Register a Miami LLC Step by Step (2026 Sequence)
The exact sequence to form a Florida LLC with a Miami address — from Sunbiz filing to EIN to mail activation — without flying to the US.
Can you register a Miami LLC from another country without flying to Florida? Yes — but only if you run the five steps in the right order. File on Sunbiz before the commercial address is active and your home becomes a permanent public record under Florida Chapter 605 Florida Statutes Chapter 605 — Florida Revised Limited Liability Company Act. Submit the EIN application before the entity exists and the IRS rejects it. Apply to an online bank before USPS clears your Form 1583 and you get a polite no for lack of operational presence. This guide walks the exact sequence — address, Sunbiz, EIN, Form 1583, BOI — in the order that prevents each of those failures.
The mechanics rest on four primary sources. Florida Chapter 605 governs Limited Liability Companies and lets a non-resident form one with no citizenship test Florida Statutes Chapter 605 — Florida Revised Limited Liability Company Act. The Florida Department of State runs the registry where every formation lives — Sunbiz Florida Division of Corporations — Sunbiz Business Registry. The IRS issues the Employer Identification Number through Form SS-4, even when the responsible party has no SSN or ITIN IRS Form SS-4 Instructions — Application for Employer Identification Number. And FinCEN, under 31 USC §5336, requires a Beneficial Ownership Information report from most newly formed LLCs within thirty days 31 USC §5336 — Corporate Transparency Act (Beneficial Ownership Reporting). Miss any of the four and you have an LLC on paper that cannot actually transact.
What does "registering a Miami LLC" really mean?
There is no separate "Miami LLC". Florida files everything at the state level, not the city level. What you are forming is a Florida Limited Liability Company whose principal-office address sits inside Miami-Dade County Florida Statutes Chapter 605 — Florida Revised Limited Liability Company Act. The "Miami" label is operational, not legal — it tells your bank, the IRS, and your customers that the entity is anchored at a real commercial address in a US business district.
That anchoring is the part most guides skip. Florida lets you put any street address on Sunbiz, and Sunbiz publishes it the moment you file Florida Division of Corporations — Sunbiz Business Registry. If you list your apartment in Bogotá, the world sees your apartment. If you list a Miami CMRA suite where USPS has authorized delivery via Form 1583 USPS Form 1583 — Application for Delivery of Mail Through Agent, the world sees a commercial Miami address. Same statute. Different operational outcome.
For a non-resident, "registering a Miami LLC step by step" is five gates in a fixed order: commercial address, Sunbiz articles, EIN, USPS authorization, FinCEN BOI. Skip the address gate and the next four cascade into rework.
How to run the five steps in the right order
The sequence is non-negotiable. Each step produces an artifact the next step needs.
- Step 1 — Secure a US commercial address. Sign with a USPS-licensed CMRA in a Miami commercial building before you touch Sunbiz. The suite must follow the PMB format USPS published in Postal Bulletin 22648, which authorized remote video notarization of Form 1583 and reaffirmed the addressing rules CMRAs apply USPS Postal Bulletin 22648 — Remote Notarization of Form 1583 (May 16, 2024). The address you secure here becomes the principal-office address on every downstream filing.
- Step 2 — File the Articles of Organization on Sunbiz. Submit Form CR2E047 through Florida's Sunbiz portal Florida Division of Corporations — Sunbiz Business Registry. The filing fee runs around 125 dollars and includes the registered-agent designation. Sunbiz returns a state document number the same day; the filed Articles arrive by email within forty-eight hours.
- Step 3 — Apply for the EIN by faxing Form SS-4. Foreign-owned LLCs whose responsible party has no SSN or ITIN cannot use the IRS online EIN application; the documented path is fax to the international EIN unit IRS Form SS-4 Instructions — Application for Employer Identification Number. Write "Foreign" in the responsible-party SSN field — the SS-4 instructions explicitly contemplate this IRS Form SS-4 Instructions — Application for Employer Identification Number. Turnaround runs four to six weeks; the CP 575 confirmation letter arrives by mail to the US commercial address.
