LLC Name Reservation Requirements in Florida

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Optional reservation and eligible applicant

Fla. Stat. § 605.01125(1) says a person “may reserve the exclusive use” of an LLC name by applying to the Department of State. The provision expressly includes an alternate name for a foreign LLC whose own name is unavailable. It does not list a separate registered-series application route. Under § 605.0201, LLC formation occurs through articles of organization in a separate filing.

Availability and name format

The Department must find the proposed name available before reserving it under § 605.01125(1). Section § 605.0112(1) separately requires an LLC designator and record distinguishability from protected names, with listed differences that do not count as distinguishable. Its written-consent exception speaks of registering an LLC under a nondistinguishable name and does not expressly grant an equivalent reservation exception. The Department’s current record, rather than this table, decides whether a particular application passes.

Application, signer, and form

Section 605.01125(1) requires the applicant’s name and address and the proposed name in an application delivered to the Department for filing. The general signing rule in § 605.0203 requires a record delivered on behalf of a person to be signed by that person, with an authorized agent, legal representative, or attorney-in-fact also permitted under stated conditions. A record filed under § 605.0206 needs a purpose caption, a Department-authorized medium, payment of filing fees, and any mandatory prescribed form.

Fee

The fee list in § 605.0213 does not name reservations. Its subsection (11) charges $25 for filing “any other limited liability company document.” That is the chapter’s general residual fee provision; the statute does not separately price a transfer or post-effect cancellation notice in § 605.01125. The filing office controls how it classifies a submitted document.

Term and renewal

If the Department finds the name available, § 605.01125(1) requires it to reserve the name for the applicant’s exclusive use for a “nonrenewable 120-day period.” That subsection states no separate formula for the period’s start date or a renewal window. The word “nonrenewable” is express; filing a new application after expiration is a different question for the Department’s current name records.

Transfer and revocation

Under § 605.01125(2), the reservation owner may transfer the hold by delivering a signed transfer notice to the Department stating the transferee’s name and address. Under subsection (3), the Department may revoke a reservation after a hearing if the application or transfer was not made in good faith. The section does not specify a post-effect applicant cancellation procedure.

What trips people up

The written-consent language in § 605.0112(1)(b) applies to registering an LLC under a nondistinguishable name; § 605.01125 does not say that the same consent lets a person reserve it. A reservation also has a fixed nonrenewable term, so a filer cannot assume a subsequent application keeps the original priority. The Department’s availability finding is a statutory condition, not a trademark or actual-use clearance.

Common questions

Does reserving the name form an LLC?

No. Section 605.0201 describes formation through filed articles of organization. Section 605.01125 provides a separate optional name hold.

Does the reservation prove ownership of the name?

Section 605.01125 gives an exclusive state reservation for its period. Section 605.0112(5) says filing an LLC name is for public notice and, by itself, creates no ownership presumption beyond the common law. A trademark or use dispute requires separate analysis.

Statutes and sources

The official 2026 Florida Statutes, Chapter 605, accessed September 22, 2026, contains the quoted text of §§ 605.0112, 605.01125, 605.0201, 605.0203, 605.0206, and 605.0213. Section 605.01125 supplies the reservation rules; neighboring provisions supply name, formation, general filing, signing, and fee context.