How to Change a Registered Agent on an LLC

An LLC is a limited liability company. Handing over the lawsuit is called service of process. That is the formal handoff of the court papers. In most states the office that keeps the LLC list is the Secretary of State. Texas uses the Texas Secretary of State. California uses the California Secretary of State. Some states use another office. Delaware uses the Division of Corporations. The Delaware scorecard is that office. What the person does all year is in What is a registered agent for an LLC? Whether your own name can go on the line is in Can I be my own registered agent?

Why people switch

The usual reasons are plain. The old agent moved, closed, or resigned. You moved, and a home street is now on the public list. Or the free first year ended, and the lasting bill is the one on How much does a registered agent cost?

You still have to pick who sits at the new street. That choice is on the DIY, lawyer, or commercial page. This page is what you file after you pick. The grades on a state page are explained on the methodology page. Those grades do not file the change for you.

How to change a registered agent on an LLC

Do these in order. Skipping ahead is how a lawsuit goes to the old address.

1. Pick the new agent and get a written yes The new agent has to agree before you name them. Written consent is that yes. It can be a form the state prints, or a short writing the new agent signs. Do not type a name that has not agreed.
2. File the change with the state Send the state’s form, or use the state’s online filing, and pay the fee that form prints. A company that sells the agent service does not replace this filing. Until the state accepts it, the old name is still the public name.
3. Confirm the new listing on the business search Open the state’s company search. Look for the new name and the new street. A confirmation email is not the public list. The public list is.
4. Tell the old agent and cancel the old service Do this after the new name is on the search. If you cancel first, a lawsuit can still be handed to an empty office. Tell the old agent the state has the new name. End the paid service so it does not renew.
5. Update the next form that asks for the agent Some states put the agent on an annual report or a later statement. If that form still shows the old name, file the update. Do not assume the change form erased every other copy.

What the state needs and what it charges

The state wants the LLC’s exact name, the new agent’s name, and a street where a person can be handed the papers. A P.O. Box is a mailbox at the post office. It is not that street.

The filing fee is the state’s fee. It is not the yearly price a company charges to sit at the door. Read the form. If this page and the form disagree, the form wins.

The filing counts when the state accepts it. A signed copy on your desk does not change the public name. Texas Business Organizations Code § 5.202 says the statement is effective as an amendment when the filing officer accepts it. California Corporations Code § 17702.09 says that when the agent changes, the LLC shall file a current statement of information, and that statement supersedes the old one.

Other states use their own form. In Florida, Florida Statutes § 605.0114 says the new agent’s written acceptance goes with the statement of change, and the change is effective when the department files it. The same section says the annual report can carry the change. New York already names the Secretary of State, so a private agent is an extra name you can add or drop. Wyoming wants a physical street and the new agent’s written consent. Nevada uses a statement of change. Washington can put the new name on a statement of change or on the annual report. Open the page for the state on your articles. This guide does not list every state.

How to change a registered agent in Texas

Texas calls the job a registered agent and the street a registered office. Business Organizations Code § 5.201 says the office is a street where papers can be handed to a person. It may not be only a mailbox service or a telephone answering service. The company cannot be its own agent. The Texas scorecard is the longer rule.

The change form is Form 401. The Secretary of State’s Form 401 instructions, revised September 2026, say the filing fee for a change of registered office or agent is $15. The same page says you can file online through SOSPortal. Mail and in-person filing are on that page too. A credit card adds a convenience fee the instructions print: $0.25 plus 2.25% of the total fees. We do not print a processing time that page does not print.

The fee schedule, Form 806, revised September 2026, prices Form 401 at $15 for an entity that is not a nonprofit corporation or a cooperative association. That is the LLC line.

Consent comes first. The instructions say a person designated on or after January 1, 2010 must have consented, in writing or electronically. You do not have to send that writing with Form 401. The form for the writing is Form 401-A. If you choose to file a copy, Form 806 prices that copy at $15 for an LLC. Naming someone who did not consent is the false-statement problem those instructions describe. Get the yes first.

