How to Start a Home Care Business in Florida: Homemaker Companion Registration

If you want to start a home care business in Florida that helps seniors and adults with disabilities with companionship, meals, errands, and light housekeeping, the main state requirement is the homemaker and companion services registration from the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA). Most people searching for a florida home care license are looking for this registration. Florida calls it a registration, not a license, so use that term when you talk to the agency. This guide covers the steps in the order most new owners reach them. It is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Talk with a Florida business attorney and a CPA before you sign a lease, hire staff, or take on clients.

What You Need Before You Start

Gather these items before you file anything. Missing one of them is the most common reason a filing stalls.

• A written service list. Companionship, meal preparation, errands, transportation, and light housekeeping are the typical non-medical services. Write down anything you plan to offer that goes beyond them.
• A business name that avoids restricted words. Your name may not include terms such as home health, personal care, nursing, health care, or medical.
• A Florida registered agent. Every LLC and corporation must designate one with a physical street address in Florida. A P.O. box does not qualify.
• Formation documents. Articles of Organization for an LLC, or Articles of Incorporation for a Florida profit corporation.
• A federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS. You will need it for payroll and most business bank accounts.
• Fingerprints for Level 2 background screening. This applies to your managing employee, your financial officer, and every homemaker and companion you plan to employ.
• Funds for the filings. The fees are listed in the steps below.
• Contact information for your county or city tax collector, for the local business tax receipt.

Step 1: Define What Your Business Will and Will Not Do

Scope drives everything else in this process. The AHCA homemaker and companion services registration covers non-medical help in the home. It does not allow hands-on personal care such as bathing or toileting. If a client needs that kind of help, you need a home health agency license or a nurse registry license instead, which is a different and more demanding path.

Write your service list in plain language and check it against that line. Many new owners advertise "complete in-home care" and then get asked to help with showering. Decide now whether you will accept those clients. If you will not, say so in your intake questions and your service agreement. If you plan to add personal care later, confirm the licensing path with AHCA before you market the service.

Step 2: Choose a Compliant Business Name

Your name has to pass two checks. First, the Florida Department of State requires that an LLC name end with Limited Liability Company, LLC, or L.L.C., and that it be distinguishable on the state's records. Second, AHCA will not accept a name that includes the restricted terms listed above, so do not build your brand around "home health" or "personal care" even if those words sound more professional.

Search the Florida Department of State's business records at Sunbiz before you commit. If you need time to decide, a name reservation holds a name for 120 days for a $25 fee. A name is not secured until you receive a filing acknowledgment, so do not print signage or sign a lease based on a reservation alone.

If you will operate under a name different from your legal entity name, you also need a fictitious name registration. It costs $50 to register and $50 to renew. The registration is valid for 5 years and expires on December 31 of the fifth year. The name must be advertised at least once in a newspaper in the county of your principal place of business, though no proof of the advertisement is filed. The registration is filed statewide with the Division of Corporations, not with your county.

Step 3: Form Your Entity With the Florida Department of State

Most owners choose an LLC because it is the simplest structure to set up in Florida. Filing the Articles of Organization costs $125 in total, including the $25 registered agent designation, and is submitted through Sunbiz eFile. The Division of Corporations processes online filings in the order received, and images of electronically filed documents post within 3 business days of processing. No guaranteed turnaround is published, and the state does not offer expedited filing. If you need the paperwork faster, you can walk in to the Division at 2415 N. Monroe Street, Suite 810, Tallahassee, Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm, where most requests are completed while you wait.

A Florida profit corporation files Articles of Incorporation for $70 in total, including the $35 registered agent designation. Corporations pay more to stay in good standing and face different tax treatment, so review the choice with your CPA before you file.

Whichever structure you choose, you must designate a registered agent. The designation fee is $25 for an LLC and $35 for a corporation, and changing the agent later costs the same amount. The agent must sign the filing to accept the appointment. An entity cannot serve as its own registered agent, but an individual owner or officer can.

Calendar your annual report from the start. An LLC annual report costs $138.75 and is filed each year between January 1 and May 1. A $400 late fee applies to reports received after May 1, bringing the total to $538.75. If the annual report is not filed by the third Friday in September, the LLC faces administrative dissolution. A corporation's Profit Annual Report costs $150 in the same window, and a late filing adds the same $400 fee for a total of $550.

Step 4: Set Up Your Tax IDs and Bank Account

Apply for your EIN with the IRS, then open a business bank account in your entity's name. Keep client deposits, payroll, and personal money completely separate. Also draft an operating agreement for an LLC, even if you are the only owner. It documents who controls the company and makes bank and insurance paperwork easier.

Step 5: Apply for the AHCA Homemaker and Companion Services Registration

This is the core licensing step. The registration fee is $50.75 and covers 2 years. AHCA decides on a complete application within 60 days, so an incomplete packet delays the clock and your start date. Before you submit, confirm the current application form, required attachments, and submission method directly with AHCA. Search AHCA's website for "homemaker and companion services registration" and use the agency's contact line if the instructions are unclear. Do not rely on a third-party summary for the current form, since requirements can change.

