North Carolina requires every LLC and corporation to keep a registered agent with a North Carolina street address. You can be your own agent (the registered agent must be an individual who resides in the state with a business office..., full wording in the be-your-own-agent guide). Changing your agent costs $5 for an LLC and $5 for a corporation. The Annual Report is due April 15. If you have no agent: The Secretary of State may administratively dissolve an LLC if it has not paid fees within 60 days after they are due, does not deliver its annual report within 60 days after it is due, or has been without a registered agent or registered office 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 North Carolina
- 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 North Carolina street address to put on the form.
- Or file the paper form. Statement of Change of Registered Office and/or Registered Agent (Form BE-06), from the North Carolina Secretary of State, Business Registration Division. The mailing address is printed on the form. Open the North Carolina filing office Direct PDF
- Pay the fee. Changing your agent costs $5 for an LLC and $5 for a corporation. Keep the confirmation; the new agent is effective when the state records it.
What a registered agent costs in North Carolina
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 $5 fee | Break-even |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LegalZoom | $249 | $124 | $372 | $119 | month 1 |
| Registered Agents Inc | $200 | $75 | $225 | $70 | month 1 |
| ZenBusiness | $199 | $74 | $222 | $69 | month 1 |
| Harbor Compliance | $159 | $34 | $102 | $29 | month 2 |
| Bizee | $149 | $24 | $72 | $19 | month 3 |
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.
North Carolina at a glance
Fees, forms and deadlines
| Item | North Carolina |
|---|---|
| Filing office | North Carolina Secretary of State, Business Registration Division sosnc.govSource: sosnc.gov/forms, read 2026-09-08 |
| Registered agent statute (LLC) | N.C.G.S. § 57D-2-40Source: ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_57D/GS_57, read 2026-10-21 |
| Registered agent statute (corporation) | N.C.G.S. § 55D-30Source: ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/PDF/BySection/Chapter_55D/GS_55D, read 2026-09-29 |
| Change of agent form | Statement of Change of Registered Office and/or Registered Agent (Form BE-06) (online filing available)Source: sosnc.gov/forms, read 2026-09-08 |
| Change of agent fee, LLC | $5Source: sosnc.gov/forms, read 2026-09-08 |
| Change of agent fee, corporation | $5Source: sosnc.gov/forms, read 2026-09-08 |
| Annual Report due | April 15 (due annually by April 15 following the calendar year of formation, per sources citing sosnc.gov)Source: sosnc.gov/divisions/business_registration/annual_report_due_dates, read 2026-09-08 |
| Annual report fee, LLC | $200Source: sosnc.gov/divisions/business_registration/annual_report_due_dates, read 2026-09-08 |
| Annual report fee, corporation | not confirmedSource: sosnc.gov/divisions/business_registration/annual_report_due_dates, read 2026-09-08 |
| Late fee | not confirmedSource: sosnc.gov/divisions/business_registration/annual_report_due_dates, read 2026-09-08 |
| No agent on file | The Secretary of State may administratively dissolve an LLC if it has not paid fees within 60 days after they are due, does not deliver its annual report within 60 days after it is due, or has been without a registered agent or registered office for 60 days or more. N.C.G.S. § 57D-6-06Source: ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/PDF/BySection/Chapter_57D/GS_57D, read 2026-09-08 |
| Be your own agent | You can be your own agent (the registered agent must be an individual who resides in the state with a business office..., full wording in the be-your-own-agent guide)Source: law.justia.com/codes/north-carolina/2013/chapter-55d/article-4/section (secondary source), read 2026-09-08 |
What the statute says
§ 57D-2-40. Registered office and registered agent. Each LLC must maintain a registered office and registered agent as required by Article 4 of Chapter 55D of the General Statutes and is subject to se
N.C.G.S. § 57D-2-40, read 2026-10-21
Each domestic corporation, nonprofit corporation, limited liability company, limited partnership, and limited liability partnership ... must continuously maintain in this State: (1) A registered office ... and (2) A registered agent
N.C.G.S. § 55D-30, 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 North Carolina, not a PO box, and be available during business hours.
Annual report and what happens without an agent
The Annual Report is due April 15. Fee: $200 for an LLC, not confirmed for a corporation. Late fee: not confirmed.
Without an agent on file: The Secretary of State may administratively dissolve an LLC if it has not paid fees within 60 days after they are due, does not deliver its annual report within 60 days after it is due, or has been without a registered agent or registered office for 60 days or more (N.C.G.S. § 57D-6-06).
Sources and dates
- https://sosnc.gov/forms, read 2026-09-08
- https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_57D/GS_57D-2-40.html, read 2026-10-21
- https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/PDF/BySection/Chapter_55D/GS_55D-30.pdf, read 2026-09-29
- https://www.sosnc.gov/divisions/business_registration/annual_report_due_dates, read 2026-09-08
- https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/PDF/BySection/Chapter_57D/GS_57D-6-06.pdf, read 2026-09-08
- https://law.justia.com/codes/north-carolina/2013/chapter-55d/article-4/section-55d-30/, 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
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