Florida: business records and regulators
Where to look a business up in Florida, where to search the UCC filings against it, and the offices that regulate banks, lenders and securities there.
Last checked: October 20, 2026Links only: nothing you search for reaches us
Each link opens the state's own site in a new tab, so what you type there goes to that site, not to us. Some state searches charge a fee or ask you to make an account. Privacy
Florida records and regulators
Business search
Look a business up in the state's register of businesses.
UCC search
Find the UCC filings against a business: the financing statements lenders file to record a lien on its assets, such as a blanket lien.
Florida Secured Transaction Registry: UCC search (opens in a new tab)
Florida law makes the Florida Secured Transaction Registry the place to file financing statements, except fixture filings, which are filed where a mortgage on the land would be recorded.
Banking and lending regulator
Oversees the banks the state charters. Check its site for the lender and broker licenses the state requires.
Securities regulator
The state office for securities offerings, brokers and investment advisers.
Find a lender in Florida
Official lists of the lenders that work in Florida. Each opens on its own site, filtered to Florida where the list allows it.
SBA 504 lenders (Certified Development Companies) (opens in a new tab)
The nonprofit lenders that make SBA 504 loans for property and big equipment, from the SBA's own list, filtered to the state.
SBA microloan lenders (opens in a new tab)
Nonprofit lenders that make SBA microloans of up to $50,000, from the SBA's own list, filtered to the state.
SBA Lender Match (opens in a new tab)
The SBA's own matching tool: you answer a few questions about your business on its site, and two business days later it gives you a list of the lenders interested; some may contact you. It is not a loan application. What you type goes to the SBA and those lenders, not to us.
Certified CDFIs (community lenders) (opens in a new tab)
The CDFI Fund's list of every certified community development financial institution (CDFI): loan funds, banks and credit unions. Download the list and sort it by the State column.
The FDIC's BankFind: search for the banks with offices in the state.
Credit unions (opens in a new tab)
The NCUA's credit union locator. Credit unions lend to their members, so check who can join.
Before you sign with any lender, check it is licensed: see the banking and lending regulator above, and Check a lender or platform. A few national lenders and platforms are named, with how they were chosen, in the provider directory.
State rules for Florida on our route pages
- Accounts receivable financing: For deals of $500,000 or less made since January 1, 2024, a lender that is not a federally insured bank or credit union must disclose in writing, at or before signing, the funds provided, the total you will repay, the total dollar cost, the payments and any prepayment costs. No APR is required. Lenders that make five or fewer deals a year in Florida are exempt. (Florida Statutes, chapter 559, part XIII: Florida Commercial Financing Disclosure Law (559.961 to 559.9615))
- Business line of credit: For deals of $500,000 or less made since January 1, 2024, a lender that is not a federally insured bank or credit union must disclose in writing, at or before signing, the funds provided, the amount actually paid out, the total you will repay, the total dollar cost, the payments and any prepayment costs. No APR is required. Lenders that make five or fewer deals a year in Florida are exempt. (Florida Statutes, chapter 559, part XIII: Florida Commercial Financing Disclosure Law (559.961 to 559.9615))
- Business line of credit: Interest above 18% a year (simple interest) is usurious on a loan or line of credit of $500,000 or less; above $500,000 the limit is 25%. Knowingly charging more than 25% a year is a crime, and more than 45% a felony. Banks are not bound by these limits: federal law lets a bank charge the rate allowed in the state where it is located. (Florida Statutes chapter 687: interest and usury (687.02 and 687.071); 12 U.S.C. 85: rate of interest on loans by national banks; 12 U.S.C. 1831d: interest rates of state-chartered insured banks)
- Business line of credit: A loan broker may not charge you any fee before the loan closes. This covers anyone paid to arrange or help you get a loan or line of credit who is not a bank, credit union or other lender licensed for it. (Florida Statutes 687.14 and 687.141: loan brokers defined; advance fees prohibited)
- Commercial real estate loans: The state's commercial financing disclosure law does not cover financing secured by real property, so a commercial real estate loan comes without its cost disclosure. Ask the lender for the rate, fees and total cost in writing. (California Financial Code, Division 9.5: Commercial Financing Disclosures (sections 22800 to 22807); New York Financial Services Law section 802: exemptions; Utah Code 7-27-102: application of the Commercial Financing Registration and Disclosure Act; Florida Statutes 559.9612: scope of the Florida Commercial Financing Disclosure Law; Georgia SB 90 (2023), as passed (Act 78): O.C.G.A. 10-1-393.18(b); Kansas Statutes 75-785: exceptions to the Commercial Financing Disclosure Act (2024); Revised Statutes of Missouri 427.300: Commercial Financing Disclosure Law)
- E-commerce and payment platform finance: For deals of $500,000 or less made since January 1, 2024, a provider that is not a federally insured bank or credit union must disclose in writing, at or before signing, the funds provided, the amount actually paid out, the total you will pay, the total dollar cost, how payments are worked out and any prepayment costs. The law covers loans and purchases of receivables. No APR is required. (Florida Statutes, chapter 559, part XIII: Florida Commercial Financing Disclosure Law (559.961 to 559.9615))
- Equipment loans and finance agreements: These states' commercial financing disclosure laws do not cover leases, or loans used to buy the equipment that secures them (purchase money loans), so equipment finance is usually outside them. (Florida Statutes 559.9612: scope of the Florida Commercial Financing Disclosure Law; Georgia SB 90 (2023), as passed (Act 78): O.C.G.A. 10-1-393.18(b); Kansas Statutes 75-785: exceptions to the Commercial Financing Disclosure Act (2024); Revised Statutes of Missouri 427.300: Commercial Financing Disclosure Law)
