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Not legal advice. Confirm the live registered-agent line on the Business Entity Search before you file or treat a published street as current. That search is Tennessee’s public lookup. The office that keeps it is the Division of Business Services at the Tennessee Secretary of State.

State · Tennessee

Tennessee registered agent: rules, prices, and graded services

Tennessee won’t take a P.O. Box as your registered office, and the $300 LLC annual report is not the registered-agent 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. Tennessee’s statute uses the words registered agent and registered office for an LLC and a corporation. It does not use Maryland’s resident-agent name. This page prints Tennessee’s words. The office that keeps the public list is the Division of Business Services at the Tennessee Secretary of State. The registered office must be a physical Tennessee street. A P.O. Box is not that street. The Secretary of State FAQ also refuses a route number or a box number alone. The Articles of Organization form says a post office box is not acceptable for the registered agent/office address. Every year a Tennessee LLC also files an annual report. An annual report is a yearly filing that updates the public record and pays a fee. That report starts at $300 and can run to $3,000. It is due on or before the first day of the fourth month after the fiscal year ends. For a calendar-year LLC that day is April 1. Changing the agent or office on that report counts as the change filing and adds $20. That report is still not the registered-agent job. Most LLCs also file a franchise and excise tax return with the Department of Revenue. That return is due the 15th day of the fourth month. For a calendar-year LLC that day is April 15. That tax is not the registered-agent job either. This page is the Tennessee rule and the dated prices. It does not reprint vendor cards from another state.

Updated September 12, 2026 · Methodology · Prices retrieved September 12, 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. If you need scans of catalogs, that is a different product on a different site.

What Tennessee 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 Division of Business Services at the Tennessee Secretary of State keeps the list. Tenn. Code Ann. § 48-249-109 says each limited liability company keeps a registered office and a registered agent. The agent’s office is the same street. The agent may be an individual who lives in Tennessee, a listed domestic entity, or a foreign entity authorized to transact business here. If the agent resigns or cannot serve, the company promptly names another.

A street is a place a person can walk up to. A P.O. Box is a mailbox at the post office. The Articles form says a post office box is not acceptable. The FAQ also refuses a route number or a box number alone. Tenn. Code Ann. § 48-249-110 says the company files a statement of change, and the two streets stay identical. The forms table prices that statement at $20. The FAQ instead names articles of amendment at the same $20. The sources disagree. This page does not pick one.

Tenn. Code Ann. § 48-249-1017 is the yearly paper, due on or before the first day of the fourth month after the fiscal year. For a calendar year that day is April 1. Tenn. Code Ann. § 48-249-1007 sets the fee at $50 per member, at least $300 and at most $3,000, plus $20 if the report changes the agent. That change counts as the statement of change. Filing the report is still not the job of taking the lawsuit. A resignation is effective the day it is filed. Being without an agent is a ground the FAQ lists for administrative dissolution.

Related guide: Can I be my own registered agent? An individual who lives in Tennessee may take the job, and that office must be the same street as the registered office.

Related guide: What is a registered agent for an LLC? The job is taking court papers at a Tennessee street. The annual report is a different filing.

Related guide: How much does a registered agent cost? The statement of change is $20. The annual report starts at $300, and a change of agent on it adds $20.

Related guide: How to change a registered agent on an LLC File a statement of change, or change the line on the annual report and pay the extra $20.

Related guide: What is a commercial registered agent? Tennessee does not run a ten-company register. An authorized company may serve if its office matches the registered office.

Related guide: Service of process: what it means for an LLC The agent agrees to accept legal mail at the street. Being without an agent is a ground the FAQ lists for administrative dissolution.

Related guide: What is a registered agent address? The office is a physical Tennessee street. A P.O. Box, a route number, or a box number alone is not that street.

Related guide: Best registered agent service A hired company still needs a physical Tennessee street identical with the registered office. A P.O. Box is not that street.

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

The statute does not print a clock. Someone has to be at a Tennessee street to accept hand-delivered papers. A software login is not that street.

