SCAM ALERT: If you own a business thru a corporation or LLC you may have received or will receive shortly a deceptively misleading form in the mail asking you to fill out and return to the address listed therein an official looking form along with a fee of $125.00. The form is intended to trick you into believing it is from the Florida Department of State. Do not fall for it. The solicitation is a scam run by a private company operating under the name “Compliance Services” and should be ignored.
The form asks the business owner to complete the same in order to file its “Annual Minutes”. Neither the Florida Business Corporation Act nor the Florida Limited Liability Company Act require corporations or limited liability companies to file its “Annual Minutes” with the State. Minutes are not filed with the State, and are actually kept in the records of the business entity. However, Florida Statutes 607.1622 and 608.4511 do require Florida corporations and limited liability companies, respectively, to file an Annual Report with the Department of State on or before May 1 of each year. Business owners and/or officers will indeed receive at some point a notice from the Division of Corporations of the Florida Department of State reminding them to file their 2013 Annual Report.
It is important that business owners do not confuse the notice sent by Compliance Services with the legitimate notice submitted by the Division of Corporations. It is also important that all business entities file their 2013 Annual Report on time to avoid being administratively dissolved.
For more information and to view the Division of Corporation’s Consumer Alert regarding the notices sent by Compliance Services, visit www.sunbiz.org. If you have any questions regarding the notices sent by Compliance Services or regarding the filing of Annual Reports with the Division of Corporations, contact a Florida business law attorney.
