How to change your registered agent

What are the steps to change a registered agent?

The safe order is consent, filing, confirmation, and only then cancellation. Each state uses its own form name, but the sequence is the same whatever the form is called.

1. Choose the new agent and confirm they qualify under your state's statute. The rules on who may serve and what address they need are on each state's page; the explainer on what a registered agent is covers the general test.
2. Get the new agent's consent, in writing if your state asks for it (the next section has examples).
3. Find the state's change form and its fee. The table further down lists both for every state, with the official source.
4. File the change online, by mail or in person, depending on what the state accepts.
5. Wait for the state to accept it. Until then, the state's record still names the old agent, so papers may still be delivered there.
6. Cancel the old service, and tell the old agent the change has gone through.

Two extra checks save trouble. Confirm the new agent has your current email and mailing address, so their first notice reaches you. And if your LLC is registered in more than one state, repeat the process in each one: an agent change in your home state does not carry over to a foreign registration. The guide to registering in another state explains why each registration has its own agent.

Does the new registered agent have to agree in writing?

Some states write the new agent's consent into the statute or the form, and a few require proof on paper. The strictest rules come with a separate signed acceptance or a notarized statement filed alongside the change.

Washington's statute is direct: "A registered agent shall not be appointed without having given prior consent in a record to the appointment." (RCW 23.95.415). The consent has to exist before the filing names the agent.³

Louisiana goes further. A change of agent there must include a notarized affidavit of acknowledgment and acceptance signed by the new registered agent. Plan for a notary appointment before you file, especially if the new agent is a relative or employee rather than a commercial service used to the process.⁴

Arizona asks for a separate document. Its form says that when you appoint a new statutory agent, the Statutory Agent Acceptance form M002 must be submitted along with this Statement of Change form. The Arizona statutory agent page walks through that filing.⁵

Iowa takes the opposite approach and puts the weight on you. Its statute says "The designation of a registered agent is an affirmation of fact by the limited liability company" that the agent has consented (Iowa Code § 489.115). So the filing itself is the company's statement that the agent agreed, and naming someone who has not agreed would make that statement untrue.⁶

Where a form has no consent box, a short written agreement still gives the company a record: with a friend or employee, an email confirming they accept the role and the address is enough for that purpose.

What form do you file, and what does it cost?

In each state below, the LLC files one form, under the state's own name, with a set fee. Some states charge more on paper than online, and some charge nothing.

A sample of what states publish shows the range.

• Texas uses the Change of Registered Agent/Office (Form 401), and the fee is $15.⁷
• Delaware's filing is the Certificate of Amendment Changing Only the Registered Office or Registered Agent of a Limited Liability Company ($50).⁸
• Florida charges $25 to change the registered agent.⁹
• New York uses a Certificate of Change (LLC Law §211-A), at $30; the state notes that a § 211-A(b) change filed by the agent is $5.^{10, 11}
• Ohio, which says "statutory agent", uses the Statutory Agent Update (Form 521), at $25.^{12, 13}
• North Carolina's form is Form BE-06, and the fee is in the table below.¹⁴

At the free end, Indiana (No fee), Montana (No fee) and Virginia, with its Statement of Change of Registered Office and/or Registered Agent (Form LLC-1016), charge nothing for the filing.^{15, 16, 17}

How you file can change the price. Massachusetts charges twenty-five dollars ($25.00) if filed by paper or fax but no fee if filed electronically. Idaho lists $0 online, $20 by paper, and Wisconsin $10 online, $25 by mail. Minnesota runs the other way, charging less by mail: $35 by mail, $55 online or in person.^{18, 19, 20, 21}

Some state records have gaps. For Kansas, this site lists the Certificate of Amendment to Change of Resident Agent and/or Registered Office (Form ROA), but the current total fee is not confirmed after a rule change earlier this year. For Illinois, the statute names the filing and sets the fee at $25, but this site's record doesn't confirm the form number. In both cases, read the fee on the form or the filing portal before you pay. The name of the role also varies, and the forms follow it. Maryland says "resident agent", and its filing is the Change Principal Office or Resident Agent form, so search for the state's own phrase rather than "registered agent". The glossary lists the other terms states use.^{22, 23, 24}

The table gives each state's form and fee with its official source, and links each state's page.

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

The state fee is separate from what a commercial agent charges for the service itself. The guide to registered agent costs covers provider prices and renewals.

Can you file the change online, and how long does it take?

Several states take the change online, and at least one takes it only on paper. Only some publish a processing time.

