does a Florida Nonprofit Need a Registered Amanuensis?

Yep, Florida requires a nonprofit corporation to appoint and maintain a registered agent to receive service of process (legal notices) from the state, which is why your nonprofit'due south articles of incorporation must list your registered agent's Florida street address.

You're allowed to listing yourself as the registered amanuensis, simply we retrieve it'south wiser to go with a registered agent service like Northwest. Why? Because nigh people can't manage and grow a new nonprofit if they can't exit the office during normal business hours, and "staying put" is exactly what the land expects of a registered agent. You would as well accept to deal with the fallout of list your residential or office accost on your articles of incorporation, a publicly available certificate. That fallout usually includes excessive junk post, solicitors showing upwards at your door, and extra fees paid to the state if you always demand to alter the location of your nonprofit'southward registered office.

These problems disappear when you hire Northwest, where we practise the waiting instead of you, where you become to listing our Tampa function address on your nonprofit's articles of incorporation (in place of your own), and where y'all become the comfort of knowing that a professional registered agent service is e'er there to receive legal notices and official state mail on your behalf. At Northwest, nosotros have the infrastructure in identify to scan and send any official state documents we receive on the mean solar day nosotros receive them.

A federal employer identification number (a FEIN or EIN) is a must for any new nonprofit trying to navigate its finances, solicit donations, or apply for federal and country tax exemptions. Your Florida nonprofit tin can get an EIN from the IRS as soon as the country approves your Articles of Incorporation. Utilise through the IRS website, or you can save yourself the trouble entirely past adding our EIN service for an boosted fee when you hire Northwest.

Starting a successful nonprofit means getting everyone in the organization on the aforementioned page, and bylaws are what brand that possible. Will your nonprofit have voting members? How long is a managing director's tenure? What are the officers' responsibilities? What if your nonprofit needs to suspend a managing director? Questions similar these get addressed in your bylaws, and without them your nonprofit's directors and officers can't really guide the organization at all. Near nonprofits adopt their bylaws at the organizational meeting (the first meeting of the directors after incorporating) and before seeking 501(c)(three) tax-exempt status from the IRS.

It's tough to write bylaws, but Northwest can assist. When you hire u.s., yous'll get access to our template for writing nonprofit bylaws, as well as numerous other free nonprofit forms to help your nonprofit commencement successful and stay successful. Why? Because we want you to sign up for our registered agent service yr later on yr, and that requires that your nonprofit stays in business and continues to grow. Your success is our success.

Your nonprofit will pay federal income taxes, like any business, unless it obtains federal tax-exempt status from the IRS. This involves submitting an Awarding for Recognition of Exemption to the IRS to demonstrate that your organization qualifies equally one of around two dozen dissimilar types of exempt organizations described under department 501(c) of the Internal Acquirement Code. Since most nonprofits get formed for charitable purposes, the majority of new nonprofits seek 501(c)(3) status for public charities and private foundations.

If your nonprofit intends to seek 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, make sure your manufactures of incorporation include the special tax-exempt language required by the IRS. This language, which includes a statement of purpose and a provision governing what happens to your nonprofit's avails if it ever shuts down, is designed to make sure your nonprofit is dedicated exclusively to the pursuit of one or more tax-exempt purposes recognized past the IRS.

Things become more complicate at the state level. In general, your nonprofit will pay the Florida reemployment taxation if it consistently has more than than four employees, but 501(c)(3) charitable organizations, if already recognized by the IRS, are usually exempt from the state'southward corporate income revenue enhancement. It is also possible to get a sales and use revenue enhancement exemption (at least on purchases) if the nonprofit obtains a Consumer's Document of Exemption.

Does a Florida Nonprofit Need a Business License?

Florida's equivalent of a business license is called the Business Tax Receipt, which typically gets granted past the county government, and nigh counties require businesses, including nonprofits, to become a business taxation receipt. This is i of the more complicated elements of starting a nonprofit (or any business) in Florida, then it's probably best to simply reach out to your local tax collector'southward office to get clear about the requirements and fees specific to your nonprofit.

Should a Florida Nonprofit Register for State Tax Accounts?

If your nonprofit will have paid employees or make sales of any kind (among numerous other kinds of business-like transactions), you will likely demand to submit a Business Tax Awarding (Course DR-1) to the Florida Department of Revenue. Register online at the Florida Department of Revenue's website.

Should a Florida Nonprofit Register as a Charity?

If your Florida nonprofit intends to solicit charitable contributions from the public, you're required to register equally a charity with the Department of Agronomics and Consumer Services and renew each year. Yet, the application procedure and costs differ depending on your nonprofit'southward annual revenue. Bank check out our guide to Florida Charity Registration for details.

To open a depository financial institution business relationship for your Florida nonprofit, y'all will need to bring the post-obit items with you to the bank:

A copy of your nonprofit's articles of incorporation
A copy of your nonprofit's bylaws
Your nonprofit's EIN

Information technology's wise to call your ahead of time to check its requirements. Some banks may crave you to bring a resolution authorizing yous to open up a bank business relationship in your nonprofit's name (particularly if your nonprofit has several directors and/or officers).

Florida requires nonprofits to file annual reports to keep the Section of State's records current, including information most your nonprofit's registered amanuensis and the names and addresses of your officers and directors. The filing fee is $61.25, and you must file online at the Florida Department of Land'southward website. The borderline is May 1st each year.

Hire Northwest as your registered agent service, and we'll ship you a reminder when your annual report's deadline approaches, but we can also complete and submit the report ourselves. Just add our convenient Florida annual written report service, for an additional $161.25 fee, when you hire Northwest.

Let Us Be Your Guide

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At Northwest Registered Agent, we've spent years crafting our Florida Nonprofit Service. When you hire us, nosotros'll form your Florida nonprofit for $295 full and include:

Privacy by Default®
1 year of registered amanuensis service
Free Florida business organization accost use
Gratuitous postal service forwarding (up to 10 pieces of not-state mail scanned per yr for FREE)
Digital notifications
Florida annual report reminders and directions for fast filing
A secure online account filled with intuitive concern maintenance tools and forms to make upkeep simple
Lifetime Corporate Guide Service—call us anytime and i of our Corporate Guides® will help you navigate any business organisation trouble, task or curiosity you lot have.

Northwest Registered Amanuensis is the simply national nonprofit formation service defended to your personal privacy. We don't well data to third-parties, and we do everything nosotros tin to continue your personal information secure.

Outset YOUR FLORIDA NONPROFIT FOR $295 TOTAL