How long does it take to change a registered agent in South Dakota?

The South Dakota Secretary of State does not publish a standard processing time for a statement of change. South Dakota law says the statement takes effect when it is filed, so until then your current agent stays on the record. Filing online avoids mail time and the $15 paper processing fee.

What does it cost to change a registered agent in South Dakota?

Changing your registered agent in South Dakota costs $10, the fee South Dakota law sets for a statement of change and the fee the Secretary of State lists for a Statement of Change of Registered Agent and/or Address. If you print the statement and mail it instead of filing online, the Secretary of State adds a $15 paper processing fee. A registered agent service charges its own annual fee on top of that, which varies by provider.

Can I be my own registered agent in South Dakota?

Yes, if you can accept legal papers at an actual street address or rural route box number in South Dakota. Your address then appears on the public record. To name yourself, file a Statement of Change of Registered Agent and/or Address with the South Dakota Secretary of State. The fee is $10, you can file it online, and if you print it and mail it instead the Secretary of State adds a $15 paper processing fee.

Will changing my registered agent affect my LLC's good standing?

No. Changing your agent properly does not affect your LLC's standing, and South Dakota's LLC Act does not list a missing agent as a ground for administrative dissolution. Without an agent, though, your LLC can be served by registered or certified mail to its governors at the principal office, so keep an agent on file and update it before your current agent stops serving.

Can I file the registered agent change online or only by mail?

You can file online. The Secretary of State's online Statement of Change process is open to registered entities with Active status, and the fee is $10. If you prefer paper, you can use the same tool, print the statement and mail it, but that adds a $15 paper processing fee.

How to Change Your Registered Agent in South Dakota

Update your LLC's registered agent with the South Dakota Secretary of State to maintain compliance and ensure proper service of process.

By Edmond Hui · Last updated: October 2026

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

Get registered agent service from NorthwestRegistered agent service is $125/yr. The included first year applies only when you form a new LLC with them ($39 plus your state's filing fee), so it does not apply to an LLC you already have. 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 →

Step diagram for changing an LLC's registered agent in South Dakota, showing the 5 filing steps required by the South Dakota Secretary of State. — The 5 steps to change your registered agent in South Dakota. Source: South Dakota Secretary of State.

How to File

1
Obtain consent from your new registered agent
South Dakota law treats naming an agent as your LLC's statement that the agent has consented, so no agent signature is filed. Get your new agent's agreement before you file. A noncommercial agent needs an actual South Dakota street address or rural route box number.
2
Complete the Statement of Change
Use the Secretary of State's online Statement of Change of Registered Agent and/or Address, available to entities with Active status, with your LLC's name and the new agent's details.
3
Pay the filing fee
The fee is $10. If you print the statement and mail it instead of filing online, add a $15 paper processing fee.
4
Submit your filing
File online through the Secretary of State's Statement of Change process, or print and mail it to the address the Secretary of State provides. The change takes effect when it is filed.
5
Update your records
Once approved, update your LLC's internal records and notify banks, vendors, and other parties of the registered agent change to ensure proper mail delivery.

Need the South Dakota Secretary of State?

Go directly to the South Dakota Secretary of State website.

File with the South Dakota Secretary of State →

When Should You Change Your Registered Agent?

Your current registered agent is no longer available or reliable
You're moving your business to a different address in South Dakota
You want to switch from self-service to a professional registered agent service
Your registered agent has resigned or their business has closed

Hiring a service is optional. You can name yourself or another individual with a street address in South Dakota, and the FAQ below gives South Dakota's own rule.

Registered agent services for South Dakota LLCs, by renewal price

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 →

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

: The South Dakota Secretary of State does not publish a standard processing time for a statement of change. South Dakota law says the statement takes effect when it is filed, so until then your current agent stays on the record. Filing online avoids mail time and the $15 paper processing fee.
: Changing your registered agent in South Dakota costs $10, the fee South Dakota law sets for a statement of change and the fee the Secretary of State lists for a Statement of Change of Registered Agent and/or Address. If you print the statement and mail it instead of filing online, the Secretary of State adds a $15 paper processing fee. A registered agent service charges its own annual fee on top of that, which varies by provider.
: Yes, if you can accept legal papers at an actual street address or rural route box number in South Dakota. Your address then appears on the public record. To name yourself, file a Statement of Change of Registered Agent and/or Address with the South Dakota Secretary of State. The fee is $10, you can file it online, and if you print it and mail it instead the Secretary of State adds a $15 paper processing fee.
: No. Changing your agent properly does not affect your LLC's standing, and South Dakota's LLC Act does not list a missing agent as a ground for administrative dissolution. Without an agent, though, your LLC can be served by registered or certified mail to its governors at the principal office, so keep an agent on file and update it before your current agent stops serving.
: You can file online. The Secretary of State's online Statement of Change process is open to registered entities with Active status, and the fee is $10. If you prefer paper, you can use the same tool, print the statement and mail it, but that adds a $15 paper processing fee.

Sources

12 documents

Each entry below is a document recorded in our verified South Dakota 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.

sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/59-11-6SDCL 59-11-5 and 59-11-6, registered agent filing and address
sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/59-11-11SDCL 59-11-11, statement of change of registered agent
sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/59-11-3SDCL 59-11-3, registered agent filing fees ($10 statement of change)
sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/59-11-15SDCL 59-11-15, resignation of registered agent
sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/59-11-16SDCL 59-11-16, service when an entity has no registered agent
sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/47-34A-809SDCL 47-34A-809, grounds for administrative dissolution
sosenterprise.sd.gov/BusinessServices/Business/SOCInstr.aspxSouth Dakota Secretary of State, Statement of Change instructions
sdsos.gov/general-information/filing-fees.aspxSouth Dakota Secretary of State, filing fees
sdsos.gov/business-services/corporations/default.aspxSouth Dakota Secretary of State: business entity filings
sdsos.gov/Division%20of%20Business%20Services/FAQs/default.aspxSouth Dakota agency guidance: Annual Report
sosenterprise.sd.gov/BusinessServices/Business/AnnualReportInstr.aspxSouth Dakota agency guidance: Annual Report
sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/Statute/59-11-25South Dakota statutory text, unofficial mirror: Annual Report

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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

How to File

Obtain consent from your new registered agent

Complete the Statement of Change

Pay the filing fee

Submit your filing

Update your records