What is a registered agent in Rhode Island?

A registered agent (Rhode Island law calls it a resident agent) is the person or business that accepts lawsuits and official notices for your LLC. Rhode Island law requires every LLC to have one, and it can be an individual who lives in Rhode Island, or a corporation, limited partnership or LLC that is either a Rhode Island entity or authorized to do business there. The Secretary of State says the agent must have a Rhode Island street address and be available there during normal business hours to accept service, and that P.O. boxes and shipping or postal company addresses are not allowed. You name the agent on your Articles of Organization (Form 400).

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

Rhode Island may revoke an LLC's certificate of organization if it fails for 30 days to appoint and maintain a resident agent, or does not file a statement after changing its agent. The Secretary of State must give at least 60 days' notice first, and you can avoid revocation by filing the required statement of change of agent within that time. Once revoked, the LLC's authority to do business ends; within 20 years, the Secretary of State may withdraw the revocation and reinstate the LLC once it files the documents it failed to file, pays a $50 penalty for each year or part of a year since the revocation, and files a certificate of good standing from the Rhode Island Division of Taxation. While you have no agent, the Secretary of State is your LLC's agent for service, so you can miss a lawsuit and face a default judgment without knowing you were sued.

How much does a registered agent cost in Rhode Island?

Serving as your own resident agent costs nothing if you live in Rhode Island and can be at your Rhode Island street address during business hours. A professional registered agent service charges its own annual fee, which varies by provider. Among the national services we compare, Northwest charges $125 a year for registered agent service (a year is included when you form a new LLC with its paid package, $39 plus your state's filing fee), and LegalZoom charges $249 a year and does not include the service in any formation plan. Changing your agent later costs $20 with the Secretary of State.

Does using a registered agent protect my privacy in Rhode Island?

Yes. Your resident agent's name and Rhode Island street address go on your Articles of Organization, and the Secretary of State's instructions say all filings are public records, available through its online database. If you are your own agent, that is your address. A professional agent puts its own name and address there instead. It does not hide everything: other filings for your LLC can still show names and addresses, so check what each form asks for before you file.

Can I change my Rhode Island registered agent after forming my LLC?

Yes. To change your Rhode Island resident agent, file Form 642 (Statement of Change of Agent) with the Rhode Island Secretary of State. The fee is $20, and an authorized person of the LLC signs it; the form has no signature line for the new agent. The change takes effect when the Secretary of State accepts the statement for filing.

Rhode Island Registered Agent: Requirements, Costs and How to Choose One

Understanding mandatory registered agent rules, costs, and compliance requirements for your Rhode Island LLC in 2026

By Edmond Hui · Last updated: October 2026

Rhode Island requires every LLC to name a registered agent, which Rhode Island calls a resident agent, in the Articles of Organization it files to form. 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 Rhode Island. 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 →

Rhode Island Registered Agent Rules at a Glance

Can an individual serve?	Yes, an individual who lives in Rhode Island
Can a company serve?	Yes, a corporation, limited partnership or LLC formed in or authorized in Rhode Island
Can you be your own agent?	Yes, if you live in Rhode Island and are available at a Rhode Island street address during business hours

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

Best Registered Agent Services for Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island Secretary of State?

Go directly to the Rhode Island Secretary of State website.

Go to the Rhode Island Secretary of State →

Your Registered Agent Options

Self / owner

Pros

No additional cost
Direct control over service of process
Immediate notification of legal documents

Cons

Your personal address becomes public record
Must be available during business hours
Potential privacy and security risks

Best for: Single-member LLCs with Rhode Island addresses who work from home

Friend or family member

Pros

Low or no cost
Trusted relationship
Keeps owner's address private

Cons

Must rely on someone else's availability
Potential strain on personal relationships
No legal expertise in document handling

Best for: Small family businesses with reliable Rhode Island contacts

Professional service

Pros

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

Cons

An annual fee set by the provider
Ongoing expense
Less direct control

Best for: Most LLCs, especially those prioritizing privacy or with out-of-state owners

