Deadline one: May 1
The requirement is not a policy, it is statute. Florida Statutes section 605.0212(3) fixes the window. The first annual report "must be delivered to the department between January 1 and May 1 of the year following the calendar year in which the limited liability company's articles of organization became effective," and every report after that is due "between January 1 and May 1 of each calendar year thereafter." Florida profit corporations have the identical window under section 607.1622.
The Division of Corporations states the 2026 cutoff precisely: annual report filings have until 11:59 p.m. EST on Friday, May 1, 2026 before the $400 late fee is assessed. There is no grace period, no extension request, and no first-time forgiveness. The report is also not a tax filing. It confirms your principal address, mailing address, registered agent, and at least one person with authority to manage the company.
Deadline two: the third Friday in September
This is the date almost nobody knows about, and it is the one that actually ends companies. Under section 605.0714(1)(a), the Department may administratively dissolve an LLC that does not "deliver its annual report to the department by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the third Friday in September of each year." Corporations face the identical rule under section 607.1420(1)(a).
The Division of Corporations then records the dissolution the following week. Its published wording: if you do not file by the third Friday of September, your entity "will be administratively dissolved or revoked in our records at the close of business on the fourth Friday of September."
For 2026 that means September 18 is the statutory delivery deadline and September 25 is the day the record flips to dissolved. The Division also publishes a payment-method split for 2026: the last day to pay by check is September 18, and card payments are accepted through 5:00 p.m. EST on September 25. If you are mailing a check, September 18 is your hard stop. If you are paying by card, you have until the afternoon of September 25, which is a very thin margin to be relying on.
The 2026 timeline
- January 1, 2026 The annual report window opens. Filing now costs the report fee only.
- May 1, 2026, 11:59 p.m. EST Deadline. File by this moment and you pay $138.75 for an LLC, $150 for a profit corporation.
- May 2, 2026 The $400 late fee attaches. LLC total becomes $538.75. It stops growing here, but the risk does not.
- September 18, 2026, 5:00 p.m. ET Statutory delivery deadline under s. 605.0714(1)(a). Last day to pay by check.
- September 25, 2026, close of business Administrative dissolution is recorded. Card payments accepted until 5:00 p.m. EST that day. After this, the fix is reinstatement, not a late report.
What the deadline costs at each stage
| State fees when you file | LLC | Profit corporation |
|---|---|---|
| On or before May 1 | $138.75 | $150.00 |
| May 2 through September 18 | $538.75 | $550.00 |
| After dissolution is recorded (reinstatement) | $238.75 and up | $750.00 and up |
The last row is the reinstatement path, and it is lower than the row above it on purpose, not by mistake. It is the $100 LLC reinstatement fee plus the report fee for the year of dissolution. The $400 late fee is not charged on a reinstatement, because section 607.193(2)(b) excepts entities that were administratively dissolved for failure to file and then applied for reinstatement and paid the reinstatement fee. Profit corporations pay a $600 reinstatement fee, hence the $750 figure. Wait past January 1 and the Division collects the following calendar year's report as well, which takes the LLC minimum to $377.50.
So why not just let it dissolve? Because the money was never the real cost. Dissolution starts a one-year clock on your company name under section 605.0715, ends your ability to get a certificate of status, and leaves you unable to maintain or defend an action under section 605.0212(6). Those are the reasons to file in July.
Missing the deadline costs you more than money
Section 605.0212(6) has a second bite that owners rarely read. An LLC that fails to file a complying annual report "may not maintain or defend any action in a court of this state until the report is filed and all fees and penalties due under this chapter are paid, and shall be subject to dissolution or cancellation of its certificate of authority to transact business as provided in this chapter." That applies while you are merely delinquent, before any dissolution. If a customer stops paying you in July and your report is unfiled, your ability to sue on that invoice is on hold until you cure.
Past September 25, it escalates further. A dissolved LLC "continues in existence but may only carry on activities necessary to wind up its activities and affairs ..." under s. 605.0714(5), which is a very different thing from being open for business.
Where you stand right now
The Division of Corporations record is the only thing that matters here, not your memory of whether someone filed. Look up your entity, read the status line, and read the "last annual report filed" year. If that year is not 2026, the clock described above is running against you.
Not sure where your LLC stands?
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