Start with the entity record
Service of process means the formal delivery of court papers. For a Florida business, the service plan starts with Chapter 48, the Florida law chapter that governs who may serve process, where papers may be delivered, and how the result is recorded.
A registered agent is the person or company listed to receive legal papers for a business entity. A registered office is the official address tied to that agent record. When that listed address is a house, condo, apartment, private mailbox, virtual office, executive office, or mini suite, the address type matters, but it does not erase the rest of the statutory checklist.
This page is a narrow child guide to serving Florida LLCs and corporations. It is for legal teams that already have a business-entity serve and need the field work carried out according to attorney direction.
Practical tip: send the exact entity name, documents, service address, service ZIP, deadline, written attorney instructions, and any Sunbiz or annual-report details available.
What the LLC checklist says
Section 48.062(5) is the Florida LLC address-type provision involved here. An LLC, or limited liability company, is a business entity type that Florida treats separately from a corporation for service rules. For this residential-address scenario, the listed address must be for the registered agent, member, manager, or person listed publicly by the latest annual report as most recently amended.
The address also must be one of the listed address types: a residence, private mailbox, virtual office, executive office, or mini suite. Section 48.062(5) says the LLC may be served by serving the registered agent, a publicly listed person, or a member or manager in accordance with section 48.031. When the listed address is a residence, that cross-reference can include the co-resident service route described below, but only when the residence is the actual usual place of abode of the person being served.
That is a set of conditions, not a shortcut. A residential address in an entity record does not by itself establish that the registered agent or another listed person actually lives there. If the correct route is uncertain, the method should be confirmed with counsel before dispatch.
What the corporation checklist says
Section 48.081(5) is the Florida corporation address-type provision involved here. A corporation is a business entity type with a separate Chapter 48 section from an LLC. For this scenario, the listed address must be for the registered agent, officer, director, or person listed publicly by the latest annual report as most recently amended.
The listed address must again be a residence, private mailbox, virtual office, executive office, or mini suite. Section 48.081(5) says the corporation may be served by serving the registered agent, a publicly listed person, or a person serving in one of the corporate positions specified in section 48.081(3)(a), in accordance with section 48.031. For a listed residence, the same actual-home condition applies before using the co-resident service route described below.
The practical routing question is not just "private server or sheriff?" It is whether the server is authorized for the type of process and the county or circuit where service will happen. That is why the documents, deadline, service ZIP, and written instructions matter before a field attempt starts.
Section 48.031(1)(a) can permit service through a co-resident
Section 48.031(1)(a) is Florida's general service rule for delivering original process, meaning the summons and initial pleading or paper used to start the case, to the person to be served or leaving the copies at that person's usual place of abode, meaning the person's actual home where the person lives. At that actual home, the statute permits the copies to be left with any person residing there who is 15 years of age or older after that person is informed of the contents. This is commonly called substituted service, which means service through a qualified co-resident instead of direct hand-delivery to the named person.
Key condition: for LLC or corporation service on a registered agent through a co-resident, the listed residential address must also be the registered agent's actual usual place of abode. A residence label or Sunbiz listing alone is not enough to establish that fact. Counsel should confirm the planned service method when the registered agent's residence is uncertain.
For this guide, those conditions stay separate from other 48.031 topics. Section 48.031 has separate provisions for employers, spouses, sole proprietorships, service notation, specified mailbox or office address types, gated residential communities, and witness subpoenas. Those separate routes should not be borrowed into a registered-agent home-address plan unless legal review approves the exact use.
If the job involves substituted service, uncertainty about the service method, or service outside the server's listed county or circuit, PLS should flag the job for attorney review instead of making a legal call. Pro Legal Serve can carry out and document the attorney-directed plan with GPS and photo proof and a notarized return of service, the proof document showing when, how, where, and by whom service was made.
Sources and next steps
For statute text, review Florida Legislature sections 48.062, 48.081, and 48.031. For service execution, Pro Legal Serve accepts documents online or by email and can route eligible work to a vetted local process server.
For broader context, see the Florida Chapter 48 guide, the server-authority guide, and Pro Legal Serve's Florida coverage page.