Hire a Registered Agent in Kentucky

A registered agent is the person or company appointed to receive legal papers and official state mail for a Kentucky entity, at a Kentucky street address called the registered office. It is required by Kentucky Revised Statutes § 14A.4-010.

Yes. Every Kentucky LLC, corporation and most other entities filed with the Secretary of State must continuously maintain a registered office and registered agent under KRS 14A.4-010, from the day it files its formation document.

Yes, if you reside in Kentucky and use a business address identical to the registered office where you can accept deliveries (KRS 14A.4-010(1)(b)1.). Many owners hire a service instead to keep that address off the public record.

No. KRS 14A.1-070(35) requires the registered office address to be a street address; a P.O. box does not qualify.

LLC Register charges $99 a year. Commercial registered agent services generally range from about $99 to $249 a year, based on published pricing checked 9/30/2026.

File Form RAC, the Statement of Change of Registered Agent and Office, with the Kentucky Secretary of State for a $10 fee (KRS 14A.4-020; KRS 14A.2-060(1)(g)). It can be filed online through FastTrack or by mail.

The Secretary of State may begin administrative dissolution if an entity is without a registered office or registered agent for 60 days or more, or fails to report a change within 60 days; the entity then has 60 days from the notice to fix it before dissolution (KRS 14A.7-010; 14A.7-020).

Yes. Under KRS 14A.4-010(2), the appointment of a registered agent is not effective until the agent signs the appointment document or delivers a written statement to the Secretary of State accepting it. A new agent's written consent is also required on Form RAC under KRS 14A.4-020(1)(e).

Yes, as long as they reside in Kentucky, use a business address identical to the registered office, and accept the appointment in writing under KRS 14A.4-010.

Only if that company is itself qualified to transact business in Kentucky and maintains a business address identical to the registered office; an unqualified out-of-state entity cannot serve as agent under KRS 14A.4-010(1)(b)2.

A registered agent must forward any process, notice or demand received on the entity's behalf under KRS 14A.4-050; LLC Register scans and emails it to you the same day we receive it.

Yes. The registered agent's name and registered office address are part of the entity's public filing with the Kentucky Secretary of State and appear on the annual report.

Yes. A registered agent can file Form SRA, a Statement of Resignation, with the Secretary of State; the appointment ends on the earlier of a successor agent being named or the 31st day after the statement is filed (KRS 14A.4-030).

Yes. The annual report, due between January 1 and June 30 each year for a $15 fee, must show your current registered office and registered agent (KRS 14A.6-010; KRS 14A.2-060(2)(a)).

Yes, for nearly every entity filed with the Secretary of State: LLCs, corporations, limited partnerships and most other filed entities must maintain a registered agent under KRS 14A.4-010.

Yes. A foreign entity must name a Kentucky registered agent with a Kentucky business address on Form FBE, the Application for Certificate of Authority, filed with the Secretary of State for $90 under KRS 14A.9-030 — the same physical-address rule that applies to a domestic entity.

No. Kentucky's Limited Liability Company Act, KRS Chapter 275, does not include series LLC provisions; a series structure is only available in Kentucky under the separate Kentucky Uniform Statutory Trust Act, outside the registered-agent rules in KRS 14A.4-010.

Yes. A PLLC follows the same registered agent rule as any other Kentucky LLC and names its agent directly on Form PLC, the Articles of Organization for a Professional Limited Liability Company, filed for the same $40 fee as a standard LLC.

The Secretary of State treats the entity as lacking a registered agent and can move toward administrative dissolution. Once a Statement of Resignation (Form SRA) is filed under KRS 14A.4-030, the entity has 60 days from notice to designate a new agent before facing dissolution under KRS 14A.7-010 and 14A.7-020.

Service can fall back to the entity's principal office. KRS 14A.4-040 governs service through the registered agent, and if the agent cannot with reasonable diligence be served, Kentucky law allows service to be completed by certified mail addressed to an officer or managing agent at the entity's principal office.