Cited prices, retrieved September 12, 2026

We print what the company’s official registered-agent page said on the retrieval date. No company publishes a different Tennessee registered-agent price from the national card, except where we note a Tennessee-page renewal line. 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 + TN 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 Division of Business Services filing. We cite Tenn. Code Ann. § 48-249-110, Tenn. Code Ann. § 48-249-1007, and the office’s $20 SS-4534 / extra $20 on the annual report, not company blogs. The $300 annual report and the April 15 franchise tax are still not the registered-agent job.

Who publishes a Tennessee 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 Division’s Nashville 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 Knoxville, ZIP 37919, Knox County, on both the product page and the office list, and no street on either. LegalZoom’s Tennessee article names no LegalZoom city. Bizee publishes no Tennessee street. ZenBusiness publishes the Division’s Rosa L. Parks Avenue contacts. We label every published city vendor-claimed. Use the Business Entity Search.

In-state office, the post-office ban, and the two April bills

Tennessee wants an in-state resident or an authorized company, a street address in this state, and someone who can take court papers at that street. The agent’s office and the registered office must be the same street. A P.O. Box is not that street. The FAQ also refuses a route number or a box number alone. The Articles form will reject an address the Division cannot treat as valid. Change the agent on SS-4534 at $20, or on the annual report for an extra $20. Resignation is effective on the day the statement is filed. The LLC annual report starts at $300 and is due on or before the first day of the fourth month after the fiscal year. For a calendar year that day is April 1. The franchise and excise tax is due April 15 for a calendar year and goes to the Department of Revenue. Those two filings are not the registered-agent job. Tennessee does not post a Florida-style 10–noon / 2–4 clock, and it does not run a Nevada-style ten-company commercial-agent register. Northwest claims Knoxville, ZIP 37919, Knox County. LegalZoom’s Tennessee article names no LegalZoom city. ZenBusiness publishes 312 Rosa L. Parks Avenue, the Division of Business Services. Bizee names no Tennessee street. Process Score has not been to those offices. We do not treat a company 9-to-5 line as Tenn. Code Ann. § 48-249-109.

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 Tennessee owners keep a home off the agent line. The Secretary of State still publishes whatever other addresses you put on a formation filing or an annual report. Privacy of the agent line is not privacy of every field. 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 Tennessee-only price.
SOS street and presence
B
Product page and office-locations list both name Knoxville, TN 37919, Knox 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 mail-scanning 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: 2026-09-12

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 Tennessee-only price.
SOS street and presence
B-
No Tennessee registered-agent street on the product pages. Houston HQ is not a Tennessee 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: 2026-09-12

Official page

LegalZoom

Commercial registered agent
Year-1 / year-2 price
C
Official $249/year. Year 2 is “purchase rate,” subject to change. The page does not publish $299.
SOS street and presence
B-
The Tennessee article names no LegalZoom city. 312 Rosa L. Parks Avenue is the Division of Business Services. 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: 2026-09-12

LegalZoom

ZenBusiness

Commercial registered agent
Year-1 / year-2 price
C
Year 1 $99 + TN 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-
Tennessee product page publishes no ZenBusiness street or city. The Nashville line is a Division of Business Services 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 a Tennessee statute.

Year 1: $99 + TN 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: 2026-09-12

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. Minnesota wants a registered office, not a required domestic agent. The free December 31 renewal is not that job: Minnesota scorecard.

