Illinois requires every LLC and corporation to keep a registered agent with an Illinois street address. You can be your own agent (The registered agent may be a natural person or a domestic/foreign entity authorized to transact..., full wording in the be-your-own-agent guide). Changing your agent costs $25 for an LLC and $25 for a corporation. The Annual Report is due before the first day of the anniversary (organization) month each year. If you have no agent: Administrative dissolution: failure to maintain a registered agent in the state is one of the enumerated grounds for administrative dissolution; the Secretary of State sends a Notice of Delinquency and, if not corrected within 90 days, issues a certificate of dissolution. 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 Illinois
- 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 Illinois street address to put on the form.
- File online. change the registered agent or registered office online (ilsos.gov LLC page), or complete Form LLC-1.36/1.37 Open apps.ilsos.gov
- Or file the paper form. Form LLC-1.36/1.37, Statement of Change of Registered Agent and/or Registered Office, from the Illinois Secretary of State, Department of Business Services. The mailing address is printed on the form. Open the Illinois filing office Direct PDF
- Pay the fee. Changing your agent costs $25 for an LLC and $25 for a corporation. Keep the confirmation; the new agent is effective when the state records it.
What a registered agent costs in Illinois
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 $25 fee | Break-even |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LegalZoom | $249 | $124 | $372 | $99 | month 3 |
| Registered Agents Inc | $200 | $75 | $225 | $50 | month 4 |
| ZenBusiness | $199 | $74 | $222 | $49 | month 5 |
| Harbor Compliance | $159 | $34 | $102 | $9 | month 9 |
| Bizee | $149 | $24 | $72 | $0 | month 13 |
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.
Illinois at a glance
Fees, forms and deadlines
| Item | Illinois |
|---|---|
| Filing office | Illinois Secretary of State, Department of Business Services ilsos.gov/departments/business-services/home.htmlSource: ilsos.gov/departments/business-services/agent-change/corpagentchange.h, read 2026-09-08 |
| Registered agent statute (LLC) | 805 ILCS 180/1-35Source: ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext.asp, read 2026-10-21 |
| Registered agent statute (corporation) | 805 ILCS 5/5.05Source: ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext.asp, read 2026-09-29 |
| Change of agent form | Form LLC-1.36/1.37, Statement of Change of Registered Agent and/or Registered Office (online filing available)Source: ilsos.gov/departments/business-services/agent-change/llcagentchange.ht, read 2026-09-09 |
| Change of agent fee, LLC | $25Source: ilsos.gov/departments/business-services/agent-change/llcagentchange.ht, read 2026-09-09 |
| Change of agent fee, corporation | $25Source: ilsos.gov/departments/business-services/agent-change/llcagentchange.ht, read 2026-09-09 |
| Annual Report due | before the first day of the anniversary (organization) month each year (administrative practice per Business Corporation Act of 1983 / LLC Act)Source: ilsos.gov/departments/business-services/annual-reports/llc-instruction, read 2026-09-08 |
| Annual report fee, LLC | $75Source: ilsos.gov/departments/business-services/annual-reports/llc-instruction, read 2026-09-08 |
| Annual report fee, corporation | $75Source: ilsos.gov/departments/business-services/annual-reports/llc-instruction, read 2026-09-08 |
| Late fee | $100Source: ilsos.gov/departments/business-services/annual-reports/llc-instruction, read 2026-09-08 |
| No agent on file | Administrative dissolution: failure to maintain a registered agent in the state is one of the enumerated grounds for administrative dissolution; the Secretary of State sends a Notice of Delinquency and, if not corrected within 90 days, issues a certificate of dissolution. 805 ILCS 5/12.35, 805 ILCS 5/12.40Source: law.justia.com/codes/illinois/2022/chapter-805/act-805-ilcs-5/article- (secondary source), read 2026-09-08 |
| Be your own agent | You can be your own agent (The registered agent may be a natural person or a domestic/foreign entity authorized to transact..., full wording in the be-your-own-agent guide)Source: ilsos.gov/departments/business-services/agent-change/corpagentchange.h, read 2026-09-08 |
What the statute says
an individual resident of this State or other person authorized to transact business in this State.
805 ILCS 180/1-35, read 2026-10-21
Each domestic corporation and each foreign corporation having authority to transact business in this State shall have and continuously maintain in this State: (a) A registered office ... (b) A registered agent
805 ILCS 180/1-35, read 2026-09-29
A registered agent is the person or company the state and the courts send legal papers to. The agent must have a street address in Illinois, not a PO box, and be available during business hours.
Annual report and what happens without an agent
The Annual Report is due before the first day of the anniversary (organization) month each year. Fee: $75 for an LLC, $75 for a corporation. Late fee: $100.
Without an agent on file: Administrative dissolution: failure to maintain a registered agent in the state is one of the enumerated grounds for administrative dissolution; the Secretary of State sends a Notice of Delinquency and, if not corrected within 90 days, issues a certificate of dissolution (805 ILCS 5/12.35, 805 ILCS 5/12.40).
Sources and dates
- https://www.ilsos.gov/departments/business-services/agent-change/corpagentchange.html, read 2026-09-08
- https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext.asp?DocName=080501800K1-35, read 2026-10-21
- https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext.asp?DocName=080500050K5.05, read 2026-09-29
- https://www.ilsos.gov/departments/business-services/agent-change/llcagentchange.html, read 2026-09-09
- https://www.ilsos.gov/departments/business-services/annual-reports/llc-instructions.html, read 2026-09-08
- https://law.justia.com/codes/illinois/2022/chapter-805/act-805-ilcs-5/article-12/, read 2026-09-08
- 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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