- Step 4 — Notarize and submit Form 1583 to your CMRA. Form 1583 is the document USPS requires before a CMRA can release mail addressed to your LLC USPS Form 1583 — Application for Delivery of Mail Through Agent. USPS authorized remote online notarization in May 2024 USPS Postal Bulletin 22648 — Remote Notarization of Form 1583 (May 16, 2024), so a non-resident can complete the notarization by video with a US-commissioned notary. Submit the notarized form plus two government IDs to the CMRA; one ID may be a foreign passport.
- Step 5 — File the FinCEN BOI report. Under 31 USC §5336, most LLCs formed after 1 January 2024 must report beneficial-ownership information to FinCEN within thirty days of registration 31 USC §5336 — Corporate Transparency Act (Beneficial Ownership Reporting). The filing is free, runs through the FinCEN portal, and returns a confirmation banks now expect to see in your application packet.
For the full mechanics of how USPS validates a CMRA address and what the notary must witness, see our Form 1583 guide.
Sunbiz, EIN, or address first?
Founders ask this in every consultation. The answer is fixed: address first, Sunbiz second, EIN third. The reason is that Sunbiz publishes the principal-office address the moment you file Florida Division of Corporations — Sunbiz Business Registry, and the IRS routes the CP 575 letter to whatever entity address appears on the SS-4 IRS Form SS-4 Instructions — Application for Employer Identification Number. Both filings need a working commercial address to land on.
| Step | What you submit | Where it lands | Time to clear |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address | Lease / mailbox contract | CMRA customer file | Same day |
| Sunbiz Articles | Form CR2E047 + fee | Florida Division of Corporations | 1–2 business days |
| EIN (SS-4 by fax) | Form SS-4 | IRS International EIN unit | 4–6 weeks |
| Form 1583 | Notarized form + 2 IDs | Your CMRA (kept on file per USPS) | 1–3 business days |
| FinCEN BOI | Beneficial-owner data | FinCEN portal | Same day |
Running the steps out of order does not save time. Filing Sunbiz before you have an address forces a later amendment when the address changes — and that amendment is itself public on Sunbiz Florida Division of Corporations — Sunbiz Business Registry. Filing the SS-4 with a foreign address as the entity address sends the CP 575 letter to your home country. Notarizing Form 1583 before USPS has a CMRA-issued PMB suite to attach it to leaves you with a notarized form and nowhere to deliver it.
For the broader picture of how a non-resident structures the whole formation around these gates, the pillar walkthrough is the non-resident LLC guide.
Common mistakes that block formation
Five mistakes generate most of the rejections we see in inbound formations. Each maps to a specific gate skipped or run out of order.
- Listing a residential or foreign address on Sunbiz. The principal-office field is public the moment you submit Florida Division of Corporations — Sunbiz Business Registry. Listing your apartment in Mexico City pins that address to the entity permanently — amending it later does not retract the original.
- Using a P.O. Box as the LLC address. USPS Postal Addressing Standards distinguish a PMB at a licensed CMRA from a P.O. Box USPS Publication 28 — Postal Addressing Standards (PMB format). The IRS treats P.O. Boxes as mailing addresses only IRS Form SS-4 Instructions — Application for Employer Identification Number, and banks routinely reject them for new commercial accounts.
- Using the IRS online EIN application without an SSN. The online application is documented as available only to applicants with an SSN or ITIN IRS Form SS-4 Instructions — Application for Employer Identification Number. Non-resident responsible parties must fax SS-4 to the international EIN unit; trying the online flow returns errors and burns a day.
- Notarizing Form 1583 with a foreign notary. USPS requires a US-commissioned notary or US-authorized remote online notary USPS Postal Bulletin 22648 — Remote Notarization of Form 1583 (May 16, 2024). An apostille on a foreign-notary signature does not cure this — the CMRA must reject it.
- Missing the thirty-day FinCEN BOI window. 31 USC §5336 imposes civil and criminal penalties for failure to file on time 31 USC §5336 — Corporate Transparency Act (Beneficial Ownership Reporting). The filing is free and takes about half an hour; missing it is a self-inflicted exposure.
Summary
A Miami LLC for a non-resident is a Florida LLC anchored at a Miami commercial address. The five gates — address, Sunbiz Articles, EIN by faxed SS-4, Form 1583 notarization, FinCEN BOI — run in a fixed order because each produces an artifact the next one needs. Florida Chapter 605 imposes no residency test Florida Statutes Chapter 605 — Florida Revised Limited Liability Company Act, Sunbiz accepts the filing the same day Florida Division of Corporations — Sunbiz Business Registry, the IRS issues the EIN by fax in four to six weeks IRS Form SS-4 Instructions — Application for Employer Identification Number, USPS authorizes remote video notarization of Form 1583 USPS Postal Bulletin 22648 — Remote Notarization of Form 1583 (May 16, 2024), and FinCEN takes the BOI report within thirty days 31 USC §5336 — Corporate Transparency Act (Beneficial Ownership Reporting). Run the gates in order and the LLC is operational in three to four weeks. Skip one and you spend a quarter chasing rework.
FAQ
How long does it take to register a Miami LLC from abroad?
Three to four weeks of elapsed time, with most of the wait sitting on the IRS EIN fax turnaround of four to six weeks IRS Form SS-4 Instructions — Application for Employer Identification Number. Sunbiz returns the Articles in one to two business days Florida Division of Corporations — Sunbiz Business Registry, Form 1583 clears with the CMRA in one to three days after notarization USPS Postal Bulletin 22648 — Remote Notarization of Form 1583 (May 16, 2024), and the FinCEN BOI filing is same-day 31 USC §5336 — Corporate Transparency Act (Beneficial Ownership Reporting). The work is sequencing, not waiting.
Do I need to fly to Miami to form the LLC?
No. Every gate accepts remote completion. The CMRA contract signs online. Sunbiz takes electronic filings Florida Division of Corporations — Sunbiz Business Registry. The IRS accepts SS-4 by fax IRS Form SS-4 Instructions — Application for Employer Identification Number. USPS authorized remote online notarization for Form 1583 in 2024 USPS Postal Bulletin 22648 — Remote Notarization of Form 1583 (May 16, 2024). FinCEN BOI is a web filing 31 USC §5336 — Corporate Transparency Act (Beneficial Ownership Reporting).
Can I use my home address on Sunbiz to save the CMRA fee?
You can — and the address becomes a public record on the Florida Division of Corporations registry Florida Division of Corporations — Sunbiz Business Registry. Most founders who try this come back to amend the filing once the privacy implication lands. The amendment itself is public, so the original address remains visible in the filing history.
What is the difference between an EIN and an ITIN?
The EIN identifies the LLC; the ITIN identifies an individual taxpayer who has no SSN. A non-resident-owned single-member LLC always needs an EIN through Form SS-4 IRS Form SS-4 Instructions — Application for Employer Identification Number. Most single-member non-resident LLCs do not need the owner to hold an ITIN unless a specific bank or income event requires it IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) Program.
What happens if I miss the FinCEN BOI deadline?
31 USC §5336 imposes civil penalties of up to 500 dollars per day and possible criminal penalties for wilful failure 31 USC §5336 — Corporate Transparency Act (Beneficial Ownership Reporting). File the day after Sunbiz returns your Articles.
Need a Miami address?
If the address is the gate that blocks the next four steps, that is the part we exist to solve. A real CMRA suite in a Miami commercial building, the Form 1583 workflow with a US-commissioned remote notary, and a US business phone — set up before you touch Sunbiz. Pricing and inclusions live on pricing, and we answer specific Sunbiz / EIN / BOI sequencing questions over WhatsApp or email at contact.
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Last updated: May 2026