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What does Registered agent mean?

A person or business on file with the state that signs for legal documents addressed to the LLC.

Answered by the Ask About LLC editorial team ·

At a glance

You may also hear
Statutory agent, resident agent or agent for service of process

So what do I do about it?

Before you pick one, find out if your state lets you act as your own agent. If it does, your address becomes public and you have to be reachable on weekdays.

Does my state do it differently?

In 46 states, naming an agent is required for every LLC. The other 4 read like this:

  • Minnesota: A Minnesota LLC must keep a registered office in Minnesota; naming an agent there is optional.
  • New York: The Secretary of State is the agent for service of process for every New York LLC; naming a registered agent is optional.
  • Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania requires a registered office (a Pennsylvania street address or a Commercial Registered Office Provider), not an agent.
  • West Virginia: The statute says an LLC "may" keep an agent; the Articles ask for one "if any".

Where does this come up?

You will meet it in these answers: Forming an LLC: your state's answers, Do I need a registered agent where I live?, Taking an LLC to another state: your state's answers.

Sources for this answer

  1. Ask-about note for Alabama registered agent statute: the state publishes it at alisondb.legislature.state.al.us, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  2. Ask-about note for Alaska registered agent statute: the state publishes it at akleg.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  3. Ask-about note for Arizona registered agent statute: the state publishes it at azleg.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  4. Ask-about note for Arkansas registered agent statute: the state publishes it at arkleg.state.ar.us, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  5. Ask-about note for California registered agent statute: the state publishes it at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  6. Ask-about note for Connecticut registered agent statute: the state publishes it at cga.ct.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  7. Ask-about note for Delaware registered agent statute: the state publishes it at delcode.delaware.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  8. Ask-about note for Florida registered agent statute: the state publishes it at flsenate.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  9. Ask-about note for Georgia registered agent statute: the state publishes it at sos.ga.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  10. Ask-about note for Hawaii registered agent statute: the state publishes it at capitol.hawaii.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  11. Ask-about note for Idaho registered agent statute: the state publishes it at legislature.idaho.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  12. Ask-about note for Illinois registered agent statute: the state publishes it at ilga.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  13. Ask-about note for Indiana registered agent statute: the state publishes it at faqs.in.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  14. Ask-about note for Iowa registered agent statute: the state publishes it at legis.iowa.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  15. Ask-about note for Kansas registered agent statute: the state publishes it at ksrevisor.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  16. Ask-about note for Kentucky registered agent statute: the state publishes it at apps.legislature.ky.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  17. Ask-about note for Louisiana registered agent statute: the state publishes it at legis.la.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  18. Ask-about note for Maine registered agent statute: the state publishes it at legislature.maine.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  19. Ask-about note for Maryland registered agent statute: the state publishes it at mgaleg.maryland.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  20. Ask-about note for Massachusetts registered agent statute: the state publishes it at sec.state.ma.us, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  21. Ask-about note for Michigan registered agent statute: the state publishes it at legislature.mi.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  22. Ask-about note for Minnesota registered agent statute: the state publishes it at revisor.mn.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  23. Ask-about note for Mississippi registered agent statute: the state publishes it at sos.ms.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  24. Ask-about note for Missouri registered agent statute: the state publishes it at revisor.mo.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  25. Ask-about note for Montana registered agent statute: the state publishes it at mca.legmt.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  26. Ask-about note for Nebraska registered agent statute: the state publishes it at nebraskalegislature.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  27. Ask-about note for Nevada registered agent statute: the state publishes it at leg.state.nv.us, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  28. Ask-about note for New Hampshire registered agent statute: the state publishes it at gc.nh.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  29. Ask-about note for New Jersey registered agent statute: the state publishes it at pub.njleg.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  30. Ask-about note for New Mexico registered agent statute: the state publishes it at nmonesource.com, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  31. Ask-about note for New York registered agent statute: the state publishes it at nysenate.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  32. Ask-about note for North Carolina registered agent statute: the state publishes it at sosnc.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  33. Ask-about note for North Dakota registered agent statute: the state publishes it at ndlegis.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  34. Ask-about note for Ohio registered agent statute: the state publishes it at codes.ohio.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  35. Ask-about note for Oklahoma registered agent statute: the state publishes it at sos.ok.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  36. Ask-about note for Oregon registered agent statute: the state publishes it at oregonlegislature.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  37. Ask-about note for Pennsylvania registered agent statute: the state publishes it at legis.state.pa.us, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  38. Ask-about note for Rhode Island registered agent statute: the state publishes it at webserver.rilegislature.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  39. Ask-about note for South Carolina registered agent statute: the state publishes it at scstatehouse.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  40. Ask-about note for South Dakota registered agent statute: the state publishes it at sdlegislature.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  41. Ask-about note for Tennessee registered agent statute: the state publishes it at sos-prod.tnsosgovfiles.com, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  42. Ask-about note for Texas registered agent statute: the state publishes it at sos.texas.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  43. Ask-about note for Utah registered agent statute: the state publishes it at le.utah.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  44. Ask-about note for Vermont registered agent statute: the state publishes it at legislature.vermont.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  45. Ask-about note for Virginia registered agent statute: the state publishes it at law.lis.virginia.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  46. Ask-about note for Washington registered agent statute: the state publishes it at app.leg.wa.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  47. Ask-about note for West Virginia registered agent statute: the state publishes it at code.wvlegislature.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  48. Ask-about note for Wisconsin registered agent statute: the state publishes it at docs.legis.wisconsin.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself
  49. Ask-about note for Wyoming registered agent statute: the state publishes it at wyoleg.gov, confirmed October 2026, so you can look it up yourself