The Florida Department of State, Division of Corporation is the Florida Department for Incorporating. They are the division of the Department of State to contact for questions about incorporating in Florida.  Besides providing excellent online information and communication, the Florida Department for Incorporating provides an online public access network and informative telephone answering system.  Through their online network, the Department for Incorporating was the first in the US to initiate electronic certification and electronic filing services. 

In addition to providing certifying, and providing forms for, incorporation, the Department ensures that corporate names, fictitious names, trademarks, and service marks are not duplicated.  They also cross-reference information with the Florida Department of Revenue on a regular basis to identify foreign entities doing business in Florida that are not registered with the Division of Corporation.

In addition, the Division offers a very helpful online business research service (“Sunbiz”).  Using Sunbiz, people can directly access a database containing all of the fictitious name filings dating back to January, 1996, all corporation annual reports since January, 1996, and all corporation filings since November, 1997.  A very useful resource, Sunbiz allows people to easily download, save and print copies of filed documents and forms for incorporation purposes.