Registered agent requirements in Louisiana

Who can act as a registered agent in Louisiana?

Louisiana allows a Louisiana citizen who lives in the state, a law partnership or professional law corporation authorized to practice law here, or a qualifying corporation or LLC (La. R.S. 12:1308).¹

The statute's wording for individuals is short: "A citizen of the state who resides in this state." That is two tests in one sentence. The person must be a citizen of Louisiana and must actually live here. A relative in Baton Rouge qualifies; a co-owner who keeps a Louisiana mailing address but lives in Houston does not.¹

For businesses, the list in La. R.S. 12:1308(A)(2) opens with "A partnership or professional law corporation, which is authorized to practice law in this state". The same list continues with "a domestic corporation, domestic limited liability company", and the statute's text goes on to name foreign corporations and foreign LLCs authorized to transact business in Louisiana. So a company formed in another state can serve, provided it has that authority here.¹

The categories in the statute don't mention legal training, except for the law-firm category. What the role asks is practical: someone has to be reachable to accept service of process, the formal hand-delivery of lawsuit papers, and pass it on to you without delay. The explainer on what a registered agent does covers those duties as they apply everywhere, and the glossary defines the legal terms used on this page.

What is a registered office, and what address can a Louisiana agent use?

Louisiana separates the place from the person. The LLC must keep a registered office in the state (La. R.S. 12:1308(A)(1)) and at least one registered agent, listed as a distinct requirement (La. R.S. 12:1308(A)(2)).¹

Louisiana's statute lists them one after the other, and the annual report asks for each: the office's municipal address and the name and address of each registered agent. Because the law treats them as two entries, check both whenever either changes.³

On P.O. boxes, the annual report rule is the clearest guide this page has. The report asks for the office's municipal address, which shall not be a post office box only. A box number on its own doesn't meet that wording.³

Here is how common choices compare against that rule.

1. A Louisiana home where the agent lives meets the residence part of the agent test and gives a street address for the office.
2. A business premises in Louisiana gives the office a municipal address; whoever acts as agent still has to meet the categories above.
3. A mailbox at a shipping store or a virtual office address raises a question the statute doesn't answer directly. If its only identifier is a box number, the "not a P.O. box only" wording excludes it; if it has a street address, ask the Louisiana Secretary of State (Commercial Division) before relying on it.

Whatever agent you choose, the agent's own address goes in the agent entry; every service does this, so it isn't a feature of any one provider. Other entries are a separate matter. The annual report also asks for each manager (or member if member-managed), and this guide's sources don't say which of those details the state shows publicly. If you'd rather list a business address than your home in the manager or member entries, a few providers sell a separate address product. In list order, Tailor Brands sells a Virtual Address product and doesn't publish its price; Bizee (formerly Incfile) charges $29/month for a virtual address and Swyft Filings $29/mo; Northwest Registered Agent sells mail forwarding at $20/month in 24 select states, so check whether Louisiana is one; and Harbor Compliance charges $350/year per company, per location (limited time offer). The page on what an agent can and can't keep off the record explains the limits.^{3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8}

Can you be your own registered agent in Louisiana?

Yes, if you are a Louisiana citizen who lives in the state (La. R.S. 12:1308). You list yourself as agent, give a municipal address for the registered office, and sign the acceptance like any other agent would.

Serving yourself avoids an agent fee. The costs are in time and exposure.

• Someone has to be at the registered office when papers arrive. Owners who work at client sites or travel for long stretches risk missing a delivery.
• Your name and address go in the agent entry on the state's filings, and if the office is your home, so does your home address.
• Moving out of Louisiana ends your eligibility, so a move means filing a change before you go.
• Your acceptance still needs a notary, the same as for a hired agent.

Owners who live in Texas, Mississippi or anywhere else outside Louisiana can't act as their own agent. They can ask a Louisiana resident they trust, a Louisiana law firm, or a commercial service. The statute also lists a domestic LLC among eligible agents but doesn't say whether an LLC may name itself, so ask the Louisiana Secretary of State (Commercial Division) before trying that route.

A service tends to make sense for owners without a fixed Louisiana address or who would rather not list a home address. The Louisiana registered agent services comparison sets out each provider's published price and terms.

How do you name a registered agent when forming a Louisiana LLC?

You name the agent through the Articles of Organization, filed with an Initial Report, and the initial report carries the agent's notarized acceptance. Both go to the Louisiana Secretary of State (Commercial Division) together.⁹

Louisiana's formation filing works in two parts. The articles create the LLC, at $125. The initial report gives the registered office, each registered agent (with notarized acceptance), and the first managers or members if they have already been chosen. Under La. R.S. 12:1305(E), the report must be signed by everyone who signed the articles, so each organizer signs both documents.^{2, 9}

Get these in order before filing.

1. Pick an agent who meets the statute: a resident citizen, a Louisiana law firm, or an eligible business.
2. Settle the registered office's municipal address.
3. Have the agent sign the acceptance in front of a notary. If you hire a service, ask how it supplies a notarized acceptance before you file.
4. If managers or members haven't been chosen yet, note that a supplementary report is due as soon as they have been selected.⁹

The state charges extra for speed: $35 for 24-hour service or $60 for while-you-wait service. If you want to hold a name first, reservation costs $25. This guide's sources don't include the Secretary of State's standard processing time. The rest of the filing is covered step by step on forming an LLC in Louisiana, and the fee totals are on the cheapest Louisiana LLC formation page.^{2, 10}

How do you change your registered agent in Louisiana?

