Starting a cleaning business in Florida takes five moves: register the business, get your local business tax receipt, sort out sales tax, set up insurance, and put up a bookable website. Florida is one of the cheaper states to start in, because it has no state income tax and no franchise tax.
The model Jen and I use does not require you to buy supplies, a van, or equipment. You hire independent contractors who bring their own supplies, clients book online and leave a card on file, and you pay your cleaners out of money the client has already paid. Pembroke Pines Clean runs this setup across the Miami metro.
The short answer: how to start a cleaning business in Florida
The whole path, in order:
- Cleaning the houses yourself, lowest cost: start as a sole proprietor for under $300 and add an LLC later.
- Building a company that runs without you: form an LLC ($125), file your annual report each May, get your local business tax receipt and insurance, then put up a bookable website.
- Fastest to your first paying client: email Realtors, property managers, and short-term rental hosts about move-out and turnover cleans while your Google ranking builds.
- The Florida tax detail to know early: residential cleaning is exempt from sales tax, but commercial cleaning is taxable, so the kind of work you take decides whether you register for sales tax.
How much does it cost to start a cleaning business in Florida?
You can start a cleaning business in Florida for under $300 if you clean the houses yourself, or for roughly $700 to $800 to build a company. Florida has no state income tax and no franchise tax, so your first-year budget stays low compared with a state like California. After year one, your main ongoing cost is your booking software plus insurance.
Here are the Florida line items for the company path:
| Line item | Florida cost |
|---|---|
| LLC filing (Articles of Organization plus registered agent) | $125, one time |
| Annual report (Sunbiz) | $138.75 a year, due by May 1 |
| Local business tax receipt | varies by city and county, often from about $40 a year |
| General liability insurance | about $30 to $100 a month |
| Booking and website software | from $67 a month, often free for the first 30 days |
Two Florida details to plan for. The annual report is due by May 1 every year, and missing it adds a $400 late penalty, so set a reminder the moment you file. And in metros like Tampa and Miami-Dade you can need a business tax receipt from both the city and the county, so budget for two small fees instead of one.
It stays this low because your contractors bring their own supplies, equipment, and vehicles, so none of that lands on your books. For the full breakdown of where every dollar goes, read how much it costs to start a cleaning business.
Do you need a cleaning business license in Florida?
Florida has no statewide license for house cleaning, because cleaning is not one of the trades regulated by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. What you do need is a local business tax receipt, and sometimes a certificate of use, from the city and county where you work. This is general information and not legal advice, so confirm your own city's rules before you file.
A few Florida specifics:
- Business tax receipt. Most Florida cities and counties require a business tax receipt, once called an occupational license, to operate. You apply and pay through your city or county tax collector. In Tampa you need one from the city and one from Hillsborough County. In an incorporated part of Miami-Dade you need one from your city and one from the county.
- Certificate of use. Some cities also ask for a certificate of use that confirms your business is allowed to operate at your address, including home-based businesses.
- Register the business itself with the Florida Division of Corporations at Sunbiz, which is the state's business filing system.
Where the largest Florida metros have you register:
| City or county | What to get | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Miami-Dade | Local business tax receipt | City plus county if you are inside a municipality |
| Tampa | Two business tax receipts | City of Tampa plus Hillsborough County |
| Orlando | Business tax receipt plus certificate of use | Certificate of use covers home and office businesses |
| Jacksonville | Business tax receipt | Filed through the City of Jacksonville |
| Fort Lauderdale | Business tax receipt | Renews September 30 each year |
Florida requires workers' compensation once you have four or more employees, though on the contractor model your cleaners are independent contractors rather than employees.
For the general version of this question that applies in any state, read do I need a license to start a cleaning business.
Do you charge sales tax on cleaning services in Florida?
Residential cleaning is exempt from Florida sales tax, and commercial cleaning is taxable at the state rate of 6% plus any local surtax. What you clean decides it: a house clean is exempt and an office clean is taxable. This is general information and not legal advice, so confirm your situation with the Florida Department of Revenue.
