How to Change a Registered Agent

Why You Might Need to Change Your Registered Agent

A registered agent is the person or company your state lists as the official recipient of legal notices and state mail for your LLC or corporation. You typically change agents for one of a few reasons: your current agent resigned, you moved your business or your agent moved, you were acting as your own agent and want someone available during business hours instead, or you are switching from one agent service to another.

Whatever the reason, the change only counts once it is filed with the state. Simply telling your old agent you are done, or signing a new agreement with a new agent, does not update the public record by itself.

Step 1: Confirm Your New Agent Meets the State's Rules

Every state requires a registered agent to have a physical street address in the state, not a P.O. box, and to be available at that address during business hours. Some states allow the LLC's own member or manager to serve, as long as that person is a state resident with a qualifying address; others, such as Florida and California, specifically say the LLC itself cannot act as its own agent, even though an individual associated with it can.

Step 2: Get the New Agent's Written Consent

Many states require the incoming agent to accept the appointment in writing before the change is valid. Florida's change form requires the new agent to sign a statement accepting the role, and Arizona requires a separate Statutory Agent Acceptance form filed alongside the Statement of Change of Principal Address or Statutory Agent, per the Arizona Corporation Commission. Confirm your new agent has signed off before you submit anything to the state.

Step 3: File the Change With Your State's Filing Office

Most states use a dedicated change-of-agent form. Examples include Florida's Statement of Change of Registered Office or Registered Agent or Both for Limited Liability Company (Form INHS18, $25), Delaware's Certificate of Amendment for a change of registered agent ($50), and Texas's Form 401, Statement of Change of Registered Office/Agent ($15), according to each state's filing office. Filing fees for this change range from $0 in states such as Arkansas, California, Montana and Virginia to $100 in Alabama.

Some States Update the Agent Through the Annual Report Instead

A handful of states do not use a separate change form at all. California updates its registered agent information through the Statement of Information (Form LLC-12), the same biennial report every California LLC already files, per the California Secretary of State. Georgia folds the update into its Annual Registration. If your state works this way, check whether you can wait for your next scheduled report or whether a standalone amendment is faster, since an agent change that sits unfiled for months leaves the old address on the public record in the meantime.

Step 4: Update Every State Where Your LLC Is Registered

If your LLC is registered to do business in more than one state, as a "foreign" LLC in each state beyond where you formed it, you need a separate change of agent filing in every one of those states. A filing in your home state does not carry over.

If You Would Rather Not Handle the Filing Yourself

Some owners switch to a professional registered agent service specifically so a change like this, and the recurring compliance filings after it, are handled for them. LLC Register's $99-a-year registered agent service includes LLC formation in year one and annual report filing, with state fees passed through at cost.

How Long the Change Takes

Processing time depends on the state and whether you file online or by mail. States that accept the change form online, such as Delaware's and Florida's portals, generally process it faster than a mailed paper form. There is no single figure that applies everywhere, so check your state's filing office for its current processing time before you assume the change is in effect.

Confirm the Filing Actually Went Through

Don't treat a mailed form or an online submission as done until you have confirmation from the state, such as a stamped filing receipt or an updated entity record on the Secretary of State's website. If a lawsuit or state notice is served on your old agent after the change should have taken effect, an unprocessed filing can leave you without notice of it.

A Resigning Agent Can File Without You

In most states, a registered agent can resign on their own, without the LLC's cooperation, by filing a resignation form with the state. California's Form RA-100 is one example. If your agent resigns before you have named a replacement, the state typically gives the LLC a limited window to appoint a new one before the entity falls out of good standing or faces administrative dissolution. Do not wait for a resignation notice to start looking for a new agent if you already know a change is coming.

Keep Other Records in Sync

Your registered agent's address often appears on documents beyond the state filing, including your operating agreement, your EIN records if you listed a responsible party address, and any licenses or bank accounts tied to your business address. Update these separately; the state filing does not update them for you.

This Is Not Legal Advice

If you are in the middle of a lawsuit, a dispute with a former agent, or a state compliance problem when you make this change, talk to a business attorney about the timing. A tax professional can help you confirm whether a registered agent change affects anything on your state or federal filings; for most LLCs changing agents for routine reasons, it does not.

Watch for the Deadline If You're Replacing a Resigning Agent

When an agent resigns rather than being replaced on your initiative, the clock often starts the day the state processes that resignation, not the day you receive the notice in the mail. Check your state's filing office for how many days you have to name a successor, and act before that window closes rather than after.