As of this writing, the Secretary of State in Florida is Laurel M. Lee. She is faced with significant challenges regarding the business administration of the state of Florida, among other responsibilities. She is directly responsible for that which governs the LLC and Incorporation processes and, in the case of drawn-out appeals, she may be your last bastion of hope for your LLC. Let's talk about the position, the policies, and the people behind her. As a commercial Florida Registered Agent it's our job to be familiar with the Secretary and its intricacies.
What You Need to Know
Since 2002, the Secretary of State has been appointed by the governor in Florida. Though this isn't always the case throughout the United States, and wasn't in Florida until after the 1998 election. At this point, the election was removed from the ballot and the Secretary of State has been treated as a cabinet position.
The Secretary of State in Florida is in charge of a wide variety of offices, including culturally significant procedures for both Native and modern Floridians. She also covers the departments involving LLCs and so forth.
How to Contact
The biggest question is: do you simply need to speak to the department at hand? Or do you need to speak to the Secretary of State herself?
Speaking to the department of the Secretary of State (or any of them that fall under the guidance of it) is a fairly easy matter. You can call, contact your local representative at their place of business, or email. These contacts are easily found on .gov sites representing the Secretary of State in Florida. This (https://dos.myflorida.com/sunbiz/contact/address-phone-numbers/) is an easy list to start off with. If you cannot find what you are looking for here, we recommend starting at the SunBiz website and working from there.
If you need to speak with the Secretary of State directly, things become a great deal more complex. Typically, your average businessperson would not need to contact the Secretary of State unless there were dire circumstances. If this does reflect your situation, then it may be time to consider a lawyer as well.
Speaking with the Secretary of State personally may not be available to arrange. Do keep in mind that she is an extremely busy person and, as of this writing, is difficult to contact. However, if you need to speak with her for some matter regarding media or news coverage, you can talk to her secretary as noted on her personal website.
We do encourage that you not make this request lightly. There are many security checks required to be cleared to visit her and many other forms that need to be filled out. This will take up a significant portion of your time. We realize that you may still desire to do this and if you do, again, please use the contact information on her website.
Why You May Need to Contact
Perhaps you are a journalist who wants to speak with her about a new accomplishment on her behalf. This is a common request and is typically answered very speedily. Contact may be made over the phone or through email rather than in person due to what time is available.
You may also need to contact the department, rather than the person, in the case of misplaced paperwork or documentation errors, essentially going over the head of the department you are already dealing with. This is usually only done if the situation continues to worsen or you run into truly abhorrent customer service. This is not standard practice by any means nor should it be treated as such. "Getting to the head of the matter" usually does not work out the way you would hope for it to.
Last but not least, you may need to contact the Secretary of State in the case of serious misconduct within her organization as attended to your situation in particular. Though this is incredibly unlikely, we are aware that one simply never knows when they may need further assistance from someone with access to more information.
Additional Information
If you desire to directly contact the Secretary of State, make certain that your request is properly forwarded. Speaking with the receptionist on a daily basis, if long-term contact is needed (or contact is taking several days), and simply requesting further information regarding your case is not out of the question. Be patient. Be polite. Realize that even if your case is dire, so are most others on the desk in front of the Secretary of State, too. If you like, we are happy to help interface as your registered agent.