July 2026 Professional Services new business activity in Florida

Professional services is the biggest single group of new businesses forming in Florida. Every week new law firms, accounting and tax practices, consultants, engineers, architects, and marketing agencies register with the state. The clearest recent moves below span engineering, architecture, accounting, consulting, marketing, and law firms, and the counts show the wider field across every professional trade.

Every new professional firm needs a predictable set of businesses to get running. A new law, accounting, engineering, or marketing firm needs professional-liability and errors-and-omissions coverage, IT and cybersecurity setup, a bookkeeper and a business banker, practice-management and billing software, marketing and lead-gen help, and commercial office space, signage, and staffing.

The counts below show where new professional-services businesses are registering, by region, over the last 30, 90, and 365 days. Under them is the recent news these owners are watching, from new firm openings to a saved state licensing board, with the specific businesses each move creates work for. The state licensing rules and the boards and associations every new firm turns to live at the bottom, in Professional Services Resources.

New developments professional-services owners are watching, with the real date of each and the specific businesses it creates work for. The items span law, engineering, architecture, accounting, consulting, and marketing firms across every Florida region. Several are from earlier in 2026 and are noted here as recent context, since outside law firms these fields produce fewer public moves.

• Statewide· announced 2026-07-18

  AIA Florida names its 2026 architecture Design Award winners

  AIA Florida published its 2026 Design Award recipients, with the honors set for presentation on July 18, 2026 in Kissimmee. Florida studios on the list include Brillhart Architecture and STRANG in the Miami area, Sweet Sparkman and Damien Blumetti Architect in Sarasota, and Schenkel Shultz in Winter Park. Design studios like these rely on professional-liability coverage, plan-printing and reprographics, rendering and project-management software, IT support, and office space and signage. A strong roster of Florida architecture firms supports design jobs statewide and the schools, homes, and public buildings communities use.

  Source: AIA Florida

• Central Florida· announced 2026-07-01

  New law firm DW LAW opens in the Orlando area

  Douglas Paul Malenfant opened DW LAW, a new firm serving Orange, Seminole, and Volusia counties. The Florida Bar listed the new firm in its July 1, 2026 On the Move column. It is a fresh solo practice covering the greater Orlando market. A new solo firm like this needs errors-and-omissions coverage, billing and practice-management software, a bookkeeper, and a business banker to get running. A new firm covering three Central Florida counties adds legal capacity and self-employment income to the region.

  Source: The Florida Bar

• Southwest Florida· announced 2026-05-19

  Wisconsin engineering firm buys Sarasota MEP designer ME3

  MSA Professional Services announced on May 19, 2026 that it acquired ME3 Consulting Engineers, a Sarasota firm that designs mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems for commercial, school, health care, and hospitality buildings. ME3 keeps its Sarasota base and its staff, adding engineering depth across Southwest Florida. A growing engineering office like this needs professional-liability coverage, project-management and design software, IT and cybersecurity support, a bookkeeper, and business banking. Keeping ME3's engineers in Sarasota protects local design jobs and the county tax base, and widens the engineering services available to Florida builders.

  Source: MSA Professional Services

• Northeast Florida· announced 2026-03-25

  Foley law firm moves into a new downtown Jacksonville tower

  Foley & Lardner announced on March 25, 2026 that it will move its Jacksonville office to One Tower Court, the first new multi-tenant Class A office building built downtown since 2007. The firm will take the full fifth floor of the six-story building near the St. Johns River. The move is tied to the larger Jacksonville Shipyards project. A firm filling a new Class A floor creates work right away, from IT and cybersecurity providers and commercial office fit-out and signage to staffing firms hiring local support roles. The move keeps a major employer and its legal jobs anchored in downtown Jacksonville and supports the new office tower.

  Source: Foley & Lardner LLP

• North Central Florida· reported 2026-03-25

  UF law clinic in Gainesville helps new founders launch

  The University of Florida Levin College of Law runs an Innovation and Entrepreneurship Clinic in Gainesville that represents inventors, startups, and new business owners on trademarks, patents, licensing, and contracts. A March 25, 2026 University of Florida news story described the clinic in its fourth semester with a cohort of eight students. The clinic helps turn Gainesville research and ideas into filed companies. These first-time founders need a bookkeeper, a business banker, practice-management software, and marketing and lead-gen help as they set up their new firms. Helping local founders form companies grows the North Central Florida tax base and creates early jobs.

  Source: University of Florida

• Statewide· reported 2026-03-13

  Florida keeps its Board of Accountancy after the 2026 session

  The Florida Institute of CPAs reported on March 13, 2026 that the 2026 legislative session ended with the Florida Board of Accountancy preserved after a bill to eliminate it stalled in the House. The Board keeps licensing and overseeing CPAs statewide. A separate bill to add new CPA licensure paths passed the Senate 35 to 0 but was not heard in the House, so it did not become law. New CPA firm owners still license through the same Board, and they need practice-management and billing software, a business banker, errors-and-omissions coverage, and marketing help. Keeping the Board running maintains CPA licensing and consumer protection for accounting firms across Florida.

  Source: Florida Institute of CPAs

• Southeast Florida· announced 2026-03-11

  Global consulting firm opens a Miami office on Brickell Avenue

  Management Solutions, an international business and technology consulting firm, opened a Miami office on Brickell Avenue as a hub for its US and global clients. The firm advises companies on business, finance, risk, and technology. A new consulting office needs office space and signage, IT and cybersecurity, business banking, professional-liability coverage, and staffing support. A global consulting firm on Brickell adds professional jobs to Miami's financial core and brings advisory work into Florida's economy.

  Source: Management Solutions

• Northwest Florida· announced 2026-02-27

  Tallahassee ad agency Grova wins seven advertising ADDYs

  The Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce reported on February 27, 2026 that Grova Creative earned two Gold and five Silver ADDY awards at the 2026 American Advertising Awards for the North Central Florida region, which covers the Tallahassee, Ocala, and Gainesville markets. A busy creative agency needs project-management software, IT and cybersecurity, a bookkeeper, business banking, and professional-liability coverage. Award-winning agencies like Grova keep creative and marketing jobs in the Tallahassee area and draw client work into the region.

  Source: Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce

• Southeast Florida· announced 2026-02-17

  Tampa marine engineering firm opens a Fort Lauderdale office

  Boksa Marine Design, a naval architecture and marine engineering firm based near Tampa, announced on February 17, 2026 that it opened a second office in Fort Lauderdale. The firm also named a new president as its founder became chief executive. A new engineering office needs professional-liability coverage, business banking, IT and cybersecurity, staffing help, and office space and signage. The Fort Lauderdale office adds engineering jobs on the southeast coast and serves the region's large yacht building and refit industry.

  Source: Boksa Marine Design

• Northeast Florida· 2026-02-13

  WGI wins a top ACEC Florida engineering prize for a Jacksonville transit project

  At the 2026 ACEC Florida Engineering Excellence Awards on February 13 in Orlando, WGI took the Grand Conceptor Award, the program's highest honor, for the Jacksonville Transportation Authority's Bay Street Innovation Corridor. Five other firms, including DRMP and Taylor Engineering, earned Grand Awards. Engineering firms competing for public work of this size need professional-liability coverage, business banking, project-management software, IT and cybersecurity, and staffing support. Recognizing Florida engineering firms helps them win the transportation and infrastructure contracts that keep skilled jobs and project spending inside the state.

  Source: ACEC Florida

• Tampa Bay· announced 2026-01-20

  Accounting firm CLA doubles its downtown Tampa office

  CLA, also known as CliftonLarsonAllen, announced on January 20, 2026 that it doubled its space at Tampa City Center, now filling two full floors on North Franklin Street. About 300 CLA professionals in the Tampa Bay area handle audit, tax, wealth advisory, and consulting work. A larger accounting and consulting office needs commercial office space and signage, IT and cybersecurity, professional-liability coverage, and practice-management software. CLA's larger Tampa office keeps professional jobs downtown and expands accounting and advisory services for local businesses and nonprofits.

  Source: CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen)

• We count each business by the date it registered with the state, so this shows new business formation, not the current number of firms.
• State records post about 2 weeks behind, so the last week or two will keep rising as more filings arrive.
• Florida licenses many professional fields through their own boards: certified public accountants through the Board of Accountancy, engineers through the Board of Professional Engineers, architects through the Board of Architecture and Interior Design, and attorneys through The Florida Bar. Consulting, marketing, and design work is not licensed statewide.
• Some developments here are from earlier in 2026 and are noted as recent context, since outside law firms these fields produce fewer public primary-source moves.
• Counts cover active Florida businesses and update daily.

Statewide license source: Florida Board of Professional Engineers, Licensure.

Frequently asked questions

Where are the most new professional-services businesses forming in Florida?

This report ranks every Florida region by new professional-services businesses and shows if activity is heating up or slowing down.

What kinds of businesses count as professional services?

Law firms, accounting and tax practices, management consultants, marketing, advertising, and public-relations agencies, design and creative studios, engineering and architecture firms, photographers, and business coaches and trainers.

What does it take to open a professional firm in Florida?

It depends on the field. A CPA firm licenses with the Board of Accountancy, an engineering firm registers in the state Engineering Business Registry, an architecture firm registers with the Board of Architecture and Interior Design, and a law practice needs attorneys in good standing with The Florida Bar. Consulting, marketing, and design firms are not licensed statewide. Every new firm still needs insurance, software, banking, and office setup, which is the work new owners are shopping for.

Where does this data come from?

The formation counts come from official Florida business-registration records. We pull every new filing, sort it by industry and region, and update daily. We count a business by the date it registered with the state. Licensing comes from the Florida professional boards and The Florida Bar.

Can I see the actual businesses?

Yes. You get the real filings, with business names, addresses, and officers, free for 7 days, with no credit card required. Start a free 7-day trial to see them.

The standing resources for Florida professional firms, starting with the statewide licensing boards and associations that cover every field, then a local professional body for each region. This is the rulebook, not the news. Check it to see the resources a new firm uses, or share it with a new firm owner.