What this means in practice:
- Residential cleaning: no sales tax to collect on standard house cleans, which is most of what a new cleaning business does.
- Commercial or office cleaning: taxable. If you take commercial work, you register for a sales tax certificate with the Florida Department of Revenue, which is free to do online, then charge 6% plus your county surtax and send it in.
- A few specialty services, like carpet cleaning and furniture cleaning, are treated separately and are exempt for both home and commercial clients.
Start with residential cleaning and you have no sales tax to deal with. Add commercial later, and register for sales tax before you take that first office.
How do you register your cleaning business in Florida?
You register a Florida cleaning business through Sunbiz, the Division of Corporations site, by filing Articles of Organization for an LLC at $125, then filing a $138.75 annual report by May 1 each year. Most cleaning owners choose an LLC because it separates personal assets from the business for a low yearly cost.
The order Jen and I would follow:
- Pick your name. Use your city plus the word clean or cleaning, like Tampa Bay Clean or Orlando Cleaning Services. That is what gets you found on Google and AI search. We walk through this in how to name a cleaning business.
- File the Articles of Organization on Sunbiz, $125 including the registered agent designation.
- Get an EIN from the IRS, which is free and takes a few minutes online.
- Get your local business tax receipt from your city and county tax collector.
- Set up general liability insurance before you take on clients.
- File your annual report on Sunbiz by May 1 every year to keep the LLC active.
You can clean as a sole proprietor first and form the LLC once the money is coming in. Any order works as long as you have your local tax receipt and insurance before you take clients.
Where do you find your first cleaning clients in Florida's cities?
Your first clients in Florida come from two places: Realtors and property managers who need move-out cleans, and Google once your business name and profile are set up. Florida adds a third: short-term and vacation rental turnovers.
Move-out and turnover cleans are the fastest opening. Miami, Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville move a huge volume of rentals, and Orlando and the coasts run on vacation rentals that need a clean between every guest. One email to a Realtor named Danielle turned into 47 cleans over the following years, which is $16,718.34 in revenue from a single email.
Three things to get right before you spend a dollar on ads:
- Answer the phone. About 70% of cleaning companies do not answer on the first try, and only 30% call back after a voicemail.
- Put your prices online. About 95% of cleaning companies have no transparent pricing on their site.
- Let people book at 10pm. A live booking widget that takes the card means you capture clients while they are interested, without a phone call.
The tool Jen and I use for both of these is ConvertLabs. It puts an instant-quote form on your site, so a client picks their options, sees a flat-rate price on the spot, and books with a card in about 60 seconds. Our own widget turns about 33% of the people who fill it out into paying clients. You can get 30 days free at convertlabs.io/blueprint. That is an affiliate link, so Jen and I earn a fee if you sign up, at no extra cost to you. Our step-by-step website setup walks you through the first afternoon.
For the full playbook, read how to get clients for a cleaning business.
Where do you find cleaners in Florida?
You find cleaners in Florida the same way you find clients, by posting where people already look for work and screening for reliability over experience.
Indeed, Facebook groups, and Craigslist still work across Florida's metros. Florida does not have a worker-classification law as strict as California's, so the independent contractor model is straightforward here, though you still follow the federal IRS rules on who counts as a contractor. This is general information and not legal advice. Hire for reliability and communication, pay your cleaners well, which on our model is 60% of the job, and treat the relationship as a partnership. We cover the full process in how to find cleaners for a cleaning business.
Three common questions about contractors:
- Quality control. You bring on cleaners who already know how to clean, so quality comes from feedback rather than training. Clients rate every clean, you pass that straight to the cleaner, and anyone who slips stops getting offered work.
- Will a cleaner take my clients? The client books, pays, and keeps a card on file through your system, so the relationship and the billing stay with your brand. Your contractors get a steady stream of pre-sold jobs they never had to find or quote, which is what they would give up by going around you. A non-solicitation clause in your contractor agreement backs it up.
