Florida Statute 48.062 - Full Text and Legal Analysis

The 2025 Florida Statutes

Title VI
CIVIL PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE

Chapter 48
PROCESS AND SERVICE OF PROCESS

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¹48.062 Service on a domestic limited liability company or registered foreign limited liability company.—

²(1) As used in this section, the term “registered foreign limited liability company” means a foreign limited liability company that has an active certificate of authority to transact business in this state pursuant to a record filed with the Department of State.

(2) A domestic limited liability company or registered foreign limited liability company may be served with process required or authorized by law by service on its registered agent designated by the domestic limited liability company or registered foreign limited liability company under chapter 605.

(3) If service cannot be made on a registered agent of the domestic limited liability company or registered foreign limited liability company because the domestic limited liability company or registered foreign limited liability company ceases to have a registered agent, or if the registered agent of the domestic limited liability company or registered foreign limited liability company cannot otherwise be served after one good faith attempt because of a failure to comply with this chapter or chapter 605, the process may be served on any of the following:

(a) Any manager of a manager-managed domestic limited liability company or registered foreign limited liability company.

(b) Any member of a member-managed domestic limited liability company or registered foreign limited liability company.

(c) Any person listed publicly by the domestic limited liability company or registered foreign limited liability company on its latest annual report, as most recently amended.

(4) If, after due diligence, the process cannot be completed under subsection (2) and if either:

(a) The only person listed publicly by the domestic limited liability company or registered foreign limited liability company on its latest annual report, as most recently amended, is also the registered agent on whom service was attempted under subsection (2); or

(b) After due diligence, service was attempted on at least one person listed publicly by the domestic limited liability company or registered foreign limited liability company on its latest annual report, as most recently amended, and cannot be completed on such person under subsection (3),

the service of process may be served as provided in s. 48.161 on the Secretary of State as an agent of the domestic limited liability company or the registered foreign limited liability company or by order of the court under s. 48.102.

(5) If the address for the registered agent or any person listed publicly by the domestic limited liability company or registered foreign limited liability company on its latest annual report, as most recently amended, is a residence, a private mailbox, a virtual office, or an executive office or mini suite, service on the domestic limited liability company or registered foreign limited liability company may be made by serving any of the following:

(a) The registered agent of the domestic limited liability company or registered foreign limited liability company, in accordance with s. 48.031.

(b) Any person listed publicly by the domestic limited liability company or registered foreign limited liability company on its latest annual report, as most recently amended, in accordance with s. 48.031.

(c) Any member or manager of the domestic limited liability company or registered foreign limited liability company, in accordance with s. 48.031.

²(6) A foreign limited liability company engaging in business in this state which is not registered is considered, for purposes of service of process, a nonresident engaging in business in this state and may be served pursuant to s. 48.181 or by order of the court under s. 48.102.

²(7) This section does not apply to service of process on insurance companies.

History.—s. 3, ch. 2013-180; s. 13, ch. 2015-148; s. 5, ch. 2019-67; s. 3, ch. 2022-190; s. 1, ch. 2025-162.

¹Note.—

A. Section 5, ch. 2025-13, provides:

“(1) The amendments made to chapter 48, Florida Statutes, by chapter 2022-190, Laws of Florida, apply to causes of action that accrued on or after January 2, 2023, and to all causes of action that accrued before January 2, 2023, for which service of process was effectuated on or after January 2, 2023.

“(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), any service of process that occurred between January 2, 2023, and October 1, 2025, which has not been invalidated by a court, is valid if such service complied with either chapter 48, Florida Statutes, as amended by chapter 2022-190, Laws of Florida, or the laws governing service of process in effect before January 2, 2023, which would have applied in the absence of chapter 2022-190, Laws of Florida.

“(3) The amendments made by this act apply to all service of process made or effectuated on or after October 1, 2025, regardless of whether the cause of action accrued before, on, or after October 1, 2025.

