Process Score

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Not legal advice. Confirm the live registered-agent name and street on the Arkansas Business Entity Search before you file or treat a published street as current. That search is Arkansas’s public lookup. The office that keeps it is Business and Commercial Services at the Arkansas Secretary of State. The live form sits at sos-corp-search.ark.org. The older corps/search_all.php door still opens that same lookup.

State · Arkansas

Arkansas registered agent: rules, prices, and graded services

Arkansas’s agent files under the Model Registered Agents Act, and the $150 May 1 franchise-tax paper is not that job

A registered agent is the person or company who can be handed a lawsuit for the business. It is not a mailbox. A registered agent is also called a statutory agent, or an agent for service of process. Handing over those court papers is called service of process. Arkansas’s LLC statute uses the words registered agent. It then sends the job to the Model Registered Agents Act. That chapter uses two names: a commercial registered agent, and a noncommercial registered agent. A commercial agent lists with the Secretary of State. The live listing form is CRA-R and costs $50.00. The agent must have a place of business in this state. A filing that must state an address must state an actual street or a rural-route box. A mailing line may be different. A P.O. Box or a mail drop is not that street. The Secretary of State’s FAQ still calls the agent the “mailbox” for the corporation. That is office copy. The job is taking court papers at the Arkansas street and forwarding them. Every year an LLC also files a franchise-tax report. The live table prices that paper at $150. The 2026 LLC form says all reports are due on or before May 1. The LLC annual-report statute also says after January 1 and before April 1, and then says the franchise-tax filing satisfies that report. Putting a new name on a $150 paper is still not the registered-agent job. This page is the Arkansas rule and the dated prices. It does not reprint vendor cards from another state.

Updated September 16, 2026 · Methodology · Prices retrieved September 16, 2026 from official pages

A registered agent is not a virtual mailbox. We do not score mailbox suites, virtual offices, or Google Business Profile eligibility here. Arkansas wants an actual street or a rural-route box. The Secretary of State FAQ says a post office box or a mail drop may not be used as the registered-agent address. If you need scans of catalogs, that is a different product on a different site.

What Arkansas actually requires

A registered agent is the person or company who can be handed a lawsuit. Service of process means handing over those papers. The Secretary of State keeps the list. Ark. Code § 4-38-115 says each limited liability company keeps a registered agent under the Model Registered Agents Act. Naming the agent affirms that the agent consented. The agent must have a place of business in this state. A commercial agent is in the business of serving here and lists with the Secretary of State. That listing form is $50.

A street is a place a person can walk up to. A P.O. Box is a mailbox at the post office. Ark. Code § 4-20-104 says the filing states an actual street or a rural-route box, and a mailing address if that line differs. The FAQ says no post office box or mail drop, and cites the profit-corporation section. The limited liability company path is the limited liability company statute and the Model Act. The sources disagree. This page does not pick one. The company changes the agent by a statement of change. Form DO-03 is $0. A differing agent line on the annual report is treated as that change.

Ark. Code § 4-38-212 says the report names the agent and is due after January 1 and before April 1. It also says the franchise-tax filing satisfies that report. The live form prices a limited liability company report at $150 and says reports are due on or before May 1. The sources disagree. This page does not pick one. The franchise-tax pages did not print a missing-agent clock. Failure to pay that tax can bring revocation. That tax paper is not the job of taking the lawsuit.

Related guide: Can I be my own registered agent? A person may serve at an Arkansas street or a rural-route box.

Related guide: What is a registered agent for an LLC? The job is taking court papers at an Arkansas place of business. The franchise-tax report is a different filing.

Related guide: How much does a registered agent cost? Form DO-03 is $0. A commercial listing is $50. The $150 franchise-tax report is a different filing.

Related guide: How to change a registered agent on an LLC File a statement of change, or put a differing agent line on the franchise-tax report.

Related guide: What is a commercial registered agent? A commercial agent lists with the Secretary of State and names a place in this state where papers may be delivered.

Related guide: Service of process: what it means for an LLC The agent takes papers at a place of business in Arkansas. The franchise-tax pages did not print a missing-agent clock.

Related guide: What is a registered agent address? The filing states an actual street or a rural-route box. A P.O. Box or a mail drop is not that street.

Related guide: Best registered agent service A hired commercial agent still lists an Arkansas place where papers may be delivered. A mail drop is not that place.

Related guide: What is a certificate of good standing? The certificate is a different paper from the agent filing.