Section 5.202 says the statement must include the LLC’s name, the current agent, the current street, the new agent if the agent is changing, the new street if the street is changing, a line that the LLC authorized the change, and a line that the office street and the agent’s business street are the same. The instructions say the statement becomes effective when the Secretary of State files it. You can ask for a later date, not more than 90 days after the day the form is signed. Until that filing is effective, the old agent is still the one on the record.

Then check the name. SOSDirect is the business search. Form 806 prices a search at $1. That $1 is not charged when an order or filing is placed on the search results. Look for the new agent before you cancel the old service. Texas has no annual Secretary of State report, so Form 401 is the change. The Texas scorecard says the same.

How to change a registered agent in California

California calls the job an agent for service of process. Corporations Code § 17701.13 says an LLC keeps an office and an agent in the state. § 17702.02 says you do not amend the articles to change the agent. You file a statement of information under § 17701.14. Section 17702.09 says that when the agent changes, or the agent’s address changes, the LLC shall file a current statement with the information that section requires. The new statement supersedes the old one. The California scorecard is the longer rule.

The Secretary of State’s FAQ says a California or out-of-state LLC changes the agent by filing the Statement of Information for a California and out-of-state LLC online at bizfile Online. The fee schedule still calls that form LLC-12. Do not use Form LLC-12NC for this. That form is the biennial no-change statement, and the schedule prices it at $20. If the agent changed, it does not fit.

An individual agent must live in California. The FAQ says that person’s name and physical street are a public record. A company agent must have a current Corporations Code section 1505 registration, and you need that company’s approval before you name it. Get that yes in writing before you file.

Two official pages set the dollars, both read October 10, 2026. The customer-alert page says the fee to file the statement is $20 for all limited liability companies. The fee schedule, revised June 2018, prices a fully completed initial or biennial Form LLC-12 at $20. It prices an amended Form LLC-12, filed between the regular periods to report a change of information, at no fee. If the regular statement is due, expect the $20. If you are only changing the agent between those periods, the schedule says no fee. The sources do not agree. This page does not add a third dollar.

The Statements of Information page says that, as of August 1, 2026, you need user access on bizfile before the online statement option shows. Set that access up before you try to file. The same customer-alert page says an online statement filed on bizfile is generally processed within minutes. The office also posts processing dates. Check the business search on bizfile for the new agent before you treat the change as done.

The FAQ says an LLC files a statement of information every two years, in the odd or even year that matches the year of registration, during the month of registration. File again when the agent’s name or address changes, or when the agent resigns. The tips page has the filing window. Letters that look official and charge many times the $20 are not the Secretary of State. The customer-alert page says so. File on bizfile.

Common mistakes

• Canceling the old service before the new name is on the state’s search. The old address can still take the lawsuit.
• Using a mailbox, a UPS store, or a virtual office as the street. The agent is who can be handed a lawsuit. It is not a mailbox.
• Naming a person who never agreed. Get the written yes first.
• Paying a third-party letter in California that is not bizfile. The $20, or the no-fee change, is paid to the Secretary of State.
• Leaving the old name on the next annual report or statement of information.
• Trusting a company’s dashboard to update the state. The state’s record changes when the state accepts the filing.

Questions people ask

Does the old agent still get the lawsuit until the state accepts the change?

Yes. The public record stays the old name until the state accepts the new filing. Confirm the business search before you cancel the old service.

Do I file the consent, or do I just keep it?

Get it in writing either way. Texas lets you keep Form 401-A. You do not have to file it. California wants a company agent’s approval before you name that company. Read your state’s form.

Can the annual report change the agent instead?

In some states, yes. Florida’s statute says the annual report can carry the change. The Washington scorecard covers a statement of change and the annual-report window. If the report is months away and the old agent is already gone, file the change form. Do not wait.

If you hire a company for the new name, these buttons open that company’s own page. The state’s filing fee is still separate. The yearly price is on the cost guide.