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Louisiana is relaxed about who can be a registered agent. The Secretary of State's FAQ says the agent can be "almost anyone of legal age and a legal resident of Louisiana". It adds that every business registration needs an agent with a physical address in the state. If you live in Louisiana, you can usually name yourself. Our Louisiana business guide covers searching the records.
Who can serve as an agent in Louisiana?
The state gives a short list of examples. An agent can be:
- an organizer of the business
- a member of an LLC
- an employee of the business
- an attorney
- an accountant
The list is not closed. The test is age, legal residency and a physical Louisiana address. The FAQ does not require a person to hold a license or a special title.
What does the agent do? The Secretary of State says the agent is the person designated to receive legal documents served on the business in an administrative or legal action. The agent has an obligation to forward those documents to the business. Read more about that in our service of process guide.
Do I need a street address?
The state says "physical address". Use a street address where someone can take papers during the day. The FAQ does not say anything about P.O. boxes, so we cannot tell you how the office treats one. Do not guess. Pick a real address.
What if I am not in Louisiana?
You still need a Louisiana agent. The FAQ says foreign businesses may need to employ a business that supplies agent services. You can send the Secretary of State a message to ask for a list of service companies registered in Louisiana. We do not rank or recommend any of them. Our registered agent services page explains what to compare, and LLC for non-residents covers the wider picture.
How do I change a Louisiana registered agent?
You add or delete an agent by filing the Change of Registered Office or Agent form. The fee schedule lists the filing for a Louisiana LLC at $30. You can file online, by mail or by fax, or at the Baton Rouge counter.
Your annual report offers a shortcut. The FAQ says that if the report is due or past due, you can make the change on the annual report filing. The report itself is $35.
Check your record after the filing posts to confirm the new agent shows.
Can the public see my agent?
Yes. The FAQ says the agent's name and address are publicly available and shown on the Secretary of State's website. The ordering page says the registered agent's name and address can be printed from the Commercial Database. Our registered agent lookup guide shows how to read a record.
What if the agent quits or the company has none?
The pages we read do not set out a resignation form or a deadline for naming a new agent, so we are not going to invent one. What the state does say is that every registration requires an agent. Treat a missing agent as urgent.
A separate warning applies to the annual report. If you get a Notice of Intent to Revoke, you have 30 days from the date on the notice to file the report. Otherwise the charter is revoked. Keep your agent's mail address current so the notice reaches someone.
If you want to be your own agent and weigh the privacy trade-off, see being your own registered agent. To form the company itself, read the Louisiana LLC guide.