Business and Commercial Services hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Central. Those are the Secretary of State’s hours, not a registered-office clock. The statute does not print a clock. Someone has to be at an Arkansas street to accept hand-delivered papers. A software login is not that street.

Cited prices, retrieved September 16, 2026

We print what the company’s official registered-agent page said on the retrieval date. No company publishes a different Arkansas registered-agent price from the national card, except where we note an Arkansas-page sentence. The page does not publish a separate renewal price.

Vendor Year 1 Year 2 Letters Link
Northwest Registered Agent $125/year standalone; first year free only if you form the entity through Northwest $125/year (same price; $100/year per state if you have five or more states) B+ / B / B Official page
Bizee Free first year when you form through Bizee; standalone registered agent $149/year Official pages we retrieved say $149/year after the free first year (or $149 from day one if you buy standalone) C+ / B- / B Official page
LegalZoom $249/year on the official registered-agent overview (first-time customers) Official footnote: auto-renews at the purchase rate until you cancel; “The renewal rate is subject to change.” C / B- / B- LegalZoom
ZenBusiness $99 + AR state fees for the first year (standalone); national card says $99 + state fees $199/year renewal on the official national pages; those pages say the rate is subject to change C / B- / B- ZenBusiness

A change of registered agent is a separate Secretary of State filing unless you put the new line on the franchise-tax report and that report’s agent line differs from the record. We cite Ark. Code § 4-20-108, the $0 DO-03 row, and the $150 LLC franchise-tax paper. The $150 paper can list the agent. It is still not the registered-agent job.

Who publishes an Arkansas street

A city is not a registered office. We print only the streets the companies publish for registered-agent use. The pages we read do not publish the rest. Confirm the live name and street on the Business Entity Search before you file. Headquarters is not the registered office. The Secretary of State’s Little Rock and Fayetteville contacts are not vendor suites.

If you are your own registered agent, the street on the public record is often your home. If you hire a commercial registered agent, the agent line is that organization’s name. Northwest names Mountain Home on the product page and Mountain Home, AR 72653 Baxter County on the office list, and no street on either. LegalZoom names Rogers and no street. Bizee publishes no Arkansas street. ZenBusiness publishes the Secretary of State’s State Capitol suite. We label every published city vendor-claimed. Use the Business Entity Search.

In-state office, the commercial listing, and the $150 May 1 paper

Arkansas wants a registered agent with a place of business in this state. A filing that must state an address must state an actual street or a rural-route box. A P.O. Box or a mail drop is not that street. A commercial registered agent lists on form CRA-R. The live table prints $50.00. Change the agent on Notice of Change of Registered Agent, form DO-03, $0 on the live table, or put the new line on the franchise-tax report if that report’s agent line differs from the record. The LLC franchise-tax paper is $150. The live form says May 1. The annual-report statute also says before April 1, and then says the franchise-tax filing satisfies that report. Resignation ends on the earlier of the 31st day or a successor. Commercial termination is $50.00. Stay without paying the franchise tax and the Secretary of State may revoke or dissolve for that tax paper. Arkansas does not post a Florida-style 10–noon / 2–4 clock, and it does not run a Nevada-style ten-company commercial-agent register. The commercial listing is the Arkansas bar. Northwest claims Mountain Home, ZIP 72653, Baxter County. LegalZoom names Rogers. ZenBusiness publishes State Capitol, Suite 256, the Secretary of State. Bizee names no Arkansas street. Process Score has not been to those offices. We do not treat a company 9-to-5 line as Ark. Code § 4-38-115.

Service of process, not marketing mail

We grade scan-and-forward of service of process and official notices:

Home-address privacy

A commercial registered agent is how most Arkansas owners keep a home off the agent line. The Secretary of State still publishes whatever other addresses you put on a formation filing or a franchise-tax report. Privacy of the agent line is not privacy of every field. An Arkansas LLC must name an agent. It cannot leave that line blank. Confirm the live line on the Business Entity Search.

Scorecards

Northwest Registered Agent

Commercial registered agent
Year-1 / year-2 price
B+
National $125/year, same in year 2. Five-or-more-states is $100/year per state. No Arkansas-only price.
SOS street and presence
B
Product page and office-locations list both name Mountain Home, AR 72653, Baxter County. No street. Confirm the Business Entity Search. The page does not publish one.
Process and privacy
B
In-office scan of documents they receive. Grade the court-paper path, not the extra mail-scan add-on.