“(4) This section does not extend or modify the time for challenging the validity of any service of process and does not revive any ability to challenge the validity of service of process which has previously been waived.”

B. Section 1, ch. 2025-162, added new subsections (7)-(10), effective July 1, 2026, to read:

(7) Service of a summons and complaint on a series limited liability company is notice to each protected series of the series limited liability company of service of the summons and complaint and the contents of the complaint.

(8) Service of a summons and complaint on a protected series of a series limited liability company is notice to the series limited liability company and any other protected series of the series limited liability company of service of the summons and complaint and the contents of the complaint.

(9) Service of a summons and complaint on a registered foreign series limited liability company is notice to each registered foreign protected series of the registered foreign series limited liability company of service of the summons and complaint and the contents of the complaint.

(10) Service of a summons and complaint on a registered foreign protected series of a foreign series limited liability company is notice to the foreign series limited liability company and to any other registered foreign protected series of the foreign series limited liability company of service of the summons and complaint and the contents of the complaint.

²Note.—Section 1, ch. 2025-162, amended subsections (1) and (6) and redesignated present subsection (7) as subsection (11), effective July 1, 2026, to read:

(1) As used in this section, the term:

(a) “Registered foreign limited liability company” means a foreign limited liability company that has an active certificate of authority to transact business in this state pursuant to a record filed with the Department of State.

(b) “Registered foreign protected series of a foreign series limited liability company” means a protected series of a foreign series limited liability company that has an active certificate of authority to transact business in this state pursuant to a record filed with the Department of State.

(c) “Registered foreign series limited liability company” means a foreign series limited liability company that has an active certificate of authority to transact business in this state pursuant to a record filed with the Department of State.

* * * * *

(6) A foreign limited liability company, foreign series limited liability company, or foreign protected series of a foreign series limited liability company engaging in business in this state which is not registered is considered, for purposes of service of process, a nonresident engaging in business in this state and may be served pursuant to s. 48.181 or by order of the court under s. 48.102.

* * * * *

(11) This section does not apply to service of process on insurance companies.

F.S. 48.062 on Google Scholar

F.S. 48.062 on CourtListener

Amendments to 48.062

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 48.062

Total Results: 11 | Sort by: Relevance | Newest First

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Jupiter House, LLC v. Deutsche Bank Nat'l Trust Co., 198 So. 3d 1122 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016).

Cited 4 times | Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 2016 Fla. App. LEXIS 12808, 2016 WL 4468146

...2013-180, §§ 3, 29, Laws of Fla.; see also § 605.1108, Fla, Stat. (2014); 1 Green Emerald Homes, LLC, v. Hank of N.Y Mellon, No. 4D15-848, — So.3d -, 2016 WL 4138237 (Fla. 4th DCA Aug. 3, 2016); Boatfloat LLC v. Golia, 915 So.2d 288 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005). Section 48.062(1), Florida Statutes (2014), provides that process against an LLC may be served on the registered agent designated by the LLC. If service cannot be made on the LLC’s registered agent, process may be served on a member, manager, or designated employee as set forth in section-48.062(2)(a)-(c)....

...“If, after reasonable diligence, service of process cannot be completed under subsection (1) or subsection (2), service of prodess may be effected by service upon the Secretary of State as agent of the limited liability company as provided for in s. 48.181.” § 48.062(3), Fla....

...4th DCA 2014) (affirming where trial court accepted plaintiffs untimely filed affidavit of compliance where counsel explained the reason for delay and had moved to extend time for filing). *1124 We reject the plaintiffs position that it was not required to comply with either section. Section 48.062(3) refers to section 48.181,Florida Statutes (2014)....

...Department must keep a record of the service “and -the action taken regarding the. service.” Since the Legislature did not incorporate section (c) of the uniform act .to- guide the Secretary, or detail the specific action to be taken, we look to section 48.062’s reference to section 48.181,and its link to section 48.161 as set forth above....

