I want to start a LLC in florida. However, I am worried about my home address being public info. I know that I can utilize a registered agent, however, the form also asks for the member manager's address. How do I avoid using my home address both for safety and for privacy?
From The 2012 Florida Statutes Website :
658.23?Submission of articles of incorporation; contents; form; approval; filing; commencement of corporate existence; bylaws.—NOTE: It wasn't clear if the statute differentiates LLC from Corporations. Searching for "LLC" or "Limited Liability Corporation" produces no results. I looked into this quite a bit and the Florida statutes strongly suggest that a physical mailing address is required from all directors.. I also looked up a business in Florida just to see how hard it was to find an address in the public records. I looked up a restaurant in Key West, Florida called Blue Heaven and found addresses of several key people very quickly. I used SunBiz's Division of Corporations Free Search to find this information.
(1)?Within 3 months after approval by the office and the appropriate federal regulatory agency, the applicant shall submit its duly executed articles of incorporation to the office, together with the filing fee due the Department of State under s. 607.0122.
(g)?The number of directors, which shall be five or more, and the names and street addresses of the members of the initial board of directors.
I originally wasn't going to post this because it really isn't what you want to hear. I believe this information should be public because too many unethical businesses take advantage of the many unshielded, divided individuals in the world and then try to hide behind the anonymity of the Internet. I'm not suggesting this describes you, but I hope you understand why these laws exist.
I don't know what type of business you're getting involved in. Perhaps it involves dealing with very dangerous people who may be motivated to do you harm, despite you acting ethically. With that said, I do empathize with your desire for safety and security.
There might be a workaround, but again, the law seems clear on this, at least in Section 658.23. The problem is that finding a workaround is going to involve finding a loophole in the law, and that means you must speak with an attorney who is qualified to give you this type of legal advice. Any answers here that tell you that you can get around this law should be judged with extreme skepticism and should be verified by an attorney. Stack Exchange isn't a good platform for giving such legal advice. Consider this as my legal disclaimer for what follows:
One possibility you might speak with an attorney about is registering your business under a name that differs from the public facing name. For instance, some partnerships form under the name of an umbrella corporation, and separate names are used for the public facing entities or brands. The attorney can tell you if this is possible. If nothing else, it might make it harder for people to find you, but not impossible. Hope this helps!