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Kansas does not stop an LLC from serving as its own agent. The Kansas Secretary of State's filing instructions say the resident agent must be an individual, a business registered in Kansas, or the business itself. It is the person or business that receives legal documents such as subpoenas, court orders and summons for the company. The Articles of Organization (form DL, K.S.A. 17-7673) ask you to name the agent and the registered office. Our Kansas LLC guide covers formation, and the Kansas business guide covers the search.
Who counts as a resident agent?
Three choices. An individual. A business registered with the Kansas Secretary of State. Or the LLC being formed, acting for itself.
Compare that with states that bar the company from naming itself. In Kansas the instructions leave the door open. If you rely on that, make sure someone is actually at the registered office to take the papers. For the general pros and cons see the own-agent guide.
Can I name a company as the agent?
Yes, when the company is registered in Kansas. The state asks you to search for the legal name of that business, and the form requires the name to match identically the name on file. Even a small difference is a mismatch. The state gives its business search for this check.
For a foreign LLC applying to do business in Kansas, the same rules apply on the application form.
What is the registered office?
It is the Kansas address tied to the resident agent. The instructions say it must be an address where the agent may be regularly present. It must include the building number, street, city, state and zip code. A PO box is not accepted. The foreign application form adds that a street, rural route or highway is fine and a PO box is unacceptable.
Filed documents are public record, so the address you give is visible to anyone who looks. Pick an address you are happy to see on that record, and tell the state if it changes.
How do I change the agent or office?
Use the Secretary of State's change and amend pages, which sit next to register a business. The state asks registered entities to update the resident agent or registered office whenever the name or address changes. That duty goes with the information report, which is the other thing every registered entity must file.
The fee for a change is not in the pages we read in full. Look at the amount shown when you file online instead of relying on an old figure.
What happens if the agent is not kept current?
Kansas tells you plainly that legal papers go to the resident agent. If the person has moved or the address is wrong, a lawsuit can be served on an agent who cannot be found, and you may learn about it late.
Missing the information report is the other danger. After three months of delinquency the business forfeits. See annual report deadlines for dates, and service of process for how lawsuits begin.
What about an out-of-state LLC?
A foreign LLC registers with an application and pays $115 on paper. The application asks for the same two things: a resident agent and a registered office in Kansas. The instructions repeat that a business used as agent must be registered with the Secretary of State, and its name must match. See foreign LLC registration.
Where can I read the rules myself?
On the Articles of Organization instructions and the foreign application instructions. Both repeat the agent and office rules, so you can check them before you file. For paid agents, see registered agent services.