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 (Rhode Island law calls it a resident agent) is the person or business that accepts lawsuits and official notices for your LLC. Rhode Island law requires every LLC to have one, and it can be an individual who lives in Rhode Island, or a corporation, limited partnership or LLC that is either a Rhode Island entity or authorized to do business there. The Secretary of State says the agent must have a Rhode Island street address and be available there during normal business hours to accept service, and that P.O. boxes and shipping or postal company addresses are not allowed. You name the agent on your Articles of Organization (Form 400).
: Rhode Island may revoke an LLC's certificate of organization if it fails for 30 days to appoint and maintain a resident agent, or does not file a statement after changing its agent. The Secretary of State must give at least 60 days' notice first, and you can avoid revocation by filing the required statement of change of agent within that time. Once revoked, the LLC's authority to do business ends; within 20 years, the Secretary of State may withdraw the revocation and reinstate the LLC once it files the documents it failed to file, pays a $50 penalty for each year or part of a year since the revocation, and files a certificate of good standing from the Rhode Island Division of Taxation. While you have no agent, the Secretary of State is your LLC's agent for service, so you can miss a lawsuit and face a default judgment without knowing you were sued.
: Serving as your own resident agent costs nothing if you live in Rhode Island and can be at your Rhode Island street address during business hours. A professional registered agent service charges its own annual fee, which varies by provider. Among the national services we compare, Northwest charges $125 a year for registered agent service (a year is included when you form a new LLC with its paid package, $39 plus your state's filing fee), and LegalZoom charges $249 a year and does not include the service in any formation plan. Changing your agent later costs $20 with the Secretary of State.
: Yes. Your resident agent's name and Rhode Island street address go on your Articles of Organization, and the Secretary of State's instructions say all filings are public records, available through its online database. If you are your own agent, that is your address. A professional agent puts its own name and address there instead. It does not hide everything: other filings for your LLC can still show names and addresses, so check what each form asks for before you file.
: Yes. To change your Rhode Island resident agent, file Form 642 (Statement of Change of Agent) with the Rhode Island Secretary of State. The fee is $20, and an authorized person of the LLC signs it; the form has no signature line for the new agent. The change takes effect when the Secretary of State accepts the statement for filing.

Sources

10 documents

Each entry below is a document recorded in our verified Rhode Island 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.

webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE7/7-16/7-16-11.htmR.I. Gen. Laws 7-16-11, resident agent; change and resignation
webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE7/7-16/7-16-41.htmR.I. Gen. Laws 7-16-41 to 7-16-43, revocation of certificate of organization and withdrawal of revocation
webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE7/7-16/7-16-65.htmR.I. Gen. Laws 7-16-65, filing fees ($20 change of resident agent)
sos.ri.gov/divisions/business-services/ri-business/maintain-a-registered-agentRhode Island Department of State, Maintain a Registered Agent
docs.sos.ri.gov/documents/BusinessServices/642-change-of-registered-agent-limited-liability-company.pdfRhode Island Department of State, Form 642, Statement of Change of Agent (LLC)
sos.ri.gov/divisions/business-servicesRhode Island Secretary of State: business entity filings
webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE7/7-16/7-16-66.HTMRhode Island statute: Annual Report
sos.ri.gov/divisions/business-services/ri-business/file-your-annual-reportRhode Island Secretary of State: file the Annual Report
webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE7/7-16/7-16-67.HTMRhode Island statute: Annual charge
tax.ri.gov/tax-sections/corporate-tax/tax-filing-requirementsRhode Island Division of Taxation: file the Annual charge

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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.

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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

Rhode Island Registered Agent Rules at a Glance

Best Registered Agent Services for Rhode Island LLCs (2026)

Which Registered Agent Is Best for Your Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island?

More Rhode Island LLC Guides

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