Quick answer, as of 2026-09-28
To change an LLC's registered agent, line up the new agent first, then file your state's change form. Florida's Statement of Change (form INHS18) costs $25, Texas Form 401 costs $15, and Georgia's amended annual registration costs $30. The agent on the state's record stays your agent until the state accepts the filing.
Sources: the Florida Division of Corporations fee schedule, the Texas Secretary of State's Form 401 instructions and Georgia's Form CD 920 instructions, each linked in the table below. This guide is education, not legal advice.
The registered agent is the name the state gives to anyone who wants to sue your LLC or send it an official notice. If that name belongs to a relative who moved out of state, or to a service you stopped paying, papers can still be delivered to the address on file. Nobody on your side reads them. A court can enter a default judgment against a company that never answers, and you may first hear about the case when a collection letter or a bank levy shows up.
Fixing it takes one state filing, and in the three states covered here the change itself costs $15 to $30 at the state. What goes wrong is the order of operations: owners cancel the old agent before the new one is on file, or they file the wrong form for their state and it bounces.
State filing fees from each state's official site, checked Sept 28, 2026. Texas allows a delayed effective date up to 90 days after signing.
Why Owners Switch Registered Agents
The reasons are usually ordinary, which is why the change gets put off.
The agent resigned
Agents can quit on the record. Florida's fee schedule has a $85 registered agent resignation filing for active companies, and Georgia's LLC statute lets an agent resign by filing a statement of resignation with the Secretary of State (O.C.G.A. § 14-11-209).
You, or a friend, can't keep the hours
Plenty of owners name themselves or a family member at formation. Then life changes. Florida is strict about this: since October 1, 2025, the agent must keep the registered office open at least 10 a.m. to noon and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays, with someone there to accept process (s. 48.091(3)). That is hard to promise from a job site or a delivery route.
The address moved
The registered office has to be a street address inside the state. If the agent moves away, or you close the office you listed, the state still shows the old address until someone files a change. In Florida, failing to file a statement of change within 30 days after the agent's name or address changes is its own ground for administrative dissolution (s. 605.0714).
Your home address is on the public record
When you serve as your own agent, the address you list is the one anyone can look up. Some owners switch to a commercial agent to keep their home out of the state's business search.
The renewal price changed
Some services charge less for the first year than for the years after, and owners often notice only when the second invoice arrives.
Forms and Fees in Florida, Texas and Georgia
Each state has its own form, and Georgia doesn't use a standalone change form at all. For every other state, the form, fee and statute are linked from our Registered Agent by State pages.
| State | How you change the agent | State fee | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | Statement of Change (form INHS18), filed by mail. Or name the new agent on your annual report, which Sunbiz accepts online. | $25, or $55 with a certified copy. Annual report route: $138.75, or $538.75 after May 1. | INHS18 · fee schedule |
| Texas | Form 401, Statement of Change of Registered Office/Agent. File online through SOSPortal, or by mail or hand delivery. | $15 | Form 401 instructions |
| Georgia | List the new agent on this year's annual registration. If that is already filed, file an amended annual registration (Form CD 920) online at eCorp or on paper. | $60 with the annual registration ($50 + $10 service charge). Amended: $20 + $10 service charge. | Business Division FAQ · CD 920 |
Florida
The new agent has to sign the acceptance printed on form INHS18, saying they know and accept the duties of the role (s. 605.0114(2)). The form says the registered office address "MUST BE FLORIDA STREET ADDRESS", so a P.O. box won't work. The Sunbiz e-file menu has no standalone online statement of change. If your annual report is due soon, the online annual report lets you change the agent, and a new agent listed there counts as a statement of change (s. 605.0212(5)). See the Florida annual report page for the May 1 deadline.
Texas
Texas requires that the new agent has consented, in writing or electronically, before you name them. According to the Form 401 instructions, you don't send a copy of that consent with the filing, so keep it in your records. The change takes effect when the Secretary of State files it, or on a later date you choose, up to 90 days after the form is signed. The same instructions warn that an entity "may be terminated or its registration revoked for failure to maintain a registered office and agent."
Georgia
Georgia handles agent changes through the annual registration. The Corporations Division FAQ says the registered agent and registered office "can be changed by filing an annual registration or an amended annual registration." The catch is in the CD 920 instructions: an amended annual registration is rejected if this calendar year's annual registration hasn't been filed yet. Georgia also says an entity cannot be its own registered agent, and the agent's business address must match the registered office address. The annual registration itself is due April 1; our Georgia annual report page has the details.
How to Switch Without a Gap
Until the state accepts your filing, the old agent is still the one on record, and that is where a lawsuit would be delivered. So the sequence below matters more than which form you use.
- Sign up the new agent first. Get their exact name and in-state street address as it should appear on the filing.
- Get their consent. In Florida the new agent signs the form. In Texas the consent has to exist before you file, even though you don't submit it.
- Pull your current record from the state's business search: the LLC's exact legal name, its document or control number, and the current agent's name and address. Texas and Georgia both ask for the current agent information, and it should match what the state has.
- File the change and pay the fee. In Georgia, check first whether this year's annual registration is already on file, because that decides which form you use.
- Confirm the state record shows the new agent. Only then cancel the old service, and ask them to forward anything that arrives in the meantime.
- Repeat in every state where the LLC is registered. Each state keeps its own agent on file. The Multi-State RA Consolidator maps which states you owe an agent in.