- Equipment loans and finance agreements: Interest above 18% a year (simple interest) is usurious on a loan or line of credit of $500,000 or less; above $500,000 the limit is 25%. Knowingly charging more than 25% a year is a crime, and more than 45% a felony. Banks are not bound by these limits: federal law lets a bank charge the rate allowed in the state where it is located. (Florida Statutes chapter 687: interest and usury (687.02 and 687.071); 12 U.S.C. 85: rate of interest on loans by national banks; 12 U.S.C. 1831d: interest rates of state-chartered insured banks)
- Equipment loans and finance agreements: A loan broker may not charge you any fee before the loan closes. This covers anyone paid to arrange or help you get a loan or line of credit who is not a bank, credit union or other lender licensed for it. (Florida Statutes 687.14 and 687.141: loan brokers defined; advance fees prohibited)
- Equipment leasing and sale-leaseback: These states' commercial financing disclosure laws do not cover leases, so equipment leases come without a state cost disclosure. Ask for the total of all payments in writing. (Florida Statutes 559.9612: scope of the Florida Commercial Financing Disclosure Law; Utah Code 7-27-102: application of the Commercial Financing Registration and Disclosure Act; Georgia SB 90 (2023), as passed (Act 78): O.C.G.A. 10-1-393.18(b); Kansas Statutes 75-785: exceptions to the Commercial Financing Disclosure Act (2024); Revised Statutes of Missouri 427.300: Commercial Financing Disclosure Law)
- Inventory and floor plan financing: The state's commercial financing disclosure law does not cover loans or credit lines of $50,000 or more to a motor vehicle dealer or vehicle rental company, or financing offered by a manufacturer or distributor (or its own finance company) with the sale of its products. Most vehicle floor plan lines are therefore outside it. (Florida Statutes 559.9612: scope of the Florida Commercial Financing Disclosure Law; Utah Code 7-27-102: application of the Commercial Financing Registration and Disclosure Act)
- Invoice factoring: For deals of $500,000 or less made since January 1, 2024, a provider that is not a federally insured bank or credit union must disclose in writing, at or before signing, the funds provided, the total you will pay, the total dollar cost, the payments and any prepayment costs. For an agreement to buy many invoices over time, it can base the disclosure on an example invoice of $10,000. No APR is required. (Florida Statutes, chapter 559, part XIII: Florida Commercial Financing Disclosure Law (559.961 to 559.9615))
- Merchant cash advance: For deals of $500,000 or less made since January 1, 2024, a provider that is not a federally insured bank or credit union must disclose in writing, at or before signing, the funds provided, the amount actually paid out, the total you will pay, the total dollar cost, how payments are worked out and any prepayment costs. No APR is required. (Florida Statutes, chapter 559, part XIII: Florida Commercial Financing Disclosure Law (559.961 to 559.9615))
- Online business loans: For deals of $500,000 or less made since January 1, 2024, a lender that is not a federally insured bank or credit union must disclose in writing, at or before signing, the funds provided, the amount actually paid out, the total you will repay, the total dollar cost, the payments and any prepayment costs. No APR is required. Lenders that make five or fewer deals a year in Florida are exempt. (Florida Statutes, chapter 559, part XIII: Florida Commercial Financing Disclosure Law (559.961 to 559.9615))
- Online business loans: Interest above 18% a year (simple interest) is usurious on a loan or line of credit of $500,000 or less; above $500,000 the limit is 25%. Knowingly charging more than 25% a year is a crime, and more than 45% a felony. Banks are not bound by these limits: federal law lets a bank charge the rate allowed in the state where it is located. (Florida Statutes chapter 687: interest and usury (687.02 and 687.071); 12 U.S.C. 85: rate of interest on loans by national banks; 12 U.S.C. 1831d: interest rates of state-chartered insured banks)
- Online business loans: A loan broker may not charge you any fee before the loan closes. This covers anyone paid to arrange or help you get a loan or line of credit who is not a bank, credit union or other lender licensed for it. (Florida Statutes 687.14 and 687.141: loan brokers defined; advance fees prohibited)
- Revenue-based finance: For deals of $500,000 or less made since January 1, 2024, a provider that is not a federally insured bank or credit union must disclose in writing, at or before signing, the funds provided, the amount actually paid out, the total you will pay, the total dollar cost, how payments are worked out and any prepayment costs. The law covers loans and purchases of receivables. No APR is required. (Florida Statutes, chapter 559, part XIII: Florida Commercial Financing Disclosure Law (559.961 to 559.9615))
- Spot factoring (single invoices): A factor that makes more than five commercial financing deals a year in the state, and is not a bank or credit union, must disclose before or when you sign the funds you get, the total you will pay, the total dollar cost, the payments and any prepayment costs, for deals of up to $1 million in Utah and $500,000 in the other states. No APR is required. Utah also requires the factor to register with the state. (Utah Code Title 7, Chapter 27: Commercial Financing Registration and Disclosure Act; Florida Statutes, chapter 559, part XIII: Florida Commercial Financing Disclosure Law (559.961 to 559.9615); Georgia SB 90 (2023), as passed (Act 78): commercial financing disclosures, O.C.G.A. 10-1-393.18; Kansas Statutes 75-784: required disclosures (2024); Revised Statutes of Missouri 427.300: Commercial Financing Disclosure Law)
Sources
- Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations: Search for Corporations, Limited Liability Companies, Limited Partnerships, and Trademarks by Name · checked October 20, 2026
- Florida Statutes, section 679.5011 (filing office) · checked October 20, 2026
- Florida Secured Transaction Registry: home page (a centralized UCC filing and retrieval system, as authorized by Florida Statutes chapter 679) · checked October 20, 2026
- Florida Office of Financial Regulation: home page (financial institutions, securities, financial investigations) · checked October 20, 2026