Yes. A nonprofit formed under the Kentucky Nonprofit Corporation Act, KRS Chapter 273, is an "entity" under the Business Entity Filing Act and must appoint and maintain a registered agent the same as any other filed entity, naming one on Form NAI, its Articles of Incorporation.

Yes. An LP formed under the Kentucky Uniform Limited Partnership Act, KRS Chapter 362.1, names its registered agent on Form KNP, the Certificate of Limited Partnership, and must maintain that agent under the same KRS 14A.4-010 rule that applies to LLCs and corporations.

Search the Kentucky Secretary of State's Business Entity Search at sosbes.sos.ky.gov by entity name or organization number; the agent's name and registered office address are shown on the entity's filing record at no charge.

Yes, if a lapsed or invalid registered agent was the reason for dissolution. Reinstatement under KRS 14A.7-030 requires correcting whatever caused the dissolution, so you must file a current registered agent designation before the Secretary of State will reinstate the entity.

Yes, but Kentucky still requires a filing. Even when you're keeping the same agent, a change to that agent's own name or address must be reported on Form RAC, the Statement of Change of Registered Agent and Office, under KRS 14A.4-020 — the identical form used to switch to a different agent.

Yes. Kentucky sets no limit on how many entities a single individual or registered agent service can represent, as long as each appointment meets the residency (or Kentucky-qualification) and business-address rules in KRS 14A.4-010(1)(b).

Yes. The IRS treats an annual registered agent fee as an ordinary and necessary business expense, deductible in the year you pay it.

Yes, as long as your attorney resides in Kentucky, or your firm is qualified to transact business in Kentucky, with a business address identical to the registered office — the same eligibility rule under KRS 14A.4-010(1)(b) that applies to anyone else.

No. KRS 14A.1-070(34) defines "registered agent" to mean the same thing as "agent for service of process" — Kentucky's statute simply uses "registered agent" as the operative term throughout KRS Chapter 14A.

The Secretary of State treats that the same as having no valid registered office: it can be grounds for administrative dissolution under KRS 14A.7-010, giving the entity 60 days from notice under KRS 14A.7-020 to fix its registered agent or office before dissolution.

You have to name one upfront. Form KLC, the Articles of Organization, requires the registered agent's name and Kentucky business address before the Secretary of State will file it — you cannot leave it blank and add an agent afterward.

They're tracked separately. Your registered office is specifically where your registered agent accepts legal mail, reported on Form RAC under KRS 14A.4-020, while a change to your principal office alone is reported on its own Statement of Change of Principal Office under KRS 14A.5-010 — the two addresses can be the same or different.

No. KRS 14A.1-070(35) requires the registered office to be a street address matching the agent's own business address, and a commercial mail-receiving service or mailbox rental does not meet that rule any more than a P.O. box does.

No. Kentucky's filings list only your registered agent's name and business address; the Statement of Change of Registered Agent and Office (Form RAC) does not ask for or publish a phone number or email address.

Yes. Nonprofit corporations file the same annual report other Kentucky entities file, due between January 1 and June 30 under KRS 14A.6-010, and it must list the nonprofit's current registered agent and registered office.

Yes. Nothing in KRS 14A.4-010 prevents an owner, manager or officer from also serving as the entity's registered agent, as long as they meet the residency (or Kentucky-qualification) and business-address requirements.

No. Kentucky's Business Entity Filing Act has no separate licensing, bonding or commercial-registered-agent registration scheme — KRS 14A.1-070 defines "registered agent" without creating a distinct category for a commercial agent, so the only requirements are the residency (or qualification) and address rules in KRS 14A.4-010.

No. KRS 14A.4-010(1)(b)1 requires an individual registered agent to reside in Kentucky; owning Kentucky real estate does not meet that requirement if you personally live elsewhere.

No. KRS 14A.4-050 limits a registered agent's obligations to receiving and forwarding process, notices and demands addressed to the entity — it has no authority to sign contracts or otherwise act on the entity's behalf.

Yes. Nothing requires the two to differ — many small Kentucky entities use one street address for both, though changing either one is still reported on its own correct form: Form RAC for the registered office and agent, or a Statement of Change of Principal Office under KRS 14A.5-010 for the principal office alone.