What is a registered agent and why does my Georgia LLC need one?

A registered agent is an individual or authorized business entity designated to receive legal documents, lawsuits, tax notices, and official correspondence on behalf of your Georgia LLC. Georgia law requires every LLC to maintain a registered agent with a physical street address located in Georgia. A PO box doesn't satisfy this requirement. This agent serves as your LLC's point of contact with the Georgia Secretary of State and acts as a critical intermediary during litigation, ensuring your business doesn't miss essential deadlines that could result in default judgments or loss of good standing status. A registered agent service is listed as the agent in place of you, so your home address does not have to appear in that entry. Other parts of a filing can still show an owner's name or address. When filing your Articles of Organization with the Georgia Secretary of State, you must name your registered agent in your Articles of Organization (form CD 030) and pay the $110 filing fee ($100 plus a $10 service charge). Contact the Georgia Secretary of State's Corporations Division to confirm your registered agent designation and ensure compliance before your LLC formation is finalized.

What happens if my Georgia LLC doesn't have a registered agent?

Failing to maintain a registered agent or registered office is one of the grounds on which the Georgia Secretary of State can administratively dissolve your LLC. The Corporations Division first mails a notice, and the LLC has 60 days from the date of that notice to correct the problem before it is dissolved. A dissolved LLC continues to exist but may carry on only the business needed to wind up its affairs. Without a registered agent, you may not receive the Secretary of State's notices, tax correspondence, or lawsuit papers, and an unanswered lawsuit can end in a default judgment against your business. A dissolved LLC can apply for reinstatement within five years. The fee is $260 ($250 plus a $10 service charge), online or on paper, and once reinstated the LLC's existence is treated as having continued. Your immediate next step: name a registered agent who lives in Georgia, or a qualifying corporation or LLC, and record the change by filing an annual registration or an amended annual registration with the Secretary of State.

How much does a registered agent cost in Georgia?

If you serve as your own registered agent in Georgia, there's no additional cost beyond your standard LLC filing fees with the Georgia Secretary of State. However, professional registered agent services in Georgia typically charge $100 to $300 annually, with providers like Northwest and LegalZoom offering Georgia-specific compliance support. This fee covers maintaining a physical Georgia business address, receiving and forwarding legal documents, and ensuring compliance with Georgia's registered agent requirements. A registered agent service is listed as the agent in place of you, so your home address does not have to appear in that entry. Other parts of a filing can still show an owner's name or address. Additionally, professional agents provide guaranteed availability during business hours, reducing the risk of missed deadlines on critical legal documents. To get started, compare quotes from 2 to 3 Georgia-based registered agent providers and confirm they have a physical street address in Georgia before committing to a contract.

Does using a registered agent protect my privacy in Georgia?

Only in part. When you hire a registered agent service, the service is listed as your registered agent in place of you, so your home address does not have to appear in that entry. That is the only part of your LLC's record a registered agent changes. Other parts of a filing can still show an owner's name or address. Assume that what you file with the state can be seen by the public, and read the blank forms your LLC files with the state filing office to see what each one asks you to list.

How do I change my registered agent in Georgia?

To change your registered agent in Georgia, file an annual registration or an amended annual registration with the Georgia Secretary of State's Corporations Division; the Division says that is how an entity changes its registered agent or registered office. If your annual registration for the year is already filed, the amended annual registration costs $30 ($20 plus a $10 service charge), online or on paper. If your annual registration is still due, you can make the change on it and pay the $60 annual registration fee you already owe. Name a new agent who has agreed to serve and is located at a Georgia street address (not a PO box); for an LLC, that is an individual who lives in Georgia or a qualifying corporation or LLC. Your current agent remains on record until the filing is processed, so file before your current agent stops serving to avoid a gap. You can file online through the Corporations Division's online filing system.

Georgia Registered Agent: Requirements, Costs and How to Choose One

Understand Georgia's registered agent rules, explore your options, and choose the best solution for your LLC's privacy and compliance needs.

