Massachusetts requires every LLC and corporation to keep a registered agent with a Massachusetts street address. You can be your own agent (For an LLC, the resident agent 'must be an individual resident of the commonwealth, a domestic..., full wording under the statute below). Changing your agent costs $25 for an LLC and $25 for a corporation. The annual report due date is not published on the page we read. If you have no agent: The penalty is not stated on the pages we read. Hiring an agent costs $125 to $249 a year at renewal on the providers' own sites, read 2026-09-08; first-year offers run lower.
This page is general information, not legal advice. State fees, forms and deadlines change. Every fact is quoted from the state filing office or statute with the date we read it. Confirm on the official page before you file. Terms of use.
How to change your registered agent in Massachusetts
Three steps. Most owners finish online in under fifteen minutes.
- Choose the new agent. You can be your own agent (For an LLC, the resident agent 'must be an individual resident of the commonwealth, a domestic..., full wording under the statute below). Or hire a service from the price table below; they give you their Massachusetts street address to put on the form.
- File online. 'File Online' link confirmed on the cached corporations.htm menu page: https://corp.sec.state.ma.us/corpweb/loginsystem/externallogin.aspx. Filing fee is $0 (no fee) if filed electronically vs. $25 paper/fax, per both the filing-fees page and the form PDF. Open corp.sec.state.ma.us
- Or file the paper form. Statement of Change of Resident Agent/Resident Office (LLC form CFDLLCAGENTOFFICE); corporations file a separate Certificate of Appointment of Resident Agent, from the Secretary of the Commonwealth, Corporations Division. Mail it to: Secretary of the Commonwealth, Corporations Division, One Ashburton Place, Room 1717, Boston, Massachusetts 02108-1512 (checks payable to Commonwealth of Massachusetts). Open the Massachusetts 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.
Mail or visit: Secretary of the Commonwealth, Corporations Division, One Ashburton Place, Room 1717, Boston, Massachusetts 02108-1512 (checks payable to Commonwealth of Massachusetts) Open in maps
What a registered agent costs in Massachusetts
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. "No link" means we have no agreement with that provider; it is 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 and what is included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Registered Agentno link, no agreement | $125 | $125 | Same price every year, per its page
|
| Harbor Complianceno link, no agreement | $99 | $149 | Renews at 149 per year after the first
|
| Bizeeno link, no agreement | $149 | $149 | 149 per year standalone or on renewal; first year free only with a bizee formation
|
| ZenBusinessno link, no agreement | $99 | $199 | Renews at 199 per year
|
| LegalZoomno link, no agreement | $249 | $249 | Auto-renews; renewal rate subject to change, per its page
|
What switching to the cheapest renewal saves
| If you renew with | Renews at | Saved per year | Over 3 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| LegalZoom | $249 | $124 | $372 |
| ZenBusiness | $199 | $74 | $222 |
| Harbor Compliance | $149 | $24 | $72 |
| Bizee | $149 | $24 | $72 |
Compared with Northwest Registered Agent at $125 a year, prices read 2026-09-08. Switching costs the state change fee shown above, once.
Type your current renewal price to see the saving.
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. Providers we have no agreement with are listed without a link and ranked by the same rules. Disclosed under the US FTC Endorsement Guides and the Norwegian Marketing Control Act.
Massachusetts at a glance
Fees, forms and deadlines
What the statute says
Each limited liability company shall have and maintain in the commonwealth: (1) an office ... and (2) a resident agent for service of process on the limited liability company, which agent must be an individual resident of the commonwealth, a domestic corporation, or a foreign corporation authorized to do business in the commonwealth.
M.G.L. c. 156C, § 5, read 2026-09-08
A registered agent is the person or company the state and the courts send legal papers to. In Massachusetts the statute calls this role the resident agent; it is the same thing as a registered agent. The agent must have a street address in Massachusetts, not a PO box, and be available during business hours. You can be your own agent (For an LLC, the resident agent 'must be an individual resident of the commonwealth, a domestic..., full wording under the statute below).
Annual report and what happens without an agent
The annual report due date is not published on the page we read. Fee: $500 for an LLC, $125 for a corporation. Late fee: $150.
Without an agent on file: The penalty is not stated on the pages we read. In practice that means missed lawsuits and a company that can lose its good standing.
Sources and dates
- https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/corporations/corporations.htm, read 2026-09-08
- https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXXII/Chapter156C/Section5, read 2026-09-08
- https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/corporations/general-information/corporations-filing-fees.htm, read 2026-09-08
- https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/registered-agent, read 2026-09-08
- https://www.harborcompliance.com/registered-agent-service, read 2026-09-08
- https://bizee.com/business-management/registered-agent, read 2026-09-08
- https://www.zenbusiness.com/registered-agent-service/, read 2026-09-08
- https://www.legalzoom.com/business/business-operations/registered-agent-overview.html, read 2026-09-08
This page is general information, not legal advice. State fees, forms and deadlines change. Every fact is quoted from the state filing office or statute with the date we read it. Confirm on the official page before you file.
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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. Providers we have no agreement with are listed without a link and ranked by the same rules. Disclosed under the US FTC Endorsement Guides and the Norwegian Marketing Control Act.