- Could I get in trouble for treating employees like contractors? You keep them genuine independent contractors through how the work runs. You offer gigs through ConvertLabs and they accept or decline, they wear their own clothes, drive their own cars, and bring their own supplies, and you set what a finished home should look like while they choose how to get there. Put that in a written contractor agreement.
Is a cleaning business profitable in Florida?
A cleaning business is profitable in Florida. Pembroke Pines Clean serves homeowners across Pembroke Pines, Davie, and Weston in the Miami metro, takes bookings online with instant pricing, and runs residential-first with cleaners who bring their own supplies. That is the same setup Jen and I teach. You can see it live at Pembroke Pines Clean.
Our own numbers come from outside Florida. Jen and I built Oak Bay Clean to about $3M in sales since July 2021 at roughly a 28% margin, running it with 18 cleaners, and we run it from Canada. The same model works for the owners we coach across the US. The way we set prices is to charge flat-rate packages by square footage and number of bathrooms, landing around 75 to 80% of the most expensive cleaner in your market. Clients pay at the time of the clean, your contractors are paid out of that same money, and you keep the spread.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to start a cleaning business in Florida? Under $300 if you clean houses yourself, or about $700 to $800 to build a company. Florida has no state income tax and no franchise tax, so it is one of the cheaper states to start in. The main costs are a $125 LLC filing, a $138.75 annual report, a local business tax receipt, insurance, and booking software.
Do I need a license to start a cleaning business in Florida? There is no statewide cleaning license, but most Florida cities and counties require a local business tax receipt to operate, and some require a certificate of use. Check your city and county tax collector. This is general information, not legal advice.
Do I charge sales tax on cleaning in Florida? Residential cleaning is exempt. Commercial cleaning is taxable at 6% plus any local surtax. What you clean decides it. If you take commercial work, register for a sales tax certificate with the Florida Department of Revenue.
Do I need an LLC to clean houses in Florida? No, you can start as a sole proprietor, but many owners form an LLC to separate personal assets from the business. A Florida LLC costs $125 to file plus a $138.75 annual report.
How do I get my first cleaning clients in Florida? Email Realtors, property managers, and short-term rental hosts about move-out and turnover cleans, set up your Google Business Profile, and put transparent prices and a booking widget on your site. One Realtor relationship was worth $16,718.34 to our business over time.
Do I need to buy supplies to start a cleaning business in Florida? No. On the contractor model, your cleaners bring their own supplies and equipment, which is the main reason Florida startup costs stay low.
How much can a cleaning business make in Florida? There is no structural cap once you have a team. Our own business has done about $3M since July 2021 at a 28% margin.
Should I start with residential or commercial cleaning in Florida? Residential. Clients pay at the time of the clean, so the money funds the business, and residential cleaning is exempt from Florida sales tax. Commercial pays slower and is taxable. Add commercial later, once your cash flow can carry it.
Where to start
Getting your first clients and keeping good cleaners is the work, and Jen and I walk through both in the free 22-Day Cleaning Business Master Checklist and the 22-Day Blueprint ebook. A few guides that pair well with this one:
- How to start a cleaning business in 2026 (step-by-step guide)
- How much does it cost to start a cleaning business
- How to start a cleaning business in California
- How to get clients for a cleaning business
Starting somewhere else?
The path is the same everywhere, but registration, fees, and sales-tax rules on cleaning differ by location. Here are the other local guides:
United States: Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Washington.
Canada: the national overview, Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec.
Wherever you are, start with the full step-by-step guide to starting a cleaning business and our guide on whether you need a license.
About the author
Victoria Westcott co-founded Cleaning Company Blueprint with her sister Jen. Together they built Oak Bay Clean, their cleaning company in Victoria, BC, to $3M in sales since 2021, running it with a team of contractors. Vic writes these guides from inside the business, sharing the model and the numbers behind it. More about Vic and Jen.
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