Missouri Registered Agent Service Under RSMo 347.030

Section 347.030 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri says each limited liability company "shall have and continuously maintain in this state" a registered office and a registered agent. The Corporations Division of the Secretary of State, in Jefferson City, keeps the record, and Form LLC 1, the Articles of Organization, names the registered agent and a Missouri address for the agent.

The agent is the party upon whom any process, notice or demand may be served, and under RSMo 347.033 service on the agent is lawful personal service on the LLC. When someone sues your LLC, they serve the agent.

This page describes LLCs, and Mainstay's agent service also covers corporations, LPs, LLPs and nonprofits.

The statute allows two kinds of agent. One is an individual, resident of this state, whose business office is identical with the registered office. The other is a domestic or foreign corporation authorized to do business in this state, and whose business office is identical with the registered office.

The LLC itself is not on that list, and Form Corp 59's instructions repeat the point by saying the entity may not act as its own agent. You can serve as an individual, name another Missouri resident or use a corporation that is authorized in Missouri and has an office in the state.

The statute also says the Secretary of State shall not be appointed as the resident agent for any LLC, apart from the fallback described below.

The Secretary of State's Articles form asks for the registered agent's name and Missouri address, and says it may not use a PO Box unless a street address is also provided. The Secretary of State's FAQ adds the same-city rule: a PO Box may be listed as a registered office address only if a physical street address in the same city is also listed.

The FAQ also says the registered office must be a physical location where the registered agent may be served process. It says an entity may not list the address of a retail mailing store, such as Mailboxes, Etc. or the UPS Store, as its registered office.

Your registered office does not have to be where you run the business. The statute says the registered office may be, but need not be, the same as a place of the LLC's business in the state.

If you are a Missouri resident and your business office can be the registered office, you can name yourself at no extra cost. The address becomes part of the public record, and a process server comes to it. If you travel, work in the field or keep irregular hours, you risk missing a delivery, and a missed service can lead to a default judgment without you knowing a suit was filed.

A commercial agent puts its own Missouri street address on the record instead of yours, so your home address stays off it.

The change filing is Form Corp 59, the Statement of Change of Registered Agent and/or Registered Office, last revised 01/2025. The form says there is a $10.00 fee. The new agent signs the form or attaches a separate written consent, so nobody can be listed without agreeing. Online, the filing asks for an uploaded letter of consent signed by the new agent, and the Secretary of State also publishes a Form RAC-1 consent that may be used. One form covers a new agent, a new office address or both.

The statement recites that the change was authorized by the LLC, and it is effective when the Secretary of State files it. An LLC has to change its registered agent if the agent's office becomes vacant for any reason or the agent becomes disqualified or incapacitated.

If you move to Mainstay, we prepare and file the Corp 59, and the $10 is passed through at cost. Keep the old agent until the new one shows on the record in the business entity search, and do not release the old agent first.

A Missouri registered agent resigns on Form LLC 6, the Statement of Resignation of Registered Agent of Limited Liability Company, which is filed with a $10 fee. The statement has to represent that the agent gave written notice of the resignation, with a copy of the statement, to the LLC. Under RSMo 347.030 it becomes effective 30 days after the Secretary of State receives it, or on the appointment of a new registered agent, whichever is earlier. So you have about a month to file the $10 Corp 59 naming a replacement.

If an LLC fails to appoint or maintain a registered agent, RSMo 347.033 lets process, notice or demand be served on an authorized person. If neither the agent nor an authorized person can be located with due diligence, service can be made on an organizer. If none of them can be located, the Secretary of State is automatically appointed as an agent while the default lasts.

The real danger is a default judgment. If someone sues your LLC and the papers go to an agent who has resigned or to an address you moved away from, the case can proceed before you learn it exists. Treat a resignation notice as urgent and file the Corp 59 naming a new, consenting agent.

Form LLC 1, the Articles of Organization, covers nine items. They are the name, the purpose, the registered agent's name and Missouri address, whether management is vested in managers or members, the events on which the LLC dissolves or the number of years it continues, the name and street address of each organizer, an optional series statement, an optional principal office and an effective date that is the date filed. All organizers must sign.

Filing costs $50 online and $105 on paper under the Secretary of State's fee schedule.

In Missouri the agent role costs $149 a year with Mainstay, and it renews at $149. Compliance reminders come with it. Missouri has no annual report to file, so there is no recurring state filing sitting outside the price. If we are also forming the company, the $199 formation package includes the agent and adds the Articles of Organization and your EIN application.

Mainstay's Missouri street address replaces yours on the public record. Anything served on your company is scanned and uploaded the same business day, at no charge. Each year the first three government mailings are scanned at no cost, and each one after that has a per-piece scan or shipping fee. No tier includes free physical forwarding.