Registered Agent Requirements by State
Every U.S. state requires LLCs to maintain a registered agent. Find your state's rules, costs, and whether you can be your own registered agent.
What is a registered agent? A registered agent is a person or business that accepts legal documents (lawsuits, subpoenas, tax notices) on behalf of your LLC during business hours. Every state requires one, and they must have a physical street address in the state where your LLC is registered.
All 50 state guides published.
Registered Agent FAQs
- Yes. Every U.S. state requires LLCs to designate a registered agent at all times. This is not optional and applies regardless of how small or inactive your LLC is. The registered agent must have a physical street address (not a P.O. box) in the state where your LLC is registered and must be available during normal business hours to accept legal documents. If your LLC operates in multiple states as a foreign LLC, you need a registered agent in each state where you're registered. Failing to maintain a registered agent puts your LLC at risk of administrative dissolution and missed legal notices.
- Yes, in most states you can serve as your own registered agent as long as you meet two requirements: you must have a physical street address in the state (your home address qualifies) and you must be personally available at that address during all normal business hours. The practical downside is that your home address becomes public record in the state's LLC database, which is visible to anyone who searches. If you work outside the home, travel frequently, or value privacy, a professional registered agent service, typically $50 to $150/year, is worth the cost to keep your personal address off the public record and ensure nothing is missed.
- If your LLC loses its registered agent and doesn't appoint a replacement, most states will send a notice and then move toward administrative dissolution, stripping your LLC of its legal standing to do business. More immediately, if your LLC is sued while it has no registered agent on file, the plaintiff may have no way to serve you, which can result in a default judgment against your LLC without you ever knowing a lawsuit was filed. Reinstatement after dissolution typically costs more than continuous compliance and may require paying back fees. Most states give a grace period of 30 to 60 days after a registered agent resigns before taking action.
- You can change your registered agent at any time by filing a Statement of Change of Registered Agent (or similarly named form) with your state's secretary of state office. Most states charge a small filing fee of $5 to $50. You'll need the new agent's name and physical street address. If you're switching to a commercial registered agent service, they typically handle the paperwork for you as part of the onboarding. Make sure the new agent has agreed to serve before you file. States require the agent to consent to appointment. The change takes effect when the state processes your filing, which is usually same-day to a few business days.
- Professional registered agent services typically cost $49 to $299 per year. Of the services we compare, the standard annual renewal rate is Northwest Registered Agent at $125/yr, Bizee at $149/yr, ZenBusiness at $199/yr and LegalZoom at $249/yr. Some formation services include the first year of registered agent service free, so the first bill is often far lower than the second. Check the fine print on renewal pricing since that's often where the cost jumps. For LLCs registered in multiple states, you'll pay the annual fee in each state, so multi-state operators often negotiate volume pricing with registered agent 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.