Florida DBA Publication
No confusion. No markup games. Here's exactly what this is, what it costs, and what you get.
$75 per name*Publication and registration bundle
$185 per name†*$100 in Miami-Dade and select counties, where the qualifying newspaper costs more.
†$215 in Miami-Dade and select counties. You'll see your county's price when you select it below.
What You Walk Away With
This is what arrives when you order DBA publication. It is the document the state and your bank will ask for, and the reason the service exists.
When your notice runs, the newspaper issues a sworn affidavit of publication — a signed, dated legal document certifying your DBA notice was published in a qualifying Chapter 50 newspaper. Every publication produces one. No exceptions.
That affidavit is the tangible thing you are buying: your proof the job is done, and the document you rely on when you certify publication on your Sunbiz filing. The moment it's issued, I email it straight to you — yours to keep.
The Honest Breakdown
Florida law requires you to publish a newspaper notice before registering a fictitious name (DBA) with the state. It's called the Fictitious Name Act (§865.09 F.S.), and skipping it means you technically can't maintain a lawsuit in Florida on behalf of that business until you fix it.
Most solo founders either don't know this step exists or spend an afternoon figuring out which newspaper qualifies for their county, how to write the notice, and how to submit it. I'll take care of this for you.
*$100 in Miami-Dade and select counties, where the qualifying newspaper costs more
The newspaper's fee runs from about $30 at a small weekly to $150 at the Boca Raton Tribune, and your $75* covers it either way — no surprise invoices. I deal with a real person at each paper, not a web form, which is how I get a true deadline, catch mistakes before they print, and get your affidavit into your hands.
†$215 in Miami-Dade and select counties, where the qualifying newspaper costs more
Publication alone is $75 and leaves the $50 state filing to you. The bundle adds that filing, done as soon as your affidavit arrives, and the name is registered for five years.
To submit the notice yourself, research which newspapers qualify under Chapter 50 for your county and submit to the publication of your choice.
The Bigger Picture
Most guides jump straight to the Sunbiz filing and skip the newspaper entirely. Here is the correct order. All three are required, they have to happen in this sequence, and I do each one.
Form the LLC ← LLC Formation
Your LLC is registered with the Florida Division of Corporations, and every filing after it refers back to it — a fictitious name is a name your LLC trades under, so the LLC has to be filed first. $175. Florida keeps $125 of that ($100 to file the Articles, $25 to record your registered agent). The remaining $50 is my service fee.
Publish the newspaper notice ← DBA Publication
Florida law requires a notice of intention to run in a qualifying Chapter 50 newspaper in your county before the name can be registered. This one has no way around it — the registration cannot be filed until the notice has published. $75, the newspaper's fee included.
Register the name with the state ← DBA Registration
Once the notice has run, the fictitious name is registered with the Division of Corporations, certifying that publication happened — the affidavit is that proof. Valid for five years, then it has to be renewed.
Florida state fees last verified October 3, 2026 against the Division of Corporations fee schedule.
Scope of Service
What you get
What this doesn't do
The Process
Pay belowFill out the form and submit payment. Takes about 5 minutes.
I write and submit your noticeI draft the legally required language and submit it to the qualifying Chapter 50 newspaper for your county.
Your notice publishes in the next available editionI need 24 hours ahead of the newspaper's deadline to draft and submit it. Papers print daily, weekly or twice a week depending on the county, so the print date depends on where your business is.
You receive your affidavitAfter publication, I forward the affidavit of publication to your email. Keep this for your records.
File on SunbizHead to efile.sunbiz.org and complete your fictitious name registration. Cost: $50 paid directly to the state. Your affidavit is your proof of compliance. (Or order publication and registration together for $185 — $215 in Miami-Dade and select counties — and I file this step for you.)
Questions
Yes. Despite what you may have read, the newspaper requirement is still in Florida law as of 2026 (§865.09 F.S., last amended 2019). When you sign the Sunbiz application, you self-certify that the notice has been published. Skipping it makes that certification false — and leaves you unable to maintain a lawsuit in Florida on behalf of that business until you fix it.
No. The notice must run in a newspaper that qualifies under Chapter 50 of the Florida Statutes. Your website, blog, or social media does not qualify. That's exactly what I handle here.
All 67 Florida counties. The qualifying newspaper varies by county — that's the research I've already done so you don't have to. You can read the requirement county by county, including which paper runs the notice and when it prints.
Each name is a separate newspaper notice and a separate order. You can submit multiple orders at once and I'll run them all in the same edition where possible.
I need your order 24 hours ahead of the newspaper's deadline. Orders that clear that window run in the next edition; orders that miss it run in the one after. Most county papers print weekly, so plan on one to two weeks from order to affidavit. Your affidavit is emailed to you after publication.
No — publication is step one. After you receive your affidavit, you still need to file the fictitious name registration on Sunbiz (sunbiz.org) for $50, paid directly to the state. That's the actual registration — or I file it for you, with the publication, for $185 — $215 in Miami-Dade and select counties: publication and registration. This service handles the required publication step that must come first.
Place Your Order
Florida only · all 67 counties · $75 per name · $100 in Miami-Dade & select counties · next available edition
Publication timing: I need your order 24 hours ahead of the newspaper's deadline. Your notice runs in the next available edition, and your affidavit follows publication.
Payments are processed by Sunstate Bay Ventures, LLC. Your card statement will show THE HONEST FOUNDER. The Honest Founder is a brand of Sunstate Bay Ventures, LLC.
After You File
Already have your LLC? Every Florida LLC must file an annual report between January 1 and May 1 — every year, even if nothing has changed. Miss it and the late fee is $400, no exceptions. This guide walks you through the whole thing in plain English. Five pages. Done in 5 minutes.
See the Guide — $19Instant PDF download · 5 pages · Florida LLC owners only