What's in your company's Sunbiz record
Everything a Florida corporation, LLC or partnership files with the Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations becomes part of its public record. Look the company up on Sunbiz and open its detail page: the list of filed documents is at the bottom, with free images of each.
The documents foreign institutions ask for most:
| Document | What it shows | Typically asked for when |
|---|---|---|
| Articles of incorporation (corporation) or articles of organization (LLC) | Legal name, filing date, document number, initial address, registered agent and the people who formed it | Registering a subsidiary or branch, opening a corporate account |
| Articles of amendment, name changes, mergers, conversions | Every change since formation | The name or structure on your application differs from the original articles |
| Annual report (most recent) | Current principal and mailing address, registered agent, and the officers, directors, managers or authorized persons on file | A bank or notary needs to see who currently runs the company |
| Certificate of status | That the entity is active today | Almost always; see how to get a Florida certificate of status |
Free images and photocopies aren't certified copies
The images on Sunbiz are fine for checking what was filed. They can't be apostilled. Neither can a photocopy you order from the Division without certification. The Florida Department of State's accepted documents page asks for the original certified copy issued by the Division, not a photocopy.
A notary can't fix this either. Sunbiz filings are public records held in a government office, and Florida notaries can't attest copies of public records that the official custodian can certify. A "notarized copy" of your articles will be refused.
So the only document that works is a certified copy issued by the Division of Corporations itself.
What certified copies cost
Fees as the Division lists them in October 2026 (corporate fees, LLC fees, certified copies by mail):
| Entity type | Certified copy |
|---|---|
| Corporation (profit or nonprofit) | $8.75 per document by mail. In person: $8.75 for the first 8 pages and $1 for each additional page, up to $52.50 |
| LLC | $30.00 per document |
| General partnership, LLP, LP, LLLP | $52.50, plus $1 per page after the first 15 pages |
| Fictitious name registration or renewal | $30.00 |
Uncertified photocopies of corporate records are $10 by mail or $1 per page in person. They're useful for your files, not for an apostille.
Requesting certified copies by mail
The Division's certified copy by mail page sets out what to include.
Look up the record
On Sunbiz, note the entity's exact name, its six- or twelve-digit document number, and for each filing you need, the document type and the date it was filed.
Write the request
The Division asks for a written request listing the entity name, the document or registration number, the document type (for example, Articles of Incorporation, Amendment) and its filing date. List each document you want certified on its own line, so nothing is missed.
Pay correctly
Pay by check or money order payable to the Florida Department of State, in U.S. funds drawn on a U.S. bank. Calculate the fee per document from the table above.
Mail it to the Certification Section
Send the request to the Division of Corporations' Certification Section. Confirm the current mailing address on the Division's site before you mail it.
Keep the copies intact
When the certified copies arrive, don't unstaple them, remove pages or add anything. The certification covers the pages exactly as the Division assembled them.
Ordering the certified copy and the apostille together
You don't have to get the certified copy first and file the apostille later. The Florida Department of State accepts an apostille request submitted together with a separate certified copy request and its fee. It requires two separate checks or money orders: one for the certified copy and one for the $10 apostille.
This is how we handle most corporate orders. You give us the company name, document number, the filings you need and the destination, and our team files the certified copy request and the apostille request together in person in Tallahassee, with the separate payments. You don't ship us anything.
Count documents the way the state does: each certified copy carries its own certification, and each certification gets its own apostille. Articles plus two amendments plus a certificate of status is usually four apostilles. Our price for three or more documents is $160 each.
Why the annual report matters more than people expect
Foreign banks and notaries want to know who has authority to act for the company today. Articles filed years ago may list an incorporator who left long ago. The most recent annual report is the Division's record of the current officers, directors or managers and the principal address.
Before you order a certified copy of it, check that the information is current. If an officer changed, file an amended annual report first; the Division lists that at $61.25 for a corporation and $50 for an LLC. A certified copy of an outdated report just proves the record is wrong.
The annual report shows names, not signing authority for a particular transaction. Foreign notaries usually also want a resolution naming who may sign, notarized in Florida and apostilled.
Nonprofit corporations follow the same route. Churches, foundations and charities registering abroad, or receiving grants from foreign donors, are often asked for certified articles, the latest annual report and a certificate of status, exactly like a for-profit company.
Problems we see with corporate copies
- Only the original articles. The company changed its name or converted from a corporation to an LLC, but the file only has the formation document. The foreign registry sees two different companies. Order the amendment or conversion too.
- Old certified copies. A certified copy ordered at formation, sometimes ten years ago, is technically still a certified copy. Foreign banks often want a recently issued one, so ask before you reuse it.
- Inactive company. The certified copies are fine, but the certificate of status in the same file says the company is dissolved. Reinstate first.
- Out-of-state company. A Delaware LLC registered to do business in Florida still has its formation documents in Delaware. Florida can certify only what's in Florida's record, such as the application for authority to transact business.
- Loose pages. Someone separated the pages to scan them. Once the certification no longer covers an intact set, order a new copy.
Before you order
A ten-minute check on Sunbiz before you order saves a second filing.
- Company is active on Sunbiz, with the current annual report filed
- Exact legal name and document number
- List of every filing the foreign side wants: articles, each amendment, latest annual report
- Filing date of each document
- Officer and address information on the latest annual report is current
- The foreign side's maximum age for certified copies, if it has one
- Whether a resolution, officer's certificate or power of attorney goes with the file
- Destination country, to decide between an apostille and a Florida authentication
Apostilling the certified copies with us
Our price is $220 for one document, $380 for two and $160 each for three or more. That covers the state's apostille fee, the request form, in-person filing in Tallahassee and FedEx inside the U.S. The Division's certified copy fees are separate; we confirm them with you before filing. International shipping is a flat $100 per order, and turnaround is 5–7 business days.
Need a resolution or officer's certificate signed for the same file? Officers anywhere can sign before a Florida online notary through our online notarization add-on: $40 for the first document ($10 notarization fee plus a $30 technology platform fee) and $20 for each additional one. Start an order, or read more on articles of incorporation apostille.
If the destination isn't in the Hague Convention, the Florida authentication is the same price; the U.S. Department of State and embassy steps that follow are covered in our non-Hague guide. We don't handle those steps.