What is a registered agent?
A registered agent is the person or company named in state records to accept lawsuits and official notices for your business. Most states require every LLC and corporation to keep one at a street address in the state. You can usually be your own agent if you live there.
Updated November 1, 2026
What the job is
The job is narrow. Be reachable, accept legal papers and government notices, and pass them to the company right away. Texas law describes the agent as the person on whom any process, notice or demand may be served. Process means the papers that start a lawsuit.
The name changes by state. Arizona says statutory agent. California says agent for service of process.
Who can serve
The pattern is similar across states, with differences that matter. In Texas, an agent can be a Texas resident who has consented or an organization registered to do business there. A Texas company can't be its own agent. Delaware does allow the company itself, as long as it keeps a business office at the registered office. Florida requires a Florida resident or an authorized entity whose business address matches the registered office, and the agent has to accept the appointment in writing.
These rules don't ask the agent to be a lawyer.
The address rules
The agent needs a physical address in the state. Texas says the registered office must be a street address where papers can be personally served on the agent, and it can't be only a mailbox or answering service. When the agent is an organization, Texas requires an employee there during normal business hours.
The address goes on the public record. If you serve as your own agent from home, your home address may show up in the state's business search.
Doing it yourself or hiring an agent
Serving yourself costs nothing. It suits someone who works from one address in the state during the day. Hiring a commercial agent costs money every year. In exchange your own address stays off that line of the record, and someone is always there to take papers. If you register in another state, you'll need an agent there too.
OpenFile doesn't offer a registered agent. When you form a company with us, you name your own: yourself, someone you trust in the state, or an agent you hire.
If you don't have one
A missed lawsuit is the biggest risk, because a case can go ahead without you. There are also state penalties. In Texas, the secretary of state becomes your agent for service if you have none, and can end the company's existence if you don't fix it within 90 days of notice. Florida can dissolve an LLC that fails to keep an agent, after notice and 60 days to correct it. Bringing a company back later usually means more filings and fees.
New York is different
In New York the secretary of state is the agent of every LLC by law. The state mails copies of legal papers to an address you give it, so that address needs to stay current. Naming a separate registered agent there is optional.
Questions
Can I be my own registered agent?
Usually yes, if you live in the state. You'll need a street address there where papers can be handed to you, and that address goes on the public record.
Can a registered agent use a P.O. box?
Generally no. States want a place where a person can receive papers. Texas's change-of-agent form says no P.O. box, and its law rules out an address that is only a mailbox service.
Does the registered agent have to be in the same state as the company?
Yes. The SBA says your agent must be located in the state where you register. If you register in a second state, you need an agent there too.
What if I move out of the state?
Name a new agent in that state and file the change. In Texas that's Form 401. In Delaware, an agent-only change costs $50.
Does my registered agent's address have to be my business address?
No. Texas says the registered office doesn't have to be the company's place of business. Your mailing address and your agent's address can differ.
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