Texas Registered Agent Rules and Requirements

Every Texas LLC must designate a registered agent under Tex. Bus. Orgs. Code § 5.201, and you name that agent on the Certificate of Formation, Form 205, as part of the formation process. The agent is who the state and the courts deliver documents to on your LLC's behalf: service of process in a lawsuit, Secretary of State notices, and Comptroller correspondence. If those documents go undelivered because the agent arrangement is broken, your LLC can lose a lawsuit it never heard about.

Who Can Serve Under § 5.201

The registered agent must be one of the following:

• An individual who is a resident of Texas, or
• A domestic entity, or a foreign entity registered to do business in Texas

Two disqualifications worth stating plainly. First, the filing entity cannot act as its own registered agent; the official Form 401 instructions say exactly that, so this is not vendor folklore. An individual member or manager who is a Texas resident can serve, but the LLC as an entity cannot name itself. Second, the Texas Secretary of State cannot be designated as the agent.

Consent Is Required (§ 5.207)

Texas does not let you volunteer someone. Under § 5.202 and § 5.207, the person or entity you designate must have consented to serve, in a written or electronic form, before the designation is effective. Naming an agent who has not agreed to the job invites rejected filings and real service-of-process problems later.

The Registered Office Address Standard

The registered office under § 5.201 must be a street address where the agent may be personally served with process during normal business hours. It does not have to be the LLC's principal place of business, but the statute is explicit about what it cannot be: the registered office "may not be solely a mailbox service or telephone answering service." A rented mailbox, a PO box, or a phone-forwarding setup fails the standard because nobody can be handed papers there.

Whatever address goes on the filing becomes public record in the state's SOSDirect database, which is the main reason owners think twice before listing a home address.

Changing Your Texas Registered Agent (§ 5.202)

Agent and office changes are made with the Secretary of State, not on any Comptroller filing. File Form 401, the Statement of Change of Registered Office/Agent. The fee is $15 for an LLC; the $5 rate on the same form applies only to nonprofit corporations and cooperative associations. The new agent must have consented just like the original one. Steps are in our change agent guide.

Our Texas Registered Agent Service

We serve as registered agent for Texas LLCs for $99 per year: a Texas street address that meets the § 5.201 office standard, someone present during business hours to accept service, same-day document forwarding, and reminders before the Comptroller's May 15 deadline. Form your LLC through us ($199 plus the state fee) and the first year of agent service is included, renewing at $99 per year.

Order Here

FAQ

Can my LLC be its own registered agent in Texas?

No. The Form 401 instructions state that the filing entity cannot act as its own registered agent. A Texas-resident individual connected to the LLC, such as a member or manager, may serve personally, but the entity itself may not.

Can I use a PO box or mail-forwarding store as the registered office?

No. The registered office must be a street address where the agent can be personally served during normal business hours, and it may not be solely a mailbox service or telephone answering service.

Does my registered agent have to sign anything?

The designated agent must have consented to serve in a written or electronic form under § 5.207. Keep that consent with your records; the designation depends on it.

Can a non-resident be a Texas registered agent?

An individual agent must be a Texas resident. A non-resident owner's route is to designate either a Texas-resident individual or an entity registered to do business in Texas, which is what our $99 per year service provides.