Rhode Island requires every LLC and corporation to keep a registered agent with a Rhode Island street address. You can be your own agent (an individual resident in Rhode Island whose business office is identical with the registered..., full wording in the be-your-own-agent guide). Changing your agent costs $20 for an LLC and $20 for a corporation. The Annual Report is due May 1. If you have no agent: A corporation that fails for 30 days to appoint and maintain a registered agent can have its articles revoked by the Secretary of State, after 60 days' mailed notice. An LLC with no resident agent is served through the Secretary of State, who becomes its agent. 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 Rhode Island
- 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 Rhode Island street address to put on the form.
- Or file the paper form. Statement of Change of Registered Agent (Form 640, business corporation) / Statement of Change of Resident Agent (Form 642, LLC), from the Rhode Island Department of State, Business Services Division. Mail it to: Division of Business Services, 148 W. River Street, Providence, Rhode Island 02904-2615. Open the Rhode Island filing office Direct PDF
- Pay the fee. Changing your agent costs $20 for an LLC and $20 for a corporation. Keep the confirmation; the new agent is effective when the state records it.
What a registered agent costs in Rhode Island
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 $20 fee | Break-even |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LegalZoom | $249 | $124 | $372 | $104 | month 2 |
| Registered Agents Inc | $200 | $75 | $225 | $55 | month 4 |
| ZenBusiness | $199 | $74 | $222 | $54 | month 4 |
| Harbor Compliance | $159 | $34 | $102 | $14 | month 8 |
| Bizee | $149 | $24 | $72 | $4 | month 10 |
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.
Rhode Island at a glance
Fees, forms and deadlines
| Item | Rhode Island |
|---|---|
| Filing office | Rhode Island Department of State, Business Services Division sos.ri.govSource: sos.ri.gov/divisions/business-services/foreign-business/business-basic, read 2026-09-08 |
| Registered agent statute (LLC) | R.I. Gen. Laws § 7-16-11 ("Resident agent")Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE7/7-16/7-16-11.htm, read 2026-10-21 |
| Registered agent statute (corporation) | R.I. Gen. Laws § 7-1.2-501Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE7/7-1.2/7-5/7-1.2-501.htm, read 2026-09-29 |
| Change of agent form | Statement of Change of Registered Agent (Form 640, business corporation) / Statement of Change of Resident Agent (Form 642, LLC) (online filing available)Source: docs.sos.ri.gov/documents/BusinessServices/640-change-of-registered-ag, read 2026-09-29 |
| Change of agent fee, LLC | $20Source: docs.sos.ri.gov/documents/BusinessServices/640-change-of-registered-ag, read 2026-09-29 |
| Change of agent fee, corporation | $20Source: docs.sos.ri.gov/documents/BusinessServices/640-change-of-registered-ag, read 2026-09-29 |
| Annual Report due | May 1 (Filing period February 1 – May 1 for LLCs and business corporations; late filing penalty $25 applied June 1.)Source: sos.ri.gov/divisions/business-services/ri-business/file-your-annual-re, read 2026-09-29 |
| Annual report fee, LLC | $50Source: sos.ri.gov/divisions/business-services/ri-business/file-your-annual-re, read 2026-09-29 |
| Annual report fee, corporation | $50Source: sos.ri.gov/divisions/business-services/ri-business/file-your-annual-re, read 2026-09-29 |
| Late fee | $25Source: sos.ri.gov/divisions/business-services/ri-business/file-your-annual-re, read 2026-09-29 |
| No agent on file | A corporation that fails for 30 days to appoint and maintain a registered agent can have its articles revoked by the Secretary of State, after 60 days' mailed notice. An LLC with no resident agent is served through the Secretary of State, who becomes its agent. R.I. Gen. Laws § 7-1.2-1310(a)(4) and (b)(1) (corporations); § 7-16-11(e) (LLCs)Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE7/7-1.2/7-13/7-1.2-1310.htm, read 2026-09-29 |
| Be your own agent | You can be your own agent (an individual resident in Rhode Island whose business office is identical with the registered..., full wording in the be-your-own-agent guide)Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE7/7-1.2/7-5/7-1.2-501.htm, read 2026-09-08 |
What the statute says
Each domestic or foreign registered limited liability company shall have a resident agent for service of process on the limited liability company
R.I. Gen. Laws § 7-16-11 ("Resident agent"), read 2026-10-21
Each corporation shall have and continuously maintain in this state: (1) A registered office, which may be, but need not be, the same as its place of business. (2) A registered agent
R.I. Gen. Laws § 7-1.2-501, read 2026-09-29
A registered agent is the person or company the state and the courts send legal papers to. In Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island, not a PO box, and be available during business hours.
Annual report and what happens without an agent
The Annual Report is due May 1. Fee: $50 for an LLC, $50 for a corporation. Late fee: $25.
Without an agent on file: A corporation that fails for 30 days to appoint and maintain a registered agent can have its articles revoked by the Secretary of State, after 60 days' mailed notice. An LLC with no resident agent is served through the Secretary of State, who becomes its agent (R.I. Gen. Laws § 7-1.2-1310(a)(4) and (b)(1) (corporations); § 7-16-11(e) (LLCs)).
Sources and dates
- https://www.sos.ri.gov/divisions/business-services/foreign-business/business-basics/costs-and-fees, read 2026-09-08
- https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE7/7-16/7-16-11.htm, read 2026-10-21
- https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE7/7-1.2/7-5/7-1.2-501.htm, read 2026-09-29
- https://docs.sos.ri.gov/documents/BusinessServices/640-change-of-registered-agent-business-corporation.pdf, read 2026-09-29
- https://www.sos.ri.gov/divisions/business-services/ri-business/file-your-annual-report, read 2026-09-29
- https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE7/7-1.2/7-13/7-1.2-1310.htm, read 2026-09-29
- 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 Delaware 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 South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming