Changes in recent Florida legislation now allow the use of “Florida” or “of Florida” to make names distinguishable from existing entities. In the past, entities filing in the State of Florida were indistinguishable as determined by the state, when using the words “Florida” or “of Florida” in their names when compared to existing entities. For example, a company named “ABC of Florida, LLC” or “ABC Florida, LLC” could not be discernible from an entity with the name “ABC LLC” thus could not be filed.
This change comes with a bit of a snag. The FL Department of State is required to reject the filing of any document submitted, that meets this criteria, and then advise the filer that the name is similar to another name on record. Once rejected, the state gives the option to resubmit the filing as-is or choose another name and send a revised document.