Your application will require background screening. Level 2 fingerprint screening is required for the managing employee and the financial officer, and for every homemaker and companion. Confirm the fingerprinting process, screening fees, and approved vendors with AHCA before you schedule appointments. Expect screening to take time, so start it as soon as you know who your staff will be.

Step 6: Screen and Hire Your Caregivers

Many people searching for how to become a caregiver in Florida want to know what they must complete before they can work. For a registered homemaker and companion agency, the core requirement is Level 2 background screening for each homemaker and companion. Build screening into your hiring timeline. Do not place a caregiver in a client's home until that person's screening is complete and cleared.

Ask AHCA whether any training is required for your staff under the registration and whether any written policies must be on file. Put job descriptions in writing that describe only non-medical duties, so caregivers and clients both understand what the service includes. Your caregivers should also know to escalate any request for bathing, toileting, or medication help to a supervisor, not agree to it on their own.

Step 7: Check Your Local Business Tax Receipt

Florida has no general statewide business license. The local business tax receipt is a tax under Chapter 205 of the Florida Statutes, not a competency license, and not every county or city levies it. Contact the tax collector for the county and city where you will operate and ask whether a business tax receipt applies to your address and your services. Ask the same question for any city where you plan to serve clients if that differs from your office location.

Step 8: Confirm Sales Tax and Other Professional Licensing

Businesses that sell taxable goods or services must register as a sales and use tax dealer with the Florida Department of Revenue before they begin business. The state sales tax rate is 6%. Whether your homemaker or companion services are taxable is a question for the Department of Revenue, so confirm it before you invoice your first client. You can start the registration at the Florida Department of Revenue site.

The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) licenses specific professions and trades. Confirm with DBPR that no separate DBPR license applies to the services you plan to offer, and do not assume the AHCA registration covers every professional question. The Florida SBDC Network at floridasbdc.org can help you think through these questions with advisers, but they are not a substitute for your attorney or CPA.

Step 9: Plan Your Taxes and Insurance

Florida has no personal income tax. An LLC classified as a partnership or disregarded entity generally does not file a Florida corporate income tax return, but it must file a Florida Partnership Information Return if one or more owners is a corporation. A corporation, or an LLC taxed as a corporation for federal purposes, pays the 5.5% Florida corporate income tax. Florida has no state franchise tax. Ask your CPA how these rules apply to your structure, and ask your insurance agent about liability coverage and any workers' compensation coverage you need once you hire staff. Insurance requirements depend on your structure and your employee count, so confirm them with your agent before you start.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Using restricted words in your name or marketing. Terms like home health, personal care, nursing, health care, and medical can cause problems with AHCA even if you only use them in advertising.
• Promising hands-on care under a homemaker registration. Bathing and toileting require a different license or registration.
• Starting before screening clears. Placing an uncleared caregiver in a home creates risk for you and your clients.
• Submitting an incomplete AHCA application. The 60-day decision window runs from a complete application, not from the day you mailed it.
• Treating a name reservation as approval. Wait for the filing acknowledgment before you order signs or print materials.
• Missing the annual report window. A late LLC report costs $538.75 in total, and failing to file by the third Friday in September risks administrative dissolution.
• Assuming one city's rules apply everywhere. Local business tax receipt requirements vary, so check each location where you operate.

What Results to Expect

A complete, well-prepared filing gives you the best chance of a smooth review. It may help you avoid delays from missing documents, but AHCA sets the timeline and the decision. Once registered, a clearly defined non-medical service may help you attract clients who need companionship and household support, and it may help you build trust with families who want to know what to expect. Results depend on your local market, your staffing, and how well you run the business, so treat these outcomes as possibilities rather than guarantees.

Quick Checklist

1. Write your non-medical service list and confirm it stays within the homemaker and companion scope.
2. Choose a compliant name and check it on Sunbiz.
3. File Articles of Organization ($125) or Articles of Incorporation ($70).
4. Designate a Florida registered agent in that filing (the $25 LLC or $35 corporation designation fee is included in those totals).
5. Get your EIN and open a business bank account.
6. File the AHCA homemaker and companion services registration ($50.75 for 2 years).
7. Complete Level 2 screening for the managing employee, financial officer, and every caregiver.
8. Confirm the local business tax receipt with your county and city.
9. Confirm whether sales tax registration applies with the Department of Revenue.
10. Calendar your annual report for January 1 to May 1.

Final Notes

Florida's homemaker and companion registration is a manageable first step, but the details matter. Fees, screening, name rules, and the boundary between non-medical and personal care all affect whether your launch goes smoothly. Confirm every figure above with the agency that issues it before you spend money, and treat this article as a starting map rather than a final answer. This content is informational, not legal or tax advice. For complex situations, including multiple owners, employees, or plans to add personal care, consult a qualified Florida attorney and CPA.