By Edmond Hui · Last updated: October 2026

Georgia requires every LLC to name a registered agent when it files to form, on the Transmittal Information Form (Form CD 231) filed with its Articles of Organization. Hiring a paid service is optional: in most states the LLC's owner, or another individual who qualifies, may serve as its registered agent, and the rules below set out who qualifies in Georgia. See the rules below.

Affiliate disclosure: We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Get registered agent service from Northwest$125/yr, or included for year one when you form your LLC with them ($39 plus your state's filing fee). Registered agent customers are enrolled by default in annual report filing at $100 plus state fees, charged automatically to your saved payment method and cancellable any time.

Not sure which service is right? Compare formation services →

Georgia Registered Agent Rules at a Glance

Can an individual serve?	Yes, any individual who lives in Georgia
Can a company serve?	Yes, a Georgia corporation or LLC, or an out-of-state corporation or LLC authorized to do business in Georgia
Can you be your own agent?	Yes, an LLC owner who lives in Georgia can serve as the LLC's registered agent

How Georgia's rules compare: registered agent requirements in all 50 states.

Best Registered Agent Services for Georgia LLCs (2026)

Affiliate disclosure: Northwest Registered Agent, Bizee, ZenBusiness and LegalZoom pay us a commission if you sign up through our link, at no extra cost to you. We list only the registered agent services we have an affiliate relationship with, so this is not a survey of the whole market.

This table is not scored. The four are listed cheapest annual renewal first, and the rows below it say which one fits which situation. The scored ranking, and the formula behind it, is on the formation services review, which orders them on three-year cost, BBB rating and Trustpilot score.

Service	With formation, year 1	Annual renewal	BBB	Trustpilot	Privacy
Northwest Registered Agent	Included with $39 formation	$125/yr	A	4.1/5 (297)	Says it does not sell your information; runs its own servers
Bizee	Free year one (some visitors are being shown shorter free periods, so confirm at checkout)	$149/yr	C (unaccredited)	4.8/5 (26,100+)	No data-sharing commitment
ZenBusiness	$99, not included in any plan	$199/yr	A	4.8/5 (32,500+)	Partial
LegalZoom	Not included, $249 extra	$249/yr	A+	4.6/5 (32,900+)	Partial

Note: Bizee holds a C rating from the BBB and is not accredited. BBB's profile carries a live alert describing a pattern of complaints about unexpected charges, difficulty canceling and filing delays, and Bizee has posted a response to it. We flag this so you can make an informed choice.

Prices are each provider's standard published rates; year-one pricing applies when you form your LLC through the same service. BBB and Trustpilot figures as recorded September 15, 2026, not re-checked since, and both sources update continuously. These are the dates the figures were last written to our dataset, which is the most we can show: they are not verification dates. See how we evaluate these companies in our full formation services review →

Which Registered Agent Is Best for Your Georgia LLC?

You're forming a new LLC and want phone, email and chat support

Our pick: ZenBusiness

A $0 Starter formation plan, backed by an A from the BBB and a 4.8/5 Trustpilot score. Registered agent is not included in any plan: it is $99 for the first year when you form with them, then $199/yr.

Your LLC already exists and you just need an agent

Our pick: Northwest Registered Agent

A flat $125/yr for registered agent service, the lowest renewal of the services listed here, and a privacy policy that says it does not sell your information. Registered agent customers are enrolled by default in Northwest's report filing service, which charges your saved payment method $100 plus state fees each time it files for you and which you can cancel.

You want year one free and the cheaper renewal after it

Our pick: Bizee

Registered agent is free for year one on every Bizee plan and renews at $149/yr, $50/yr less than ZenBusiness. Northwest renews lower still at $125/yr, but its first year comes inside a paid $39 formation package rather than free. Tradeoff: a C rating from the BBB, which cites a pattern of complaints about charges and cancellation, so read every auto-renewal term.