Year 1: $125/year standalone; first year free only if you form the entity through Northwest

Year 2: $125/year (same price; $100/year per state if you have five or more states)

Retrieved: 2026-09-16

Official page

Bizee

Commercial registered agent
Year-1 / year-2 price
C+
Year 1 can be $0 with formation on the official card. Year 2 is $149. No Arkansas-only price.
SOS street and presence
B-
No Arkansas registered-agent street on the product pages. Houston HQ is not an Arkansas registered-agent street. Confirm the Business Entity Search.
Process and privacy
B
Published court-paper path: notify, scan to portal, FedEx the papers. Not a mailbox.

Year 1: Free first year when you form through Bizee; standalone registered agent $149/year

Year 2: Official pages we retrieved say $149/year after the free first year (or $149 from day one if you buy standalone)

Retrieved: 2026-09-16

Official page

LegalZoom

Commercial registered agent
Year-1 / year-2 price
C
Official $249/year. The page does not publish $299.
SOS street and presence
B-
Live Arkansas article names a Rogers office and no street. 1401 W. Capitol Avenue is the Secretary of State. Confirm the Business Entity Search.
Process and privacy
B-
Published court-paper scan, email, and postcard. Junk mail is filtered. That is not the product we grade.

Year 1: $249/year on the official registered-agent overview (first-time customers)

Year 2: Official footnote: auto-renews at the purchase rate until you cancel; “The renewal rate is subject to change.”

Retrieved: 2026-09-16

LegalZoom

ZenBusiness

Commercial registered agent
Year-1 / year-2 price
C
Year 1 $99 + AR state fees is a first-year deal. Year 2 is $199, subject to change on the national card. Read the renewal line.
SOS street and presence
B-
Arkansas product page publishes no ZenBusiness street or city. The Capitol suite is a Secretary of State contact. Confirm the Business Entity Search. The page does not publish a suite.
Process and privacy
B-
Scan, dashboard, email; overnight for urgent legal notices. Not a mailbox. Their national product currently excludes PLLCs and nonprofits. That is ZenBusiness’s exclusion, not an Arkansas statute.

Year 1: $99 + AR state fees for the first year (standalone); national card says $99 + state fees

Year 2: $199/year renewal on the official national pages; those pages say the rate is subject to change

Retrieved: 2026-09-16

ZenBusiness

What this page does not do

Choosing among being the agent yourself, asking a lawyer, or hiring a commercial agent: DIY vs lawyer vs commercial. California’s scorecard is a different statute: California scorecard. Texas keeps the written consent with the company: Texas scorecard. Florida files the acceptance and posts a 10–noon / 2–4 clock: Florida scorecard. Delaware bans a virtual-only agent and sets the commercial bar above 50: Delaware scorecard. New York starts with the Secretary of State already on the agent line: New York scorecard. Nevada makes a commercial agent register at ten companies: Nevada scorecard. Wyoming bans UPS stores and virtual addresses as the registered office: Wyoming scorecard. Arizona makes the statutory-agent appointment wait on a signed acceptance: Arizona scorecard. Illinois gives you 60 days after your agent resigns, then you are not in good standing: Illinois scorecard. Ohio cancels the articles if you miss the 30-day statutory-agent notice: Ohio scorecard. Georgia wants the registered office at the same street as the agent: Georgia scorecard. Pennsylvania files a registered office, not a registered agent: Pennsylvania scorecard. New Jersey wants a street for your registered agent and will not take a P.O. Box alone: New Jersey scorecard. Colorado will not take a commercial mailbox or a P.O. Box as the registered-agent street: Colorado scorecard. North Carolina’s LLC annual report is $200 paper or $203 online by April 15. That filing is not the registered-agent job: North Carolina scorecard. Virginia’s LLC pays a $50 annual registration fee and files no annual report: Virginia scorecard. Washington files the agent’s prior consent and will not take a P.O. Box or a PMB as the street: Washington scorecard. Michigan’s statute names a resident agent and sends the filing to LARA: Michigan scorecard. Indiana’s live statute names a registered agent. Older Indiana law called the same job resident agent: Indiana scorecard. Massachusetts’s LLC statute names a resident agent. The $500 annual report cannot change that line: Massachusetts scorecard. Maryland’s statute names a resident agent and sends the filing to SDAT, not the Secretary of State: Maryland scorecard. Tennessee wants a registered office and a registered agent at the same street. The $300 LLC annual report is not that job: Tennessee scorecard. Minnesota wants a registered office. A Minnesota-formed company may name an agent. The free December 31 renewal is not that job: Minnesota scorecard. Wisconsin files the agent at DFI, not the Secretary of State. A P.O. Box, a mailbox service, or a telephone answering service is not the office: Wisconsin scorecard. Oregon’s street cannot be a commercial mail receiving agency, a mail-forwarding shop, or a virtual office. The $100 anniversary renewal is not the registered-agent job: Oregon scorecard. Missouri LLCs file no annual report with the Secretary of State. They still must keep a registered office and a registered agent: Missouri scorecard. Alabama’s street cannot be solely a mailbox service or a telephone answering service. The Business Privilege Tax return is a Department of Revenue paper: Alabama scorecard. South Carolina’s LLC statute names a designated office and an agent for service of process. Typical pass-through LLCs file no annual report with the Secretary of State: South Carolina scorecard.

