California requires every LLC and corporation to keep a registered agent with a California street address. You can be your own agent (an individual who is a resident of California, or a registered corporate agent under Section 1505;..., full wording in the be-your-own-agent guide). Changing your agent costs $0 for an LLC and $0 for a corporation. The Statement of Information is due within 90 days of registration, then every year (corporations) or every 2 years (LLCs). If you have no agent: A business entity's powers, rights and privileges, including the right to use its name, can be suspended or forfeited by the Secretary of State, for example for failing to file the Statement of Information that names the agent. Hiring an agent costs $125 to $249 a year at renewal on the providers' own sites, read 2026-09-28; first-year offers run lower.
How to change your registered agent in California
- Choose the new agent. Name yourself if you meet the rule in the facts table, or hire a service from the price table below; they give you their California street address to put on the form.
- File online. file the Statement of Information online at bizfileOnline; the agent change is part of that filing (SOS FAQ) Open bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov
- Or file the paper form. Statement of Information (Form LLC-12) / Form LLC-12R, from the California Secretary of State, Business Programs Division. The mailing address is printed on the form. Open the California filing office Direct PDF
- Pay the fee. Changing your agent costs $0 for an LLC and $0 for a corporation. Keep the confirmation; the new agent is effective when the state records it.
What a registered agent costs in California
Yearly fee from each provider's own site on the date shown: what a new customer pays the first year, and what it renews at. Sorted by renewal price, because that is what you pay every year after. Links marked "affiliate link" pay us a commission; the other names link straight to the provider, listed on the same terms. Best is not always the one we earn from, and we say which is which.
| Provider | First year | Renews at | Terms, our dated note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Registered Agentaffiliate link | $125 | $125 | Same price every year, per its page; $100 a year per state for five or more states Read on the provider's site 2026-09-28 |
| Bizeeaffiliate link | $149 | $149 | 149 per year standalone or on renewal; first year free only with a Bizee formation Read on the provider's site 2026-09-28 |
| Harbor Complianceaffiliate link | $99 | $159 | Renews at 159 per year after the first; 3 years paid up front cost 297 Read on the provider's site 2026-09-28 |
| ZenBusiness | $99 | $199 | Renews at 199 per year Read on the provider's site 2026-09-28 |
| Registered Agents Inc | $200 | $200 | 200 a year, annual report filing included, per its page Read on the provider's site 2026-09-28 |
| LegalZoom | $249 | $249 | Auto-renews; renewal rate subject to change, per its page Read on the provider's site 2026-09-28 |
What switching to the cheapest renewal saves
| If you renew with | Renews at | Saved per year | Over 3 years | First year, after the $0 fee | Break-even |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LegalZoom | $249 | $124 | $372 | $124 | at once |
| Registered Agents Inc | $200 | $75 | $225 | $75 | at once |
| ZenBusiness | $199 | $74 | $222 | $74 | at once |
| Harbor Compliance | $159 | $34 | $102 | $34 | at once |
| Bizee | $149 | $24 | $72 | $24 | at once |
Compared with Northwest Registered Agent at $125 a year, prices read 2026-09-28. Switching costs the state change fee shown above, once.
Three-year totals and every price change we have seen: the cost page.
Type your current renewal price to see the saving, what the state fee leaves the first year, and the break-even month.
Switch to Northwest Registered Agent, $125 a year Affiliate link, same price as on their site.
Advertising disclosure. Some provider names on this page are links to that provider's site through an affiliate network. If you buy through one of those links we may earn a commission. The price you pay does not change. Links to providers we have no agreement with go straight to their site; every provider is ranked by the same rules. Disclosed under the US FTC Endorsement Guides and the Norwegian Marketing Control Act. A Northwest Registered Agent affiliate.
California at a glance
Fees, forms and deadlines
| Item | California |
|---|---|
| Filing office | California Secretary of State, Business Programs Division sos.ca.gov/business-programs/business-entitiesSource: sos.ca.gov/business-programs/business-entities/service-process, read 2026-09-08 |
| Registered agent statute (LLC) | Cal. Corp. Code 17701.13Source: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml, read 2026-09-08 |
| Registered agent statute (corporation) | Cal. Corp. Code 1502Source: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml, read 2026-10-21 |
| Change of agent form | Statement of Information (Form LLC-12) / Form LLC-12R (online filing available)Source: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml, read 2026-09-29 |
| Change of agent fee, LLC | $0Source: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml, read 2026-09-29 |
| Change of agent fee, corporation | $0Source: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml, read 2026-09-29 |
| Annual report due | within 90 days of registration, then every year (corporations) or every 2 years (LLCs) (corporations file within 90 days of incorporation and annually thereafter; LLCs file within 90 days of formation and every 2 years thereafter)Source: sos.ca.gov/business-programs/business-entities/faqs, read 2026-09-29 |
| Annual report fee, LLC | $20Source: sos.ca.gov/business-programs/business-entities/faqs, read 2026-09-29 |
| Annual report fee, corporation | $25Source: sos.ca.gov/business-programs/business-entities/faqs, read 2026-09-29 |
| Late fee | $250Source: sos.ca.gov/business-programs/business-entities/faqs, read 2026-09-29 |
| No agent on file | A business entity's powers, rights and privileges, including the right to use its name, can be suspended or forfeited by the Secretary of State, for example for failing to file the Statement of Information that names the agent SOS FAQ, suspended/forfeited entitiesSource: sos.ca.gov/business-programs/business-entities/faqs, read 2026-09-08 |
| Be your own agent | You can be your own agent (an individual who is a resident of California, or a registered corporate agent under Section 1505;..., full wording in the be-your-own-agent guide)Source: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml, read 2026-09-08 |
What the statute says
In order to change its agent for service of process or the address of the agent, the corporation must file a current statement containing all the information required by subdivisions (a) and (b). When
Cal. Corp. Code 1502, read 2026-10-21
the agent for service of process of a limited liability company shall be an individual who is a resident of this state or a corporation that has complied with Section 1505
Cal. Corp. Code 17701.13, read 2026-09-08
A registered agent is the person or company the state and the courts send legal papers to. In California the statute calls this role the agent for service of process; it is the same thing as a registered agent. The agent must have a street address in California, not a PO box, and be available during business hours.
Annual report and what happens without an agent
The Statement of Information is due within 90 days of registration, then every year (corporations) or every 2 years (LLCs). Fee: $20 for an LLC, $25 for a corporation. Late fee: $250.
Without an agent on file: A business entity's powers, rights and privileges, including the right to use its name, can be suspended or forfeited by the Secretary of State, for example for failing to file the Statement of Information that names the agent (SOS FAQ, suspended/forfeited entities).
Sources and dates
- https://www.sos.ca.gov/business-programs/business-entities/service-process, read 2026-09-08
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CORP§ionNum=17701.13, read 2026-09-08
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CORP§ionNum=1502., read 2026-10-21
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=GOV§ionNum=12190, read 2026-09-29
- https://www.sos.ca.gov/business-programs/business-entities/faqs, read 2026-09-29
- https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/registered-agent, read 2026-09-28
- https://www.registeredagentsinc.com/registered-agent/, read 2026-09-28
- https://www.harborcompliance.com/registered-agent-service, read 2026-09-28
- https://bizee.com/business-management/registered-agent, read 2026-09-28
- https://www.zenbusiness.com/registered-agent-service/, read 2026-09-28
- https://www.legalzoom.com/business/business-operations/registered-agent-overview.html, read 2026-09-28
Other states
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