What is a registered agent for an LLC?

Handing over the court papers is called service of process. The office that keeps the public company list is the Secretary of State in most states. Florida uses the Division of Corporations. New York uses the Department of State. The name on the form is the person a process server can find.

Whether your own name can go on that line is a different question. It is answered in Can I be my own registered agent?

What does a registered agent do

Two kinds of paper can arrive. The agent receives them and gets them to the company.

1. A lawsuit Someone hands the agent the court papers. That handoff is service of process. In Texas, Business Organizations Code § 5.201 says the registered agent is the person on whom process may be served. § 5.206 says the agent receives or accepts process, notice, or demand, and forwards it to the company.
2. Official state mail The same duty covers a notice or a demand. A sales catalog is not that mail. In Delaware, 6 Del. C. § 18-104(e) says every registered agent accepts service of process and other communications and forwards them. The same subsection says the agent forwards the annual tax statement, or an electronic notice of it.
3. A path to the company The agent’s job ends when the company has the papers. The company answers the lawsuit. The agent does not.

In New York, the shape is different. Limited Liability Company Law § 301 says the Secretary of State is the agent. § 303 says service is complete when the papers reach the Department of State in Albany. The Department then sends a copy by certified mail to the post office address on file. A private agent is extra. The New York scorecard is the longer version.

What is a registered agent for an LLC on an ordinary day

On an ordinary day, nothing arrives. The listing is still on duty. An LLC registered agent is the name the state can hand a lawsuit to when a day is not ordinary.

The agent stays findable at the street during the hours that state wrote. A quiet month does not erase the name. When a paper does arrive, the forward step is the whole job.

Companies sell that availability as a product. The methodology page is how those companies are graded. The DIY, lawyer, or commercial page sets the three ways to fill the name.

An LLC registered agent keeps a street and hours

The street is a place a person can walk up to. A P.O. Box is a mailbox at the post office. The statute wants the street. Someone has to be there during the hours the state describes.

California Corporations Code § 17701.13 says an LLC shall designate and continuously maintain an office and an agent for service of process in the state. The Secretary of State’s FAQ says an individual agent’s name and physical street are a public record. The California scorecard is the filing detail.

In Wyoming, W.S. 17-28-101 says the registered office is a Wyoming street that is a physical location. The agent, or a natural person who has an agency relationship with the agent, must be able to accept service there and must be physically present. The Secretary of State FAQ says post office boxes, drop boxes, virtual addresses, mail-forwarding locations, and UPS or FedEx stores do not qualify.

Texas § 5.201 says the registered office is a street address where process may be personally served. It may not be solely a mailbox service or a telephone answering service. If the agent is an organization, an employee must be available at that office during normal business hours. The Texas scorecard cites the same section.

Florida Statutes § 48.091 prints the clock. The office stays open from at least 10 a.m. to 12 noon, and from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., each day except Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. A person who can take papers has to be there during those hours. § 605.0113 says the LLC shall continuously maintain that office and that agent. The Florida scorecard is the longer version.

Delaware writes presence without Florida’s clock. Section 18-104(e) says an entity agent keeps a Delaware business office that is generally open. An individual agent is generally present at a designated Delaware location, often enough to accept service. The same section says the agent may not perform the duties solely through a virtual office, a mail-forwarding service, or both.

If you miss the papers

Service can be finished even when the company never sees the envelope.

Florida § 48.091(5) says the agent shall promptly forward copies of the process. Failure to forward does not invalidate the service. § 48.062 says an LLC is served by serving its registered agent. If the company has no agent, or one good-faith attempt to serve the agent fails, process may be served on a manager or a member.

Wyoming W.S. 17-28-104 says the agent shall accept service of process, notice, or demand. If the company has no agent, or the agent cannot with reasonable diligence be served, the company may be served by registered or certified mail at its principal office. Service is complete on the first of three dates. Those dates are the day the company receives the mail, the date on a signed return receipt, or five days after a correct mailing.

A served case can move if nobody answers. In federal court, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55, in the December 1, 2025 rules, says the clerk must enter a default when a party fails to plead or otherwise defend and that failure is shown. The other side can then ask the court for a default judgment. That rule is for federal court. The court that has the case uses its own rules. This page does not print an answer deadline.

If the agent resigns or the listing lapses

The company has to put a new name on the record. The clock and the result depend on the state.

1. Delaware, 30 days Under § 18-104(d), a resignation without a successor is not effective until 30 days after the certificate is filed. The agent gives the company written notice at least 30 days before that filing. If the company does not designate a new agent before those 30 days run out, the statute says the certificate of formation shall be canceled. After the resignation is effective and no new agent is designated, service of legal process is on the Secretary of State under § 18-105.
2. Illinois, 60 days 805 ILCS 180/1-35 says the resigning agent mails notice at least 10 days before filing it. The resignation is not effective sooner than 30 days after the filing. A new agent must be placed on record within 60 days after that notice. 805 ILCS 180/50-15 says the Secretary of State shall declare the company delinquent and not in good standing if it fails to keep an agent within 60 days of the resigning agent’s notice. The Illinois scorecard has the filing path.
3. Wyoming, 30 days W.S. 17-28-103 says that when a resignation is filed and no successor is appointed, the Secretary of State classifies the company as delinquent awaiting administrative dissolution, revocation, or forfeiture. The company files a statement of change within 30 days after it receives the resignation.
4. Texas, day 31 § 5.204 says the resignation is effective on the 31st day after the Secretary of State receives the notice. The Texas Secretary of State FAQ says failure to maintain a registered agent and a registered office may result in involuntary termination of a domestic filing entity, or revocation of a foreign filing entity’s registration.
5. Florida, a court penalty § 605.0113(5) says an LLC may not prosecute or maintain an action in a Florida court until it keeps the agent that section requires. If a court orders it, the company pays the Department of State $5 for each day it failed to comply, or $500, whichever is less.

How the Secretary of State records a new agent

You change the agent by filing with the office that keeps the list. In most states that office is the Secretary of State.

In Texas, § 5.202 says the company changes its registered agent or registered office by filing a statement of the change. The Secretary of State’s form for that statement is Form 401.

In Florida, § 605.0114 says the company delivers a statement of change to the Department of State. If the agent changes, the new agent’s written acceptance goes with that statement. The same change can also be made on the annual report.

In Wyoming, W.S. 17-28-102 says the company signs and delivers a statement of change to the Secretary of State. If the agent changes, the statement includes the new agent’s written consent.

In Delaware, the company files with the Secretary of State. The Division’s change-of-agent forms say a filing is required, and they include a limited liability company form. The Delaware scorecard cites the fee statute. This guide does not reprint a dollar.

These four are examples. Open the scorecard for the state named on the articles. The live company search is the record.