You file a statement authorizing the designation or change with the Louisiana Secretary of State (Commercial Division), together with a notarized affidavit of acknowledgment and acceptance signed by the new registered agent (La. R.S. 12:1308(C)(1)). The state fee is $30; it was $25 before the fee increase that took effect in October.^{1, 2}

The order of steps decides whether there's a gap.

1. Choose the new agent and confirm it meets the statute's categories.
2. Get the new agent's acknowledgment and acceptance signed before a notary, and book the notary early.
3. File the statement with the acceptance and the fee. If the registered office is moving too, one statement can cover both: the fee law prices a single statement of change of registered agent or registered office, or both.²
4. Keep the old agent in place until the state has filed the change.
5. Then cancel the old service.

Provider terms differ on step five. LegalZoom says proof of new RA may be required. Bizee (formerly Incfile) lets you cancel by assigning a new registered agent with the state and notifying Bizee of the change. Swyft Filings says a replacement agent must be designated (or business dissolved) before cancellation. The terms of InCorp Services list cancellation conditions (dissolve entity, appoint new agent, or resign InCorp with fees), and one must be met before the annual fee falls due. Harbor Compliance asks for notice of non-renewal at least 90 days before the end of the current term. Read your own contract's renewal date before filing, so the switch doesn't land after you've been billed for another year.^{11, 12, 13, 14, 15}

The general guides to changing a registered agent and cancelling an agent service cover what works the same way in every state.

What happens if your Louisiana registered agent resigns?

A Louisiana agent's resignation is effective only on written notice to the LLC and the secretary of state, and the LLC then has a fixed window to appoint a successor (La. R.S. 12:1308(E)(1)).¹

The statute says the LLC must name a successor within 30 days of the resignation. That window includes the time you need to find a new agent and arrange a notary for the acceptance, so a resignation letter is the signal to start the change filing.¹

The same deadline runs from any "other event ending the former agent's tenure", so the clock can start without a letter at all. The statute's text in this guide's sources doesn't list those events; if an individual agent has moved away or a firm acting as agent has closed, ask the Louisiana Secretary of State (Commercial Division) how the deadline applies.

A commercial service can also stop acting for a client, for example over unpaid fees. Its notice then goes to whatever contact details it has for you. If your contact details are out of date, the first you hear of it may be a problem with your annual report. Keeping your account details current with the service is the cheapest protection.

What happens if a Louisiana LLC has no registered agent?

Louisiana's statute requires an agent at all times and gives a successor deadline after a resignation, but this guide's sources don't set out a separate penalty or dissolution process for an LLC caught without one.

What the sources do show is how an agent gap can turn into a standing problem.

• The annual report asks for the name and address of each registered agent. An LLC with no valid agent can't file that report accurately.³
• The enforcement step in this guide's sources is revocation for missed reports. Under the statute, articles are revoked after three consecutive years without an annual report. It sets no late fee, so missed years don't pile up penalties; the risk is that years pass and the LLC loses its articles.¹⁶

There is a practical risk as well. A lawsuit can be served on the agent on record. If that agent resigned and wasn't replaced, papers may not reach you before a response deadline.

This guide's sources don't include Louisiana's reinstatement fee or process. If your LLC's articles have been revoked, ask the Louisiana Secretary of State (Commercial Division) what is needed, and talk to a lawyer if the business kept trading in the meantime. The Louisiana compliance guide covers the annual report and revocation rule in full.

What does a Louisiana LLC file each year to stay in good standing?

A Louisiana LLC files an annual report with the Secretary of State on or before the anniversary date of organization, and the fee for each report is $35.^{2, 3}

The report is also where your agent details get checked each year. It asks for the registered office address, the name and address of each registered agent, and each manager (or member if member-managed), so a lapsed agent or an old office address tends to surface when you sit down to file it.³

Louisiana repealed its corporation franchise tax for franchise tax periods beginning on or after January 1, 2026. That leaves the annual report as the recurring filing with the Louisiana Secretary of State (Commercial Division).¹⁷

Several providers sell reminders or report filing tied to this date. The Louisiana compliance calendar walks through the first year and the one after it, and annual reports explained covers how these filings work across states.

How do out-of-state LLCs register in Louisiana, and who can be their agent?

An LLC formed elsewhere registers in Louisiana by applying for authority, for $185. This guide's sources quote the agent rule for Louisiana LLCs (La. R.S. 12:1308), not the one for foreign LLCs, so confirm with the Louisiana Secretary of State (Commercial Division) what the application asks for.²

For a Louisiana LLC, the statute's categories are a resident citizen, a Louisiana law firm, or a corporation or LLC authorized to transact business here. A Texas agent based in Dallas with no such authority in Louisiana fits none of them, so ask the Louisiana Secretary of State (Commercial Division) whether the same list governs a foreign LLC's agent. If you use a national service, ask whether it covers Louisiana and how it bills for a second state.

The change filing for a Louisiana agent includes a notarized acceptance from the new agent. For neighboring states, compare Texas's registered agent rules, Mississippi's rules and Arkansas's rules.

Louisiana registered agent services and their prices

The table shows each provider's published agent price and renewal. Providers are listed by our score, highest first, with ties in editorial order; Trustpilot ratings appear separately. For full terms, see the Louisiana registered agent comparison or the reviews of Tailor Brands, ZenBusiness, Northwest and Harbor Compliance.