Louisiana Registered Agent Service and the Notarized Acceptance

R.S. 12:1308 uses the terms registered agent and registered office, and it goes further than most states do: the registered office "shall be considered the domicile of the limited liability company for all purposes." That makes the address more than a place for mail. It is where the company is treated as living.

The Secretary of State's Commercial Division in Baton Rouge keeps the record. The agent is named in the Initial Report, Form 973, which has to be filed together with the Articles of Organization on Form 365. The Articles cannot be accepted for filing without it. Fees rose on October 1, 2026, and the Articles now cost $125, up from $100, with a $5 statutory convenience fee on card payments. The annual report states the registered office, each agent and each manager or member, and can be filed on geauxBIZ, by fax or by mail.

Service of process on the LLC can be made on its agent, and the Secretary of State's FAQ says the agent has an obligation to forward the legal documents to the business. The one state notice the statute sends to the agent is the written notice, at least 30 days before revocation, to an LLC that has missed three consecutive annual reports. The statute quoted here is for LLCs, and the same agent service is open to corporations, LPs, LLPs and nonprofits.

Louisiana requires at least one agent and gives two routes. One is a citizen of the state who resides in this state. The Secretary of State's FAQ says that can be almost anyone of legal age and a legal resident of Louisiana, including an organizer, a member, an employee, an attorney or an accountant.

The other is an organization. That means a partnership or professional law corporation authorized to practice law in Louisiana, or a domestic corporation, domestic LLC, foreign corporation or foreign LLC authorized to transact business in the state. An organization must have on file with the Secretary of State a certificate naming at least two individuals at its address in Louisiana, each authorized to receive process.

Members and managers of the LLC do not have to live in Louisiana, so long as the agent does. The statute neither lists nor bars the LLC naming itself.

The Initial Report asks for the registered office and each agent's municipal address, and it says not a post office box only. The Secretary of State's FAQ says an agent's name and address are publicly available and displayed on its website.

Acceptance is formal. The Initial Report is filed with a notarized affidavit of acknowledgment and acceptance signed by each of its registered agents, and any change of registered agent must also be accompanied by a notarized affidavit signed by the new agent.

So you cannot appoint a friend by telephone. The friend needs a notary. That is the step people forget when they change agents later.

A Louisiana resident with a municipal address can serve as their own agent. The address becomes public, since the Secretary of State displays agent names and addresses on its website. The agent is also where the 30-day revocation notice goes, so if that is you, you manage the deadlines.

A Louisiana law partnership or professional law corporation can also serve, if it has the required certificate on file.

A commercial agent puts its own Louisiana address on the record as the agent and registered office in place of yours. The Initial Report and the annual report still list each manager or member with a municipal address, so the agent does not keep those off the record.

The change filing is Form 983. Since October 1, 2026, when Act 921 of the 2026 Regular Legislative Session raised the Commercial Division's fees, it costs $30, up from $25. Card payments carry a statutory convenience fee of $5. The filing can go through geauxBIZ or on paper, a manager or member signs it, and the new agent must sign the notarized affidavit of acknowledgment and acceptance. It takes effect when the Secretary of State accepts it for record. Expedited handling costs $35 for 24 hours or $60 for 2 to 4 hours.

If your annual report is due or past due, the Secretary of State's FAQ says you may also make these changes on the annual report.

We prepare and file Form 983 when you move to Mainstay, with the $30 passed through at cost. Our own notarized acceptance goes with it. Check the Louisiana commercial name search afterward to confirm the new agent and registered office show correctly.

Under R.S. 12:1308(E), an agent may resign, but the resignation is effective only by providing written notice to the LLC and the Secretary of State. If the agent resigns, a successor has to be appointed within 30 days of the resignation. The forms page and the October 2026 fee schedule list no separate resignation form or fee.

If the LLC has failed to designate an agent, there is no agent because of death, resignation or removal, or the server certifies that the agent cannot be served after due diligence, Code of Civil Procedure article 1266 allows service on any manager, any member, or an employee of suitable age and discretion at a place where the business is regularly conducted. Failing that, article 1267 allows service on the Secretary of State, who forwards the citation.

If no statement of change is filed within 30 days after the registered office has been vacated, anyone other than the LLC itself may treat the Secretary of State's office as the registered office. And an LLC that misses annual reports for three consecutive years can be revoked after the Secretary of State mails notice to its last designated registered agent at least 30 days beforehand, which is why a stale agent address is dangerous.

The agent role costs $149 a year with Mainstay, and the same $149 at renewal. It comes with compliance reminders. Your annual report is due on or before the anniversary date of organization every year and is not filed as part of this service. The $199 formation package files it, together with the agent, the Articles of Organization, the Initial Report and your EIN application.

Louisiana's registered office becomes Mainstay's address. Anything served on your company is scanned and uploaded the same business day, free of charge. The first three government mailings each year are scanned at no cost, and each one after that has a per-piece scan or shipping fee. We do not give free physical forwarding on any tier.