Complex legal needs alongside your filing

Our pick: LegalZoom

The only one of the services listed here with attorney consultations, which come with LegalZoom's $299 formation plan (and in one version of its plans its $249 plan) for 30 days and then cost $49 or $99 a month until you cancel, depending on the version. Also the most expensive registered agent listed here at $249/yr, which is never included in their plans.

Need the Georgia Secretary of State?

Go directly to the Georgia Secretary of State website.

Go to the Georgia Secretary of State →

Your Registered Agent Options

Self / owner

Pros

No additional cost
Direct control over legal documents
Immediate access to important mail

Cons

Your name and address become public record
Must be available during all business hours
Potential privacy and security concerns

Best for: Small business owners who work from a fixed Georgia location and don't mind public disclosure

Friend or family member

Pros

Lower cost than professional services
Personal relationship and trust
Your home address is not the one listed for the registered agent

Cons

Friend's address becomes public record
Relies on their availability and reliability
May strain personal relationships if issues arise

Best for: Entrepreneurs with trusted contacts who have stable Georgia addresses and understand the responsibility

Professional service

Pros

Your home address is not the one listed for the registered agent
Staffed to accept documents during business hours
Expert handling of legal documents
Additional business services often available

Cons

An annual fee set by the provider
Less direct control over document receipt
Requires ongoing vendor relationship

Best for: Business owners prioritizing privacy, those without Georgia addresses, or companies wanting professional document handling

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. It reports what each state publishes about filing deadlines, fees, and the consequences of missing them, with the sources this page cites. It cannot tell you what your own company owes: the date turns on when and where you formed, states change these rules between our reviews, and in several states an entity-level tax falls due in a year when no report does. Confirm your own dates with the filing office named on this page before you rely on one here, because missing a deadline can cost the company its good standing or, in many states, its existence.

Read this guide for another state:

Frequently Asked Questions

: A registered agent is an individual or authorized business entity designated to receive legal documents, lawsuits, tax notices, and official correspondence on behalf of your Georgia LLC. Georgia law requires every LLC to maintain a registered agent with a physical street address located in Georgia. A PO box doesn't satisfy this requirement. This agent serves as your LLC's point of contact with the Georgia Secretary of State and acts as a critical intermediary during litigation, ensuring your business doesn't miss essential deadlines that could result in default judgments or loss of good standing status. A registered agent service is listed as the agent in place of you, so your home address does not have to appear in that entry. Other parts of a filing can still show an owner's name or address. When filing your Articles of Organization with the Georgia Secretary of State, you must name your registered agent in your Articles of Organization (form CD 030) and pay the $110 filing fee ($100 plus a $10 service charge). Contact the Georgia Secretary of State's Corporations Division to confirm your registered agent designation and ensure compliance before your LLC formation is finalized.
: Failing to maintain a registered agent or registered office is one of the grounds on which the Georgia Secretary of State can administratively dissolve your LLC. The Corporations Division first mails a notice, and the LLC has 60 days from the date of that notice to correct the problem before it is dissolved. A dissolved LLC continues to exist but may carry on only the business needed to wind up its affairs. Without a registered agent, you may not receive the Secretary of State's notices, tax correspondence, or lawsuit papers, and an unanswered lawsuit can end in a default judgment against your business. A dissolved LLC can apply for reinstatement within five years. The fee is $260 ($250 plus a $10 service charge), online or on paper, and once reinstated the LLC's existence is treated as having continued. Your immediate next step: name a registered agent who lives in Georgia, or a qualifying corporation or LLC, and record the change by filing an annual registration or an amended annual registration with the Secretary of State.
: If you serve as your own registered agent in Georgia, there's no additional cost beyond your standard LLC filing fees with the Georgia Secretary of State. However, professional registered agent services in Georgia typically charge $100 to $300 annually, with providers like Northwest and LegalZoom offering Georgia-specific compliance support. This fee covers maintaining a physical Georgia business address, receiving and forwarding legal documents, and ensuring compliance with Georgia's registered agent requirements. A registered agent service is listed as the agent in place of you, so your home address does not have to appear in that entry. Other parts of a filing can still show an owner's name or address. Additionally, professional agents provide guaranteed availability during business hours, reducing the risk of missed deadlines on critical legal documents. To get started, compare quotes from 2 to 3 Georgia-based registered agent providers and confirm they have a physical street address in Georgia before committing to a contract.
: Only in part. When you hire a registered agent service, the service is listed as your registered agent in place of you, so your home address does not have to appear in that entry. That is the only part of your LLC's record a registered agent changes. Other parts of a filing can still show an owner's name or address. Assume that what you file with the state can be seen by the public, and read the blank forms your LLC files with the state filing office to see what each one asks you to list.
: To change your registered agent in Georgia, file an annual registration or an amended annual registration with the Georgia Secretary of State's Corporations Division; the Division says that is how an entity changes its registered agent or registered office. If your annual registration for the year is already filed, the amended annual registration costs $30 ($20 plus a $10 service charge), online or on paper. If your annual registration is still due, you can make the change on it and pay the $60 annual registration fee you already owe. Name a new agent who has agreed to serve and is located at a Georgia street address (not a PO box); for an LLC, that is an individual who lives in Georgia or a qualifying corporation or LLC. Your current agent remains on record until the filing is processed, so file before your current agent stops serving to avoid a gap. You can file online through the Corporations Division's online filing system.

Sources

8 documents

Each entry below is a document recorded in our verified Georgia sources, and each entry says what the document is. Some statutory text is read from an accurate mirror rather than from the state's own host, and those say so. Where we hold the citation but no stable public link, the citation is printed on its own rather than pointed at a guessed address.

Georgia statute: O.C.G.A. § 14-11-209 (registered agent)
Georgia statute: O.C.G.A. 14-11-603 (administrative dissolution and reinstatement)
sos.ga.gov/sites/default/files/forms/Reference%20-%20Filing%20Fees%20(Effective%209.6.2025).pdfGeorgia Corporations Division: Filing Fees (effective September 6, 2025)
sos.ga.gov/page/business-division-faqGeorgia Secretary of State: Business Division FAQ
sos.ga.gov/how-to-guide/filing-fees-and-expedited-processing-document-filingsGeorgia Secretary of State: business entity filings
rules.sos.ga.gov/gac/590-7-22Georgia statute: Annual Registration
law.onecle.com/georgia/title-14/14-11-1103.htmlGeorgia statutory text, unofficial mirror: Annual Registration
ecorp.sos.ga.gov/oneClickARGeorgia Secretary of State: file the Annual Registration

More for Georgia LLCs

Start and set up

Taxes, money and growth

Stay compliant

Operate in other states

Compare structures

By owner type

Forming an LLC in Georgia?

See how Northwest Registered Agent, Bizee, ZenBusiness and LegalZoom, the formation services we partner with, compare on 3-year cost, BBB rating and Trustpilot score before you choose.

Compare Services →

Need a Registered Agent in Georgia?

Affiliate disclosure: We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Not sure which service is right? Compare formation services →

Edmond Hui · Founder, MyStateLLC

Edmond Hui is a software engineer and serial entrepreneur based in New York who has founded multiple online businesses across e-commerce, media, and information publishing. Before transitioning into tech, he spent years as a commercial real estate professional closing deals totaling over 100,000 square feet, giving him firsthand experience with business formation and entity structuring. He built MyStateLLC to provide the free, state-specific LLC guidance he wished existed when forming his own companies.

How we check facts

Georgia Registered Agent Rules at a Glance

Best Registered Agent Services for Georgia LLCs (2026)

Which Registered Agent Is Best for Your Georgia LLC?

You're forming a new LLC and want phone, email and chat support

Your LLC already exists and you just need an agent

You want year one free and the cheaper renewal after it

Complex legal needs alongside your filing

Your Registered Agent Options

Self / owner

Friend or family member

Professional service

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

More for Georgia LLCs

Start and set up

Taxes, money and growth

Stay compliant

Operate in other states

Compare structures

By owner type

By profession

Need a Registered Agent in Georgia?

More Georgia LLC Guides

Related guides