Sources for this page

  1. Ark. Code § 4-38-115 (retrieved September 16, 2026), designate and maintain a registered agent in compliance with the Model Registered Agents Act; the designation is an affirmation that the agent consented; the agent must have a place of business in this state
  2. Ark. Code Title 4, Chapter 20, Ark. Code § 4-20-104, and Ark. Code § 4-20-105 (retrieved September 16, 2026), actual street or rural-route box; mailing address if different; commercial-agent name or noncommercial name and address; daily list of filings kept 14 days
  3. Ark. Code § 4-20-106 and the Commercial Registered Agents page (retrieved September 16, 2026), commercial listing statement; CRA-R $50.00; CRA-CF no fee; CRA-TS $50.00
  4. Ark. Code § 4-20-108 and Notice of Change of Registered Agent for LLC (DO-03) (retrieved September 16, 2026), statement of change takes effect on filing; live form no fee online and no fee paper
  5. Ark. Code § 4-20-111 (retrieved September 16, 2026), resignation takes effect on the earlier of the 31st day after filing or a new agent
  6. Ark. Code § 4-38-212 (retrieved September 16, 2026), annual report lists the agent’s name and street; after January 1 and before April 1; a differing agent line is a statement of change; the franchise-tax filing satisfies the annual report
  7. Arkansas Secretary of State, Franchise Tax / Annual Report Forms and the 2026 Annual LLC Franchise Tax Report (retrieved September 16, 2026), LLC or PLLC $150; due on or before May 1; online processing fee $5.00; unpaid franchise tax can block later BCS filings
  8. Arkansas Secretary of State, LLC forms, the Business Services FAQ, and the Business and Commercial Services page (retrieved September 16, 2026), LL-01 $45.00 online / $50.00 paper; a post office box or mail drop is not the agent street; BCS at 1401 W. Capitol Avenue, Suite 250; hours Monday–Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; Fayetteville office at 300 North College, Suite 201F
  9. Arkansas Business Entity Search (retrieved September 16, 2026), official public lookup at sos-corp-search.ark.org; the corps/search_all.php door still opens that form; lists registered agent
  10. Northwest Registered Agent, official registered-agent page, Arkansas product page, and office locations (retrieved September 16, 2026), $125/year; first year free only with formation; $100/year per state at five or more states; product page names a Mountain Home office and extra mail scans; office-locations list Mountain Home, AR 72653 Baxter County, and says they leave the street off this list
  11. Bizee, official registered-agent page, Arkansas product page, and contact (retrieved September 16, 2026), free year 1 with formation on the official card; standalone $149/year; year 2 $149/year; Arkansas page names $45 online / $50 paper Certificate of Organization and a franchise-tax report due May 1; no Arkansas registered-agent street; /llc/arkansas-registered-agent returned 404; Houston contact HQ is not an Arkansas registered-agent street
  12. LegalZoom, official registered-agent overview and Arkansas registered-agent article (retrieved September 16, 2026; article updated April 30, 2026), $249/year; Arkansas article names a Rogers office and no street; /articles/arkansas-registered-agent returned 404 the same day
  13. ZenBusiness, official registered-agent page and Arkansas registered agent (retrieved September 16, 2026; Arkansas page last updated August 27, 2025), $99 + state fees year 1; $199 renewal, subject to change; Arkansas product page publishes no ZenBusiness street; it prints State Capitol, Suite 256, 500 Woodlane Street, Little Rock, AR 72201 and telephone 501-682-3409, Secretary of State contacts; it also prints a $0 change, a 31-day resignation, and a $50 commercial termination; /arkansas-resident-agent/ returned 404; national product currently excludes PLLCs and nonprofits

Also setting up payroll in Arkansas? Payroll Score covers the first paycheck there.