A Florida example, before and after (hypothetical). Ana runs a two-truck landscaping LLC in Orlando. Her articles list her brother-in-law as agent at his apartment, and he moved to Georgia in March. Before: the state record still points at an empty Florida apartment, so a summons or a state notice sent there reaches no one, and the LLC is exposed to the 30-day statement-of-change rule above. After: she files INHS18 for $25, or names the new agent on the $138.75 annual report she has to file by May 1 anyway, and her agent keeps a staffed Florida street address during the hours the statute requires.
Mistakes That Leave You With No Agent on File
Canceling the old agent first
This is the most common way to create a gap. Florida can administratively dissolve an LLC that fails to appoint and maintain a registered agent. It first sends a notice of intent, and the LLC then has 60 days to fix the problem (s. 605.0714). While it is out of compliance, a Florida LLC also can't bring or maintain a lawsuit in a Florida court (s. 605.0113(5)). Georgia's FAQ lists failing to maintain a registered agent or office among the grounds for administrative dissolution.
Listing a P.O. box or a mail drop
The agent needs a street address in the state where someone can be handed papers. Florida's form says so in capital letters. A mailbox service that can't accept service of process in person doesn't meet the requirement.
Filing Georgia's amended registration too early
If this year's annual registration isn't on file, Georgia rejects the amended one and tells you to file the annual registration instead. If you haven't filed this year's registration yet and the April 1 deadline is still ahead, listing the new agent on it is usually the simpler route.
Skipping the consent
Florida won't take the form without the new agent's signed acceptance. Texas doesn't collect the consent, but it still requires one, so naming someone who never agreed puts the filing on shaky ground.
Forgetting the other states
An LLC formed in Florida and registered to do business in Georgia has an agent in each state. Changing one leaves the other exactly as it was.
Keep the old agent until the new one shows up on the state's search. Paying for a few overlapping weeks costs less than a summons delivered to an agent you already fired.
How Vermilion Vitez Can Help
We offer registered agent service through our partner Registered Agents Inc for $74.25 a year, the same price at renewal, in every state. Notices are scanned to your dashboard, and RA Notice Triage sorts them by urgency. If you already have an agent and want out, we prepare and file the change for you.
Change of Registered Agent, filed for you
- We prepare and file your state's change form
- The new agent takes over once the state accepts it
- Agent service through Registered Agents Inc: $74.25/yr
Only need the agent itself? Order registered agent service directly. The free Compliance Calendar tracks the annual report that, in Florida and Georgia, doubles as a way to change the agent.
This article is for educational and informational purposes only and does not provide legal, tax, financial, securities, or investment advice. Business owners should consult qualified professionals before making decisions.
Common Questions
How do I change my LLC's registered agent?
Arrange the new agent first and get their consent, then file your state's change form with the new agent's name and in-state street address. Florida uses form INHS18, Texas uses Form 401, and Georgia uses the annual registration or an amended annual registration (Form CD 920). Cancel the old agent only after the state record shows the new one.
How much does it cost to change a registered agent?
The state fee is $25 in Florida ($55 with a certified copy), $15 in Texas, and $30 in Georgia for an amended annual registration ($20 filing fee plus a $10 service charge). In Florida and Georgia you can also make the change on the annual report or annual registration you already owe.
Does the new registered agent have to agree?
Yes in both Florida and Texas. In Florida the new agent signs the acceptance printed on form INHS18. In Texas the agent must have consented in writing or electronically, but you keep the consent in your records instead of filing it with Form 401.
Can I change my registered agent on my annual report?
In Florida, yes. The online annual report ($138.75, due by May 1) lets you change the registered agent, and a new agent listed there counts as a statement of change. In Georgia, the annual registration is the standard way to change the agent, and an amended annual registration covers changes later in the same year.
When does the change take effect?
When the state accepts the filing. In Texas, a statement of change is effective when the Secretary of State files it, or on a later date you choose up to 90 days after the form is signed. Until then the old agent is still the agent on record.
What happens if my LLC has no registered agent?
The state can dissolve or revoke it. Florida may administratively dissolve the LLC after a notice of intent and a 60-day window to fix it. Texas says an entity may be terminated or its registration revoked. Georgia lists failing to maintain a registered agent among its grounds for administrative dissolution.
Can I be my own registered agent?
An individual who lives in the state can usually serve, including an owner. The LLC itself cannot: Florida's statute lists only individuals and other entities, and Georgia says an entity cannot be its own registered agent. In Florida the agent must also keep the office open 10 a.m. to noon and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays.
In Florida, Texas and Georgia, the change costs $15 to $30 at the state and takes one form. Put the new agent on file before you let the old one go.
Your agent quit, moved, or repriced
Switch to an agent at $74.25 a year, the same price every year.
We prepare the change filing for your state, and the new agent takes over once the state accepts it. Forming a new LLC instead? Start with the agent already in place.
Change of Registered Agent: $41.25 + state fee
We prepare and file the change. Agent service through Registered Agents Inc is $74.25 a year.
Start my switch → Starting a new LLCDay-One Bundle: $222 + state fee
Formation, year-one registered agent (renews at $74.25/yr), EIN included with a U.S. SSN (+$75 without), and a toll-free line's first month.
See the bundle →Also useful: Registered Agent by State · RA Notice Triage · Compliance Calendar · Book a free strategy call.