Sources for this page

  1. Tenn. Code Ann. § 48-249-109 (retrieved September 12, 2026), each domestic and foreign LLC shall continuously maintain a registered office and a registered agent who keeps an office at the same street; who-may-serve list; promptly designate another agent so the company at all times has one
  2. Tenn. Code Ann. § 48-249-110 (retrieved September 12, 2026), statement of change names the new street, zip, and county or the new agent, and must say the registered-office street and the agent’s business office will be identical
  3. Tenn. Code Ann. § 48-249-111 and the LLC resignation form SS-4227 (retrieved September 12, 2026), form cites § 48-208-103 or § 48-249-111; resignation effective on the date it is filed; $20 fee
  4. Tenn. Code Ann. § 48-15-101 and Tenn. Code Ann. § 48-15-103 (retrieved September 12, 2026), a corporation continuously maintains a registered office and a registered agent at the same street; corporation resignation terminates on the date the statement is filed
  5. Tenn. Code Ann. § 48-208-101 (retrieved September 12, 2026), older Limited Liability Company Act still cited on LegalZoom and Northwest product pages; current formation uses Chapter 249
  6. Tenn. Code Ann. § 48-249-1017 (retrieved September 12, 2026), annual report due on or before the first day of the fourth month following the close of the fiscal year; a report that changes the registered office or agent is a statement of change under § 48-249-110(a)
  7. Tenn. Code Ann. § 48-249-1007 (retrieved September 12, 2026), annual fee $50 times members, no less than $300 and no more than $3,000; extra $20 if the report changes the registered office or agent
  8. Tennessee Secretary of State, business FAQs (retrieved September 12, 2026), registered office must be a physical Tennessee address and cannot be a post office box, route number, or box number alone; LLC annual report $300 minimum to $3,000; corporation annual report $20 plus $20 to change the agent; being without a registered agent is a ground for administrative dissolution
  9. Articles of Organization, SS-4270 (retrieved September 12, 2026), post office box not acceptable for the registered agent/office address; mailing line 312 Rosa L. Parks Avenue, 6th Floor, Nashville, TN 37243-1102
  10. Business Forms & Fees (retrieved September 12, 2026), SS-4534 statement of change $20; SS-4420 resignation $20; SS-4270 Articles of Organization $300 minimum
  11. Business Services Online annual-report instructions and the April 1 annual-report press release (retrieved September 12, 2026), due the first day of the fourth month; extra $20 to change the agent on the report
  12. Business Entity Search and TNCaB (retrieved September 12, 2026), official public lookup at tnbear.tn.gov; later filings on the Charity and Business Filing System
  13. Tennessee Department of Revenue, Franchise & Excise Tax and the due-dates page (retrieved September 12, 2026), minimum franchise tax $100; annual return due the 15th day of the fourth month; April 15 for a calendar year; Form FAE170 on TNTAP
  14. Northwest Registered Agent, official registered-agent page, Tennessee product page, and office locations (retrieved September 12, 2026), $125/year; first year free only with formation; $100/year per state at five or more states; product page names a Knoxville, TN scan office and cites § 48-15-101 and § 48-208-101; office-locations list Knoxville, TN 37919, Knox County, and says they leave the street off this list; FAQ prices the corporation annual report at $20 or $40 and all other entities at $300 or $320
  15. Bizee, official registered-agent page, Tennessee product page, and contact (retrieved September 12, 2026), free year 1 with formation on the official card; standalone $149/year; year 2 $149/year; Tennessee page names $300 Articles, April 1 annual report, and 6.5% franchise and excise tax; support Monday–Friday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. CST; no Tennessee registered-agent street; /llc/tennessee-registered-agent returned 404; Houston contact HQ is not a Tennessee registered-agent street
  16. LegalZoom, official registered-agent overview (retrieved September 12, 2026), $249/year; auto-renews at the purchase rate, subject to change; no Tennessee street on the official overview; Tennessee registered-agent article updated May 15, 2026, retrieved the same day, $100 to $300 market range; cites § 48-15-101 and § 48-208-101; names Form SS-4427 and Form SS-4225; resignation terminates on the filing date; no LegalZoom Tennessee city; /articles/registered-agent-in-tennessee returned 404
  17. ZenBusiness, official registered-agent page and Tennessee registered agent (retrieved September 12, 2026; Tennessee page last updated August 27, 2025), $99 + state fees year 1; $199 renewal, subject to change; Tennessee product page publishes no ZenBusiness street; it prints 312 Rosa L. Parks Avenue, 6th Floor, Snodgrass Tower, Nashville, TN 37243-1102, telephone 615-741-2286, Monday–Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CST, Division of Business Services contacts, not a vendor suite; /tennessee-resident-agent/ returned 404; national product currently excludes PLLCs and nonprofits

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