How to start a nonprofit in Florida

Short answer: To start a nonprofit in Florida, you form a nonprofit corporation by filing Articles of Incorporation with the Florida Division of Corporations (Sunbiz) for roughly $70 ($35 to file plus $35 to designate your registered agent), get a free EIN from the IRS, adopt bylaws, and seat a board of at least three directors. A nonprofit is not automatically tax-exempt, so the central step is filing IRS Form 1023 (or 1023-EZ) to become a recognized 501(c)(3). Before you ask the public for a single dollar, Florida law requires you to register with FDACS under Chapter 496, and once the IRS letter arrives you claim the Florida sales tax exemption with Form DR-5. Florida has no personal income tax, and a 501(c)(3) is exempt from the state’s corporate income tax on its mission income.

The federal core of forming a nonprofit is the same in every state — incorporate, EIN, bylaws, board, and the 501(c)(3) application. For the full national walkthrough of each universal step, read how to start a nonprofit; this guide covers those briefly and then spends its time on the Florida layer that carries the real value: the Sunbiz filing, the FDACS fundraising registration, and the state sales tax exemption.

The formation steps that are the same anywhere

Forming a nonprofit in Florida follows the standard nonprofit-formation checklist, and most of it is federal, not state-specific:

1. Incorporate as a nonprofit corporation (the Florida-specific part — covered in detail below).
2. Get an EIN — a free federal tax ID from the IRS, applied for directly at irs.gov. Never pay a third party for one; the EIN is always free.
3. Adopt bylaws — the organization’s internal rulebook for decisions, leadership, and money. Start from a proven document rather than a blank page; see nonprofit bylaws for what to include.
4. Seat a board — a Florida nonprofit needs at least three directors, ideally a majority unrelated, so the organization is governed by a body rather than one person.
5. Apply for 501(c)(3) status with Form 1023 — this is the step that actually makes the organization tax-exempt. Unlike a church, a general nonprofit is not exempt by default; it files Form 1023 (or the streamlined Form 1023-EZ) and waits for the IRS determination letter. Full details are in how to start a 501(c)(3).
6. Open a bank account in the nonprofit’s legal name using the EIN and formation documents.
7. Set up the books on fund accounting from day one, before the first grant or donation arrives.

Each of these is walked step by step in the national formation guide linked above. The rest of this page is the Florida layer on top.

Incorporating a nonprofit in Florida (Sunbiz)

Forming the legal entity starts at the Florida Division of Corporations, the agency everyone calls Sunbiz. You file Articles of Incorporation for a Florida Not for Profit Corporation, and the fee breaks into two parts: a $35 filing fee and a separate $35 fee to designate your registered agent, for a total of about $70 as of 2026. Confirm the current amounts on the Sunbiz fee schedule, since state fees change. The registered agent must be a person or entity with a physical Florida street address who agrees to accept legal papers for the nonprofit.

The articles ask for the nonprofit’s name, principal and mailing addresses, the registered agent, and the names and addresses of the initial directors — Florida requires a minimum of three (Sunbiz nonprofit articles instructions). Two clauses do the heavy lifting for the 501(c)(3) application later and belong in the articles at formation rather than as an amendment:

• A 501(c)(3) purpose clause stating the nonprofit is organized exclusively for one or more exempt purposes — charitable, educational, religious, scientific, and so on.
• A dissolution clause stating that if the nonprofit closes, its remaining assets pass to another 501(c)(3) organization or to government, never to any individual.

The IRS looks for both when it reviews Form 1023, so getting the language right on the Florida filing saves a rewrite. The full breakdown of what these documents need is in articles of incorporation. You file the articles online through Sunbiz or by mail, and once they are approved the nonprofit exists as a Florida corporation. From then on, the corporation owes Sunbiz an annual report every year — due by May 1, with a fee of $61.25 for a not-for-profit corporation (Sunbiz fee schedule) — to stay in good standing.

Registering to fundraise with FDACS

Here is where a Florida nonprofit differs sharply from a Florida church. Before it solicits or accepts contributions from the public, a charitable organization must register with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) under Chapter 496, the Solicitation of Contributions Act. You file the Solicitation of Contributions Registration Application, Form FDACS-10100, and renew it every year (FDACS Solicitation of Contributions).

The registration fee is tiered by the contributions the organization received in its preceding fiscal year, per section 496.404(5) of the Florida Statutes: $10 if you took in less than $5,000, $75 for $5,000 up to $100,000, $125 for $100,000 up to $200,000, $200 for $200,000 up to $500,000, $300 for $500,000 up to $1,000,000, $350 for $1,000,000 up to $10,000,000, and $400 at $10,000,000 or more. A brand-new nonprofit with no prior-year contributions starts at the bottom of that scale. Confirm the current tiers with FDACS, since the statute can be amended.

