How to cancel a registered agent service

Why does the order of steps decide whether cancelling is safe?

Cancelling is safe only when the state's record already names a new agent, because the state and anyone suing your LLC rely on that record, not on your contract with a provider.

Two separate things are going on when you "cancel" an agent. One is a private contract with a company that sells agent service. The other is a public filing that tells the state who accepts service of process (lawsuit papers) for your LLC. Cancelling the contract ends the first. Only a state filing changes the second.

If you cancel and file nothing, the outgoing company is still the agent of record. It may keep receiving papers for an LLC it no longer works for, or it may file a resignation with the state, which starts a deadline you might not hear about. Either way, papers can go astray. The guide to why every LLC needs a registered agent explains what a missed lawsuit can cost.

Several providers build this order into their terms. Bizee (formerly Incfile) lets you cancel by assigning a new registered agent with the state and notifying Bizee of the change. Swyft Filings's terms say "the registered agent must be changed, or the business must be voluntarily dissolved before the service can be cancelled." LegalZoom warns, "we may require proof that a new registered agent has been designated with your state." InCorp Services lists its own conditions (dissolve entity, appoint new agent, or resign InCorp with fees). With Bizee (formerly Incfile), Swyft Filings and LegalZoom, the state filing comes before the cancellation; InCorp Services also accepts a dissolution or a paid resignation.^{2, 3, 4, 5}

How do you cancel a registered agent service step by step?

Line up the replacement, file the state's change form, wait for it to be filed, then cancel with the old provider before the renewal date. The steps below follow that order.

1. Choose the new agent. That can be a commercial service, a person who meets your state's test, or you. The guide to what a registered agent is covers who may serve.
2. Get the new agent's consent if your state asks for it, and confirm the street address you will list.
3. File the change with the state. The form and fee differ by state. Texas lists Change of Registered Agent/Office (Form 401); $15. Virginia lists Form LLC-1016 with the fee shown as "No fee", and Wyoming charges $5. California's route is the Statement of Information (Form LLC-12); no fee when filed between required filings to update the agent. The change of agent guide walks through forms, fees and processing for each state.^{6, 7, 8, 9}
4. Wait until the state shows the new agent on your record. Until then, treat the old agent as your agent.
5. Check the old provider's terms for its cancellation method, notice period and renewal date.
6. Cancel in the way the terms require (online account, phone, email or written notice) and keep the confirmation.
7. Update anything else that names the old agent, such as your operating agreement or your bank's records.

In some states, such as Georgia and Colorado, the recurring report is one place to update the agent. Georgia lists its change form as Annual registration or amended annual registration (online), and Colorado lists Statement of Change Changing the Registered Agent Information ($10), or update the agent on the Periodic Report. If your report is due soon anyway, annual reports explained covers how the agent appears on it.^{10, 11}

How do providers say you can cancel?

Each provider publishes its own cancellation method, and they fall into three groups: online self-service, contact by phone or notice, and cancellation tied to a state filing or a notice deadline.

Providers here are grouped by how cancellation works, not ranked.

Online or by account

• Northwest Registered Agent: Cancel anytime through the online account; no cancellation fee.¹²
• doola: Delete account any time, or email help@doola.com. That is its general account cancellation; doola doesn't publish a separate process for the agent service.¹³

By phone, support or notice

• Tailor Brands: Cancel by notifying Tailor Brands and completing the required steps.¹⁴
• ZenBusiness: Cancel by contacting customer support by phone.¹⁵
• Rocket Lawyer: Any time by phone, before renewal date. Its terms add that the service must be canceled prior to the renewal date to avoid recurring annual charges.¹⁶
• LegalZoom: Cancel by phone or online via My Account; proof of new RA may be required.⁴

Tied to a filing or a notice period

Bizee (formerly Incfile) and Swyft Filings want the state filing done first, and InCorp Services wants one of its listed conditions met, as described above. Harbor Compliance adds a notice rule: its terms require notice of non-renewal at least 90 days before the end of the current term, or the service renews for another term.¹⁷

Read the current terms on the provider's site before you act, since these can change. Each provider review sets out its terms in full, including the Northwest review, the Bizee review and the Harbor Compliance review.

When should you cancel to avoid a renewal charge?

Cancel after the new agent is on file but before the old service's renewal or notice deadline. Several of these services renew on their own, so the date you cancel decides whether you pay again.

Auto-renewal is the default in the published terms of several providers. ZenBusiness: Yes, renews automatically. Bizee (formerly Incfile): Yes - may automatically renew. Northwest Registered Agent's auto-pay page is less direct about the agent service itself, but registered agent customers are enrolled in its compliance service and must cancel at least one business day before next charge date.^{2, 15, 18}

The longest notice period among these is Harbor Compliance's, which requires notice of non-renewal at least 90 days before the end of the current term. A switch started only weeks before renewal can miss it. If your provider sets a notice period, count back from the renewal date and start the state filing early enough that the change is on record before that window closes.¹⁷

Timing also cuts the other way. A state filing can take a while to process, so starting the change a few days before renewal may mean the old service renews anyway. If you are close to the date, compare the renewal cost with the refund terms below before deciding whether to wait a year. For what services charge at renewal, see registered agent prices compared.

Can you get a refund after cancelling?

Only on limited terms. Each provider below sets a condition, a time window or a flat no-refund rule, and none of these terms describes a prorated refund for the unused part of a term when you cancel.

Some set a time limit, some depend on the order not yet being used, and some exclude refunds outright.

