Illinois Registered Agent Service at a Matching Illinois Address

Illinois uses the terms registered agent and registered office, and 805 ILCS 180/1-35 says the LLC "shall continuously maintain in this State a registered agent and registered office." The Secretary of State's Department of Business Services, through its Limited Liability Division, keeps the record from offices in Springfield and Chicago.

The Articles of Organization on Form LLC-5.5 are two pages and are submitted in duplicate. Besides the agent and the registered office, they ask for the name, the principal place of business, an effective date that can be the filing date or up to 60 days later, the purpose, the duration, and the names and business addresses of all managers. The filing fee is $150, with an extra $100 for expedited service.

Lawsuits are served on the agent. If an LLC fails to appoint or maintain a registered agent, the Secretary of State is irrevocably appointed as its agent for service under 805 ILCS 180/1-50. The citations here are for LLCs, and our agent service reaches corporations, LPs, LLPs and nonprofits too.

The statute describes the agent as an individual resident of this State or another person authorized to transact business in this State. The Secretary of State's online instructions put it as an individual who lives in Illinois, or an entity authorized to transact business in Illinois.

A business entity acting as agent must be registered with the Secretary of State. And the forms say the LLC may not act as its own registered agent. You, as an individual member, can serve, but the company cannot.

Commercial agents fit the entity category. Owners who live in another state meet the Illinois requirement through one.

The Illinois registered office has to be a street address in Illinois, and the form says it must match the agent's business address. It has to include the number and the street or road address. A PO box with the plus-4 ZIP may be added to the physical address, but a box number on its own will not pass.

This is a rule of agreement. The agent and the office are one address, so an individual agent whose business is somewhere else cannot list a friendlier address for the registered office.

The Articles ask separately for a principal place of business, and there too a P.O. box alone or a c/o address is unacceptable. The registered office is part of the Secretary of State's record for the LLC.

You can name yourself if you live in Illinois and use your Illinois business street address as the registered office. It costs nothing extra. The address goes into the public record and you carry the burden of never missing a delivery.

A business partner, an employee or an attorney who is an Illinois resident with a business address in the state can serve if they agree. They take on the same exposure, and the role goes with them when they change jobs.

A commercial service puts its own Illinois address on the record. It also gives you a stable address, so moving your own office does not mean re-filing the agent every time.

Illinois uses Form LLC-1.36/1.37, the Statement of Change of Registered Agent and/or Registered Office. The fee is $25, or $50 more to expedite. The Secretary of State also offers it online as an LLC Registered Agent or Address Change. One statement can update the agent, the office or both. It has to say that the registered office and the agent's business office will be identical and that the change was authorized by the members or managers. The change takes effect when the Secretary of State files it.

The annual report is not a substitute. The Secretary of State's instructions say to file the report indicating no changes and make the agent change separately, so do not try to fold one into the other.

We prepare and file the statement for clients who move to Mainstay, and the $25 passes through at cost. The Secretary of State notes that online transactions carry a payment processor fee and does not publish the amount, so an online filing may add a small charge on top of the $25.

An Illinois agent resigns on Form LLC-1.35, Resignation of Registered Agent, which costs $5, or $50 more to expedite. The agent has to mail a copy of the notice to the LLC at its principal office, by registered or certified mail, at least 10 days before the filing date. The resignation takes effect on the 30th day after filing, or on a later date if the agent chooses, and never sooner than 30 days after filing. Section 1-35(d) says a new registered agent must be placed on record within 60 days after the agent's notice of resignation.

If the LLC fails to appoint or maintain a registered agent, or the agent cannot with reasonable diligence be found at the registered office, the Secretary of State is the agent on whom process, notice or demand may be served.

Failing to maintain a registered agent is also a ground for administrative dissolution under 805 ILCS 180/35-25, alongside failing to file the annual report and pay its fee before the first day of the anniversary month. After a notice of delinquency, an agent default has to be corrected within 60 days following the notice. An annual report default gets 120 days. That is a short window if the notice goes to an address you no longer check.

The Illinois registered agent service is $149 a year, and the renewal is the same $149. The price pays for the agent and compliance reminders. Your annual report is due before the first day of your anniversary month, carries a $75 state fee and is not filed as part of this service. The $199 formation package takes care of it, along with the agent, the Articles of Organization and your EIN application.

The registered office on the public record becomes Mainstay's Illinois address. If your company is served, the papers are scanned and uploaded within the same business day, free. Government mailings in Illinois get three free scans a year, then a scan or shipping fee per piece. We do not offer free physical forwarding at any tier.

Legal advice is for your attorney, not us.