Iowa requires every LLC and corporation to keep a registered agent with an Iowa street address. You can be your own agent (An owner or employee of a company may act as the registered agent so long as the individual resides..., full wording in the be-your-own-agent guide). Changing your agent costs $0 for an LLC and $0 for a corporation. The Biennial Report is due April 1. If you have no agent: The state may begin administrative dissolution proceedings against an LLC or corporation that lacks a registered agent for 60 days or more. 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 Iowa
- 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 Iowa street address to put on the form.
- File online. (Fast Track Filing portal link could not be reached from our checks on 2026-09-08; start at the Secretary of State site) Open sos.iowa.gov
- Or file the paper form. Change of Registered Agent or Office (Fast Track Filing), from the Iowa Secretary of State. The mailing address is printed on the form. Open the Iowa filing office
- 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 Iowa
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.
Iowa at a glance
Fees, forms and deadlines
| Item | Iowa |
|---|---|
| Filing office | Iowa Secretary of State sos.iowa.gov/Source: sos.iowa.gov/businesses/business-entity-forms-and-fees, read 2026-09-08 |
| Registered agent statute (LLC) | Iowa Code § 489.115(1)Source: legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/489.115.pdf, read 2026-10-21 |
| Registered agent statute (corporation) | Iowa Code § 490.501(1)Source: legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/490.501.pdf, read 2026-09-29 |
| Change of agent form | Change of Registered Agent or Office (Fast Track Filing) (online filing available)Source: sos.iowa.gov/businesses/business-entity-forms-and-fees, read 2026-09-08 |
| Change of agent fee, LLC | $0Source: sos.iowa.gov/businesses/business-entity-forms-and-fees, read 2026-09-08 |
| Change of agent fee, corporation | $0Source: sos.iowa.gov/businesses/business-entity-forms-and-fees, read 2026-09-08 |
| Biennial Report due | April 1 (Profit Corporations: every even-numbered year, beginning January 1 and due by April 1. LLCs, LLPs, and Nonprofit Corporations: every odd-numbered year, beginning January 1 and due by April 1.)Source: sos.iowa.gov/businesses/business-entity-forms-and-fees, read 2026-09-08 |
| Annual report fee, LLC | $30Source: sos.iowa.gov/businesses/business-entity-forms-and-fees, read 2026-09-08 |
| Annual report fee, corporation | $60Source: sos.iowa.gov/businesses/business-entity-forms-and-fees, read 2026-09-08 |
| Late fee | not confirmedSource: sos.iowa.gov/businesses/business-entity-forms-and-fees, read 2026-09-08 |
| No agent on file | The state may begin administrative dissolution proceedings against an LLC or corporation that lacks a registered agent for 60 days or more. Iowa Code ch. 489, ch. 490 (administrative dissolution provisions)Source: law.justia.com/codes/iowa/title-xii/chapter-490/section-490-501/ (secondary source), read 2026-09-08 |
| Be your own agent | You can be your own agent (An owner or employee of a company may act as the registered agent so long as the individual resides..., full wording in the be-your-own-agent guide)Source: help.sos.iowa.gov/what-registered-agent, read 2026-09-08 |
What the statute says
1. Each limited liability company and each registered foreign limited liability company shall designate and maintain a registered agent in this state.
Iowa Code § 489.115(1), read 2026-10-21
Each limited liability company and each registered foreign limited liability company shall designate and maintain a registered agent in this state.
Iowa Code § 490.501(1), 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 Iowa, not a PO box, and be available during business hours.
Annual report and what happens without an agent
The Biennial Report is due April 1. Fee: $30 for an LLC, $60 for a corporation. Late fee: not confirmed.
Without an agent on file: The state may begin administrative dissolution proceedings against an LLC or corporation that lacks a registered agent for 60 days or more (Iowa Code ch. 489, ch. 490 (administrative dissolution provisions)).
Sources and dates
- https://sos.iowa.gov/businesses/business-entity-forms-and-fees, read 2026-09-08
- https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/489.115.pdf, read 2026-10-21
- https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/490.501.pdf, read 2026-09-29
- https://law.justia.com/codes/iowa/title-xii/chapter-490/section-490-501/, read 2026-09-08
- https://help.sos.iowa.gov/what-registered-agent, 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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