• Northwest Registered Agent: All purchases final and non-refundable after 90 days; state fees non-refundable.¹⁸
• Bizee (formerly Incfile): Orders generally refundable until payment is forwarded to a government entity (typically ~24 hours).²
• InCorp Services: Refund requests within 60 days of issuance of services; discounted services nonrefundable.⁵
• ZenBusiness: Refund on request only if the service has not yet been used. Its general terms add "After 30 days, we can cancel your subscription but no prorated refunds will be issued."¹⁵
• LegalZoom: RA terms: prepaid fees for current term refunded only when LegalZoom terminates the service.⁴
• Harbor Compliance: No refunds; fees non-refundable.¹⁷
• Tailor Brands: Fees non-refundable to the maximum extent permitted by law; $29 service fee deducted from any refund issued.¹⁹
• doola: Refund possible if application cancelled before it is sent to the state.¹³
• Rocket Lawyer: Refund requests within 30 days of purchase.¹⁶

The safest reading is to assume a renewal charge stays paid once it posts. If a charge you did not expect goes through, contact the provider promptly and quote its own refund terms.

What can the old agent file if you stop paying?

The old agent can resign by filing a notice with the state, and in states such as Delaware and Virginia that starts a deadline for your LLC to name someone new.

States set different rules for the notice and the timing, and the table below lists what each state publishes. A few examples show the range.

• Delaware: the agent must give the LLC at least 30 days' written notice, and the resignation takes effect 30 days after the certificate is filed (6 Del. C. § 18-104).¹
• Texas: the agent notifies the LLC and then the SOS within 10 days of notifying the entity; the resignation takes effect on the 31st day after the SOS receives notice.²⁰
• Wyoming: the agent must notify the LLC at least 30 days before filing, and the appointment ends on the date the statement of resignation is filed. With no successor, service goes to the Secretary of State.²¹
• California: the agent's authority ends on filing, and the LLC must then file a new or amended Statement of Information.²²
• Maryland: effective on filing if a successor is in place, otherwise 10 days after filing.²³
• Illinois: Agent mails notice to the LLC at least 10 days before filing.²⁴
• Pennsylvania: for a commercial registered office provider, the statute sets no advance notice period.²⁵

The resignation notice goes to the address the agent has for you. If that address is out of date, the first you hear may be a state notice or a missed lawsuit. Keeping your contact details current with the provider until the switch is done costs nothing.

47 of 51 states publish this in the sources we checked. Each state's page has the full rule.

Letting the deadline pass has consequences that vary by state: Virginia says that if the LLC does not file a statement of change after notice, its existence is automatically canceled, and Nevada says an LLC without a filed change before the resignation takes effect is in default and subject to charter revocation. Every state page sets out its own rule, for example Delaware's registered agent rules, Texas registered agent rules, Virginia's rules and Wyoming's rules. The full set of penalties is in the guide on what happens without a registered agent.^{26, 27}

Should you cancel when you dissolve the LLC?

The safer order is to cancel after the state has accepted the dissolution. Until then the LLC still exists on the record, and lawsuits and state notices can still be served on it through the agent.

Some provider terms say this directly. Swyft Filings's terms say "the registered agent must be changed, or the business must be voluntarily dissolved before the service can be cancelled", and the conditions InCorp Services lists include dissolving the entity. Dissolution itself is a state filing with its own form and fee, which this guide's sources do not list by state; each state's compliance page, such as staying compliant in Delaware, and the state filing office's site cover it.³

Owners sometimes let the agent lapse instead of dissolving, expecting the state to close the company. That route can end in administrative dissolution, which is not the same as a voluntary one and may leave fees or reports owed. If that has already happened, the guide to reinstating a dissolved LLC explains the way back.

What if you are cancelling to become your own agent?

You still file the state's change form, naming yourself and your in-state street address. Cancelling a service without that filing leaves the old company as agent of record.

Serving yourself has no provider fee, but it has requirements. Your state's test for who may serve applies to you as to anyone else, and the office rules apply too: Oklahoma's statute (18 Okla. Stat. § 2010), for example, requires the agent's business office to be open during regular business hours to accept service of process. Your address then sits on the public record in the agent field. The guide to being your own registered agent covers the tests and trade-offs.²⁸

Are there states where cancelling leaves no agent requirement?

Yes. In New York, Minnesota and West Virginia the law does not require an agent, so an LLC can end a commercial agent service without naming a replacement, though the record still has to be updated.

• New York: a registered agent is optional; instead, every LLC must designate the Secretary of State as its agent for service of process. An agent who resigns there must send a copy to the LLC by registered mail. See New York's registered agent rules.^{29, 30}
• Minnesota: Minnesota LLCs must keep a registered office, but a registered agent is optional. See Minnesota's rules.³¹
• West Virginia: West Virginia LLCs are not required to appoint an agent for service of process.³²

Michigan sits in between. Its dissolution grounds leave out a missing agent, and if the LLC has none, process may be served on the administrator (LARA). Oklahoma has a similar fallback: If no successor is named, the Secretary of State is deemed the agent. Either way, papers would then go through a state office rather than straight to you, which can slow how quickly you learn about a lawsuit.^{28, 33}

Even in these states, the agent named on your filings stays on record until you change it. Ending a contract without updating the record can leave papers going to a company that no longer forwards them.

Related guides

• How to change your registered agent
• What a registered agent is
• Annual reports explained
• Best registered agents for compliance tracking
• All states' registered agent rules
• Glossary of filing terms and the general FAQ