The 6 steps to change your registered agent in Arkansas. Source: Arkansas Secretary of State.
How to File
1
Obtain the Statement of Change of Registered Agent form
Download Form RA-1 (Statement of Change of Registered Agent) from the Arkansas Secretary of State website at https://www.sos.arkansas.gov or request it by mail.
2
Complete the required information
Fill out your LLC's name, file number, current registered agent details, and new registered agent's name and Arkansas street address. Both old and new registered agents must sign the form.
3
Get signatures from both agents
The form requires signatures from both your current registered agent (acknowledging resignation) and your new registered agent (accepting appointment).
4
Pay the filing fee
Include a $25 filing fee with your form. Payments can be made by check or money order payable to 'Arkansas Secretary of State.'
5
Submit the form
Mail the completed form and fee to Arkansas Secretary of State, Business and Commercial Services Division, 1401 West Capitol Avenue, Suite 250, Little Rock, AR 72201, or file online if available.
6
Receive confirmation
The Arkansas Secretary of State will process your change and send confirmation. The change becomes effective upon filing and approval.
Ready to file your annual report?
Go directly to the Arkansas Secretary of State portal.
Your current registered agent is moving out of Arkansas or closing their business
You want to switch from a friend or family member to a professional registered agent service
Your registered agent is unresponsive or failing to forward important legal documents
You're relocating your business and need a registered agent in a different Arkansas city
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 the penalty for missing a deadline can be administrative dissolution of the company.
Frequently Asked Questions
Changes to your registered agent in Arkansas typically take 3 to 5 business days for mail submissions to the Arkansas Secretary of State's office. If you file Form 5.022 (Statement of Change of Registered Agent/Office) online through the Secretary of State's website, processing is usually faster, often 1 to 2 business days. The change becomes effective immediately upon approval by the Secretary of State's office. This means your new registered agent can begin receiving legal documents and official notices right away. For LLC owners, delays in updating your registered agent can result in missed service of process, so processing your change promptly is critical. File your Form 5.022 with the Arkansas Secretary of State today to ensure continuity in your business's legal communications and avoid potential complications from outdated agent information.
Changing your registered agent in Arkansas requires filing Form RA-1 (Statement of Change of Registered Agent) with the Arkansas Secretary of State's Business and Commercial Services Division, which costs exactly $25. This is the only state fee required. No additional charges apply regardless of how many times you change agents or the reason for the change.
This $25 fee must accompany your Form RA-1 submission, whether filing by mail or online through the Secretary of State's website. For LLC owners, this low cost makes it practical to update your registered agent quickly if your current agent becomes unavailable or fails to meet your business needs.
The filing typically processes within 5 to 7 business days. To proceed, download Form RA-1 from the Arkansas Secretary of State website, complete it with your LLC name, the new agent's name and Arkansas street address, and mail it with your $25 check to the Business and Commercial Services Division in Little Rock, or file online if available.
Yes, you can serve as your own registered agent in Arkansas if you maintain a physical street address within the state. A PO Box doesn't qualify. You'll need to file an amended Certificate of Organization with the Arkansas Secretary of State, Business and Commercial Services Division, using Form LLC-2 (Amendment to Certificate of Organization). The filing fee is $50, with no specific deadline unless your current agent is resigning.
This approach saves you the $100 to $300 annual fee most professional agents charge, but it exposes your personal address on public records and requires you to personally accept legal documents, tax notices, and compliance deadlines during business hours. Missing a service could jeopardize your LLC's liability protection.
**Next step:** Contact the Arkansas Secretary of State at (501) 682-3409 to request Form LLC-2, or download it from sos.arkansas.gov, then submit it with your $50 fee.
No, properly changing your registered agent doesn't affect your Arkansas LLC's good standing status. However, this requires filing Form ARLLC, Change of Registered Agent with the Arkansas Secretary of State within 30 days of the change taking effect.
If you fail to maintain a valid registered agent at all times, the Secretary of State can administratively dissolve your LLC, which terminates your legal right to conduct business in the state. This creates serious consequences: the LLC loses its authority to do business, and A.C.A. 26-54-114 bars any further Business and Commercial Services filings while franchise tax is unpaid.
The practical implication is straightforward. Your LLC remains in good standing only if there's never a gap in registered agent coverage. You can't operate without one, even temporarily. File your change form promptly with the $50 filing fee to avoid any lapse in representation.
Contact the Arkansas Secretary of State's Business Services Division at (501) 683-3700 to confirm your filing was processed correctly before considering your transition complete.
Yes, you can file your registered agent change online in Arkansas through the Arkansas Secretary of State's Business Services portal at https://www.sos.arkansas.gov. You'll need to submit Form RA-1/A (Certificate of Change of Registered Agent) electronically, which costs $25. This speed matters because your old agent's authority legally terminates only after the Secretary of State officially records the change, leaving your LLC vulnerable to missed legal notices during processing delays. You'll receive email confirmation with your filing number once approved. To proceed, visit the Secretary of State's online portal, log into your LLC account using your entity number, upload the completed Form RA-1/A with your new agent's information, and pay the $25 filing fee by credit card immediately. The Arkansas Secretary of State publishes no standard processing time for this filing.
Sources
Each entry below is a document recorded in our verified Arkansas 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.
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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.