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Green Emerald Homes, LLC v. Fed. Nat'l Mortg. Ass'n, 224 So. 3d 799 (Fla. 2d DCA 2017).

Cited 3 times | Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 2017 Fla. App. LEXIS 10967, 2017 WL 3271624

...Rather, this court agreed that a plaintiff was still required to comply with the notice requirements in section 48.161. Id. at 265 (citing Jupiter House, 198 So. 3d at 1124). Finally, although neither party brought it to our attention, we note from our own review of chapter 48 that section 48.062 provides for service on limited liability companies and refers to section 48.181.4 It states that "if, after reasonable diligence, service of process cannot be completed . . . , service of process may be effected by service upon the Secretary of State as agent of the limited liability company as provided for in s. 48.181." § 48.062(3). 4 Like section 605.0117, section 48.062 was enacted as part of the law that created the Florida Revised Limited Liability Company Act....

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Green Emerald Homes, LLC v. Bank of New York Mellon, 204 So. 3d 512 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016).

Cited 1 times | Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal

...However, the Bank also noted that appellant was formed prior to' the effective date of that act. Therefore the provisions of Chapter 608 regarding LLCs would apply to the service in this case. We also note that the service statute was changed to specifically provide for service on LLCs. See § 48.062, Fla....

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Charles Davis v. Bank of Am., N. a. (Fla. 2d DCA 2022).

Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal

...However, BOA glosses over a crucial 12 procedural problem regarding C&K. In its Counterclaim/Third- Party Complaint BOA added C&K as a named party to the litigation. However, it did not provide formal service of process of that pleading to C&K. See § 48.062, Fla....

...apparently through the Florida Court's E-Filing Portal, constitutes service of process on C&K. This argument and the others described above were made without citation to any legal authority that actually supports those arguments. Counsel quotes from section 48.062 dealing with service of process on limited liability companies....

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Green Emerald Homes, LLC v. Green Tree Servicing LLC, 230 So. 3d 607 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017).

Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal

...We reverse for two reasons. First, GTS failed to allege the requisite jurisdictional grounds for substitute service provided under section 48.181(1). Second, GTS failed to comply with the notice requirements under section 48.161(1), Florida Statutes (2016). Section 48.062(3), Florida Statutes (2016), authorizes substitute service on a limited liability company (“LLC”) through the Secretary of State if the plaintiff has already made reasonably diligent efforts to serve the LLC under sections 48.062(1) and (2)....

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InClaim, LLC v. Structural Wrap, LLC (Fla. 3d DCA 2025).

Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal

...The trial court held a hearing on the amended motion and thereafter granted the motion and set aside the default final judgment, finding, inter alia, that InClaim failed to use due diligence in compliance with section 48.161 5 and 48.062, Florida Statutes, which required InClaim to make “diligent inquiry” and “an honest and conscientious effort appropriate to the circumstances to acquire the information necessary to effectuate personal service” before resorting to substitute service on the Secretary of State....

...summons and complaint—is void. Tarves, 368 So. 3d at 507; Castro v. Charter Club, Inc., 114 So. 3d 1055, 1059 (Fla. 3d DCA 2013) (“It is axiomatic, that a judgment entered without due service of process is void.”) (citations omitted). Section 48.062(2)-(4), Florida Statutes (2023), sets forth the procedures for effectuating service on a Florida limited liability company: (2) A domestic limited liability company or registered foreign limited liability company ma...

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Ottawa Props. 1 LLC v. Us Bank, Na, Etc. (Fla. 3d DCA 2021).

Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal

...Ottawa had moved in the trial court to quash service of process on the basis that U.S. Bank failed to file a return receipt, as required by section 48.161(1), Florida Statutes, and failed to attempt service at Ottawa’s principal address or its manager’s address, pursuant to section 48.062, Florida Statutes, before effecting substitute service on the Secretary of State....

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Green Emerald Homes, LLC v. Nationstar Mortg., LLC, 210 So. 3d 263 (Fla. 2d DCA 2017).

Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 2017 WL 650961, 2017 Fla. App. LEXIS 2147

...2013–180, §§ 3, 29, Laws of Fla.); see § 605.0117(3) ("If the process, notice, or demand cannot be served on a limited liability company . . . , the process, notice, or demand may be served on the department as an agent of the company."); see also § 48.062(3) (providing that if service of process cannot be completed on a registered agent, "service of process may -2- be effected by service upon the Secretary of State as agent of the limited lia...

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Peaceful Paws Mem'l Servs. LLC v. Karen Tarves (Fla. 3d DCA 2023).

Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal

...Thereafter, on February 8, 2023, Peaceful 3 Paws filed an Emergency Motion to Quash Service of Process, Vacate Clerk’s Default, Vacate Default Final Judgment, and Stay Execution, arguing, among other things, that it was not properly served under section 48.062(1), Florida Statutes, which applies to process of service on a limited liability company....

...III. Analysis Peaceful Paws argues that the trial court erred by denying the motion to quash service of process as the attempted service on Peaceful Paws was not effectuated in compliance with the applicable service of process statute—section 48.062....

...defined in Florida Statute, Section 48.081 when defendant’s corporation fails to comply with F.S. 48.091.” (emphasis added). The Sunbiz printout reflects that Peaceful Paws is a Florida limited liability company, and therefore, service of process is governed by section 48.062, not section 48.081, as set forth in the service of process. Section 48.062, Florida Statutes (2021), titled “Service on a limited liability company,” 1 provides, in part, as follows: (1) Process against a limited liability company, domestic or 1 At the time of service, this version of the statute was in effect....

...Sack is the registered agent and that Mr. Butler is an authorized member. Moreover, Mr. Sack’s declaration states that Mr. Butler has never been his employee. Based on these facts, Peaceful Paws was not properly served with process. First, pursuant to section 48.062, during the first attempt at service, process can be served on the registered agent or an employee of the registered agent....

...Sack could not be served. As such, under the circumstances of this case, service of process on Mr. Butler, assuming he is an employee of Peaceful Paws, does not comport with the service requirements on a limited liability company as set forth in section 48.062....

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16205 Captiva Drive, LLC. v. Richard Levinson, as Co-Tr. of the 16201 Captiva Drive Land Trust Dated March 29, 2010 & Patricia Levinson as Co-Tr. of the 16201 Captiva Drive Land Trust (Fla. 6th DCA 2025).

Published | Florida 6th District Court of Appeal

...v. Airport Mini Mall, LLC, 932 F.3d 1303, 1317 (11th Cir. 2019) (same); see also Mark A. Sargent and Walter D. Schwidetzky, Ltd. Liab. Co. Handbook § 4:102, Westlaw SECLLCHB (“An LLC, not being human, can only act through its agents.”); cf. § 48.062, Fla....

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Kmg Props., LLC v. Owl Constr., LLC (Fla. 2d DCA 2024).

Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal

...KMG obtained a clerk's default. Later, the trial court entered a default judgment against Owl. 2 Owl moved to set aside the default judgment. Owl claimed that KMG did not properly effect service of process. Under section 48.062(2), Florida Statutes (2023),1 "[a] domestic limited liability company ....

...In such instance, the statute's plain and ordinary meaning must control . . . ." Daniels v. Fla. Dept. of Health, 898 So. 2d 61, 64 (Fla. 2005). Owl insists that "a domestic limited liability company . . . be served with process . . . by service on its registered agent." § 48.062(2)....

...4th DCA 2012) (reading different sections of the same chapter together to ascertain whether a process server must place the statutorily-required notations on only the copy of the summons served, and not on the copy of the complaint served). We read section 48.062(2) in pari materia with section 48.091(3). The former authorizes service on a limited liability company by service directly on the registered agent....

This Florida statute resource is curated by Graham W. Syfert, Esq., a Jacksonville, Florida personal injury and workers' compensation attorney. For legal consultation, call 904-383-7448.