Alaska takes its Form 08-409 on paper only; the state's record reads "Paper (PDF) filing only". Tennessee tells owners to "File a Registered Agent Change and pay the fee online." and warns that "An online service fee may be added to the filing fee." The filing fee itself is $20. Kentucky's Statement of Change of Registered Agent and Office (Form RAC) can be filed online too, according to its forms library. In Mississippi, agent changes are handled as an amendment in the online system. Utah's filing office says "You may make changes to your business entity online." and still takes the paper form, the Limited Liability Company Registration Information Change Form. For Texas, the filing methods listed are Online (SOSPortal), by mail, or by delivery in person. Mississippi's methods are listed as Online (preferred); paper filings accepted but much slower.^{25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31}

Processing times are thinner on the ground. Pennsylvania's filing office tells owners to "Allow 15 business days" for documents in general. Kentucky's record reads: Usually same day as received; may take up to three business days (annual reports excepted). Idaho's estimate for business filings: Approximately 7-10 days from the date of filing. Other states publish no time, or one that may apply to new formations only, so check the state's current processing page on the day you file. If speed counts, look at whether the state sells expedited handling for amendments.^{32, 33, 34}

Keep the old agent in place while you wait. The public record still names that agent, so a process server may deliver papers there, and an active service will pass them on.

Can you change the agent on your annual report instead?

In some states, yes. California, Georgia, Colorado and Wisconsin let you update the agent through a recurring report, while Alaska says agent changes can't be made on its biennial report.

California is the clearest case. Its LLCs have no separate change form, so to switch agents you file a Statement of Information (Form LLC-12), which the instructions say may be submitted to update information including changes to the agent for service of process. Filed between required filings, it costs nothing: the fee chart reads "No Fee". The required biennial statement itself costs $20. The required filing itself is the Statement of Information (Form LLC-12), due within 90 days of registration and every two years after. The California agent page and the California compliance guide cover the details.^{35, 36}

Georgia works the same way through its yearly filing. The Secretary of State says the agent can be changed by filing an annual registration, or by an amended one. An amended registration costs $30; done with the $60 annual registration there is no separate fee. If your annual registration is due soon, waiting for it can save the separate fee. See the Georgia agent page for the deadline.^{37, 38}

Colorado offers both routes: a Statement of Change Changing the Registered Agent Information ($10), or the periodic report. Its FAQ puts it simply: "You can update the registered agent information while filing your periodic report.". In Wisconsin, according to the state's FAQ, the agent can also be changed on the annual report, as well as by filing the Statement of Change of Registered Agent (Form 13).^{39, 40}

This route isn't available everywhere. Alaska's record says plainly that changes cannot be made on the biennial report. And waiting months for a report date is risky when the current agent has resigned or stopped answering. For what the recurring reports ask for and when they fall due, see annual reports explained.²⁵

Which states handle agent changes differently?

Some states don't fit the pattern above, either because the agent is optional, because the law speaks of a registered office instead, or because a new law changed the fee.

New York is one. Its LLC law says a company "may designate a registered agent" (N.Y. Ltd. Liab. Co. Law § 302), and its articles of organization form states: "The Secretary of State is designated as agent of the limited liability company upon whom process against the limited liability company may be served." Owners who appoint a private agent and later drop it use the same certificate of change. The New York page explains the default arrangement.^{41, 42}

Pennsylvania frames the requirement around the office. An LLC lists a registered office or names a commercial registered office provider, and the fee schedule lists a change of registered office at $5. So switching providers there is filed as a change of the registered office. See the Pennsylvania page.^{43, 44}

Louisiana's fee changed under a new law, effective this month: $30 (from October 1, 2026; was $25). Older fee pages may still show the earlier amount, so pay what the current form or portal asks.⁴⁵

Foreign LLCs change their agent in each state where they're registered, and some states use the same form for domestic and foreign LLCs. Delaware's fee schedule lists the change as domestic/foreign at one price, $50.00, and Arizona describes its form as "For use by Arizona or foreign LLCs.".^{5, 46}

When is it safe to cancel the old agent?

Cancel once the state shows your new agent on record. Cancelling earlier can leave your company without an agent, and some provider contracts won't let you cancel until the change is filed anyway.

Swyft Filings' terms say "the registered agent must be changed, or the business must be voluntarily dissolved before the service can be cancelled.". Rocket Lawyer's terms add that you must file change-of-agent paperwork with the state. Rocket Lawyer's terms also tie cancellation to the renewal date, so a renewal can bill in the middle of a slow switch. Refunds, notice periods and renewal timing are covered in the guide to cancelling a registered agent service, and the Swyft Filings review and Rocket Lawyer review give each provider's full terms.^{47, 48}

If the gap happens anyway, the consequences depend on the state, from a notice to cure to administrative dissolution. What happens without a registered agent sets out each state's rule.

Related guides and state pages

• Why LLCs need a registered agent
• Texas registered agent rules, including the change form
• Washington registered agent rules and its consent statute
• Louisiana registered agent rules, with the notarized acceptance
• Agents with compliance features, if you want reminders before reports fall due
• Every state's rules, and the registered agent FAQ