Now the contrast worth knowing: a bona fide religious institution is exempt from this registration under Chapter 496, which is why a Florida church can take an offering without filing with FDACS. A general nonprofit gets no such pass. If you plan to ask the public to give — online donations, grant appeals, fundraising events — you register with FDACS first, and soliciting before you register is a violation. That single requirement is one of the clearest differences between forming a nonprofit and starting a church in Florida.

Claiming the Florida sales tax exemption (DR-5)

A Florida 501(c)(3) can buy goods and services free of state sales and use tax, but the exemption is not automatic — you apply to the Florida Department of Revenue for a Consumer’s Certificate of Exemption using Form DR-5. The Department verifies the organization’s federal status, and a copy of the IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter must accompany the application (Florida DOR — nonprofit sales tax). That sequencing matters: the DR-5 generally waits on the IRS letter, so the practical order is incorporate, file Form 1023, receive the determination, then file the DR-5. There is no fee for the certificate.

On the income side, Florida has no personal income tax at all, and a 501(c)(3) is exempt from the state’s corporate income tax on its exempt-purpose income. The one exception: if the nonprofit earns unrelated business taxable income and files a federal Form 990-T, it must also file Florida’s Form F-1120 and pay corporate income tax on that unrelated income (Florida DOR — nonprofit organizations). For a typical mission-driven nonprofit with no side business, that return never comes up.

Florida filing at a glance

The table below maps each step to its agency, form, and cost. Treat the fees as accurate as of 2026 and confirm with the listed agency, since fees and statutes change.

What you’re doing	Agency	Form	Fee (as of 2026)
Incorporate the nonprofit	Florida Division of Corporations (Sunbiz)	Articles of Incorporation (Not for Profit)	~$70 ($35 + $35 agent)
File the annual report	Florida Division of Corporations (Sunbiz)	Annual Report	$61.25 (due May 1)
Get a federal tax ID	IRS	EIN application (online)	Free
Become a 501(c)(3)	IRS	Form 1023 or 1023-EZ	$600 / $275 user fee
Register to fundraise	FDACS	Form FDACS-10100	$10–$400 (tiered)
Sales tax exemption	Florida Department of Revenue	Form DR-5	No fee

Setting up the books once the nonprofit exists in Florida

Once the nonprofit is formed and the exemptions are filed, the work shifts from one-time paperwork to the monthly routine — and that routine is where nonprofits either stay clean or quietly drift out of compliance. A nonprofit holds money in trust, much of it restricted by donors or grant agreements to a specific program, so it tracks money by fund rather than as a single bottom line. Set the books on fund accounting before the first donation, keep the contribution records donors need for their own taxes, and document that the board reviews the finances. Two Florida deadlines ride on top of the federal Form 990: the FDACS registration renews annually, and the Sunbiz annual report is due every May 1. Miss either and the nonprofit risks losing its standing or its right to fundraise. Good records make both renewals routine — see nonprofit accounting for how the monthly close fits together.

FAQ

How much does it cost to start a nonprofit in Florida? The required state cost is modest. Filing the Articles of Incorporation with Sunbiz runs about $70 ($35 filing plus $35 for the registered agent), and the DR-5 sales tax exemption carries no fee. The two costs that move the total are the IRS 501(c)(3) user fee — $275 for Form 1023-EZ or $600 for the full Form 1023 — and the FDACS fundraising registration, which starts at $10 for a new organization and rises with contributions. So a realistic floor to form a Florida nonprofit, get recognized as a 501(c)(3), and register to fundraise is roughly $350 to $700, plus the recurring $61.25 annual report and the FDACS renewal each year.

Does a Florida nonprofit have to register with FDACS? Yes, if it solicits contributions from the public. Florida’s Solicitation of Contributions Act (Chapter 496) requires a charitable organization to register with FDACS on Form FDACS-10100, and renew annually, before asking for donations. Bona fide religious institutions are exempt — which is the key difference between a general nonprofit and a church — but an ordinary nonprofit must register first and pay the tiered fee based on its prior-year contributions.

How long does it take to start a nonprofit in Florida? Forming the corporation at Sunbiz is fast — online filings are often approved within a few business days, and the EIN is issued immediately online. The slow part is federal: an IRS determination letter on Form 1023-EZ can come back in a few weeks to a couple of months, while the full Form 1023 commonly takes several months. Because the DR-5 sales tax exemption depends on that IRS letter, plan the state-level exemption around the federal timeline rather than the Sunbiz one.

Can one person start a nonprofit in Florida? One person can initiate the filing, but Florida requires a nonprofit corporation to name at least three directors, so it cannot be governed by a single individual. The IRS likewise looks for a real board with a majority of unrelated members before granting 501(c)(3) status. So a founder can drive the process, but a genuine, exempt Florida nonprofit needs a board of at least three, adopted bylaws, an EIN, and a bank account in the organization’s name.

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Vestrybooks sets up a new Florida nonprofit’s books on fund accounting from day one — funds, donor records, reconciliation, and the board reports — so the financial side is right before the first grant or donation arrives. See how it works.

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