Delaware requires every LLC and corporation to keep a registered agent with a Delaware street address. You can be your own agent ("Every corporation shall have and maintain in this State a registered agent, which agent may be any..., full wording in the be-your-own-agent guide). Changing your agent costs $50 for an LLC and $50 for a corporation. The LLC/LP/GP: flat Annual Tax, no report filed; Corporation: Annual Franchise Tax Report is due LLC annual tax on or before June 1; corporation annual franchise tax report March 1. If you have no agent: Upon the entry of an order by the Court of Chancery enjoining a person or entity from acting as a registered agent, the Secretary of State mails notice to each affected corporation. If a domestic corporation fails to obtain and designate a new registered agent within 30 days after that notice, the Secretary shall declare the corporation's charter forfeited; if a foreign corporation, the Secretary shall forfeit its qualification to do business in the state. If no new registered agent is designated in that time, service of legal process against the corporation is thereafter made upon the Secretary of State. 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.
Changes in Delaware
- From 2026-01-01 · checked 2026-10-07Delaware's LLC annual tax is $400 from the 2026 tax yearLLC annual tax: $300 to $400.
Every change we have recorded, all states: What changed.
How to change your registered agent in Delaware
- 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 Delaware street address to put on the form.
- Or file the paper form. Certificate of Amendment Changing Only the Registered Office/Agent of Limited Liability Company, from the Delaware Division of Corporations. Mail it to: Delaware Division of Corporations, 401 Federal Street – Suite 4, Dover, DE 19901. Open the Delaware filing office Direct PDF
- Pay the fee. Changing your agent costs $50 for an LLC and $50 for a corporation. Keep the confirmation; the new agent is effective when the state records it.
What a registered agent costs in Delaware
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 $50 fee | Break-even |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LegalZoom | $249 | $124 | $372 | $74 | month 5 |
| Registered Agents Inc | $200 | $75 | $225 | $25 | month 8 |
| ZenBusiness | $199 | $74 | $222 | $24 | month 9 |
| Harbor Compliance | $159 | $34 | $102 | $0 | month 18 |
| Bizee | $149 | $24 | $72 | $0 | month 25 |
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.
Delaware at a glance
Fees, forms and deadlines
| Item | Delaware |
|---|---|
| Filing office | Delaware Division of Corporations corp.delaware.gov/Source: corp.delaware.gov/agents/, read 2026-09-09 |
| Registered agent statute (LLC) | 6 Del. C. § 18-104Source: delcode.delaware.gov/title6/c018/sc01/index.html, read 2026-09-14 |
| Registered agent statute (corporation) | 8 Del. C. § 132Source: law.justia.com/codes/delaware/title-8/chapter-1/subchapter-iii/section (secondary source), read 2026-09-09 |
| Change of agent form | Certificate of Amendment Changing Only the Registered Office/Agent of Limited Liability CompanySource: corpfiles.delaware.gov/LLC_Forms/LLCAmendCOA.pdf, read 2026-09-14 |
| Change of agent fee, LLC | $50Source: corpfiles.delaware.gov/LLC_Forms/LLCAmendCOA.pdf, read 2026-09-14 |
| Change of agent fee, corporation | $50Source: corpfiles.delaware.gov/LLC_Forms/LLCAmendCOA.pdf, read 2026-09-14 |
| Annual report due | LLC annual tax on or before June 1; corporation annual franchise tax report March 1 ("LLCs, LPs, and GPs are not required to file Annual Franchise Tax reports with the Division of Corporations, they must pay the $400 yearly tax on or before June 1st." "Annual taxes are assessed if the entity is active in the records of the Division of Corporations anytime during January 1st through December 31st of the current tax year.")Source: corp.delaware.gov/alt-entitytaxinstructions, read 2026-10-21 |
| Annual report fee, LLC | $400Source: corp.delaware.gov/alt-entitytaxinstructions, read 2026-10-21 |
| Annual report fee, corporation | not confirmedSource: corp.delaware.gov/alt-entitytaxinstructions, read 2026-10-21 |
| Late fee | $200 (plus 1.5% interest a month on tax and penalty (LLC annual tax))Source: corp.delaware.gov/alt-entitytaxinstructions, read 2026-10-21 |
| No agent on file | Upon the entry of an order by the Court of Chancery enjoining a person or entity from acting as a registered agent, the Secretary of State mails notice to each affected corporation. If a domestic corporation fails to obtain and designate a new registered agent within 30 days after that notice, the Secretary shall declare the corporation's charter forfeited; if a foreign corporation, the Secretary shall forfeit its qualification to do business in the state. If no new registered agent is designated in that time, service of legal process against the corporation is thereafter made upon the Secretary of State. 8 Del. C. § 132(f)(4); § 321Source: law.justia.com/codes/delaware/title-8/chapter-1/subchapter-iii/section (secondary source), read 2026-09-09 |
| Be your own agent | You can be your own agent ("Every corporation shall have and maintain in this State a registered agent, which agent may be any..., full wording in the be-your-own-agent guide)Source: law.justia.com/codes/delaware/title-8/chapter-1/subchapter-iii/section (secondary source), read 2026-09-09 |
What the statute says
Each limited liability company shall have and maintain in the State of Delaware: (1) A registered office, which may but need not be a place of its business in the State of Delaware; and (2) A registered agent for service of process on the limited liability company, having a business office identical with such registered office, which agent may be any of: a. The limited liability company itself, b. An individual resident in the State of Delaware;
6 Del. C. § 18-104, read 2026-09-14
Every corporation shall have and maintain in this State a registered agent, which agent may be any of: (1) The corporation itself; (2) An individual resident in this State;
8 Del. C. § 132, read 2026-09-09
A registered agent is the person or company the state and the courts send legal papers to. In Delaware 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 Delaware, not a PO box, and be available during business hours.
Annual report and what happens without an agent
The LLC/LP/GP: flat Annual Tax, no report filed; Corporation: Annual Franchise Tax Report is due LLC annual tax on or before June 1; corporation annual franchise tax report March 1. Fee: $400 for an LLC, not confirmed for a corporation. Late fee: $200 (plus 1.5% interest a month on tax and penalty (LLC annual tax)).
Without an agent on file: Upon the entry of an order by the Court of Chancery enjoining a person or entity from acting as a registered agent, the Secretary of State mails notice to each affected corporation. If a domestic corporation fails to obtain and designate a new registered agent within 30 days after that notice, the Secretary shall declare the corporation's charter forfeited; if a foreign corporation, the Secretary shall forfeit its qualification to do business in the state. If no new registered agent is designated in that time, service of legal process against the corporation is thereafter made upon the Secretary of State (8 Del. C. § 132(f)(4); § 321).
Sources and dates
- https://corp.delaware.gov/agents/, read 2026-09-09
- https://delcode.delaware.gov/title6/c018/sc01/index.html, read 2026-09-14
- https://law.justia.com/codes/delaware/title-8/chapter-1/subchapter-iii/section-132/, read 2026-09-09
- https://corpfiles.delaware.gov/LLC_Forms/LLCAmendCOA.pdf, read 2026-09-14
- https://corp.delaware.gov/alt-entitytaxinstructions, read 2026-10-21
- 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
Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming