South Carolina requires every LLC and corporation to keep a registered agent with a South Carolina street address. You can be your own agent (for LLCs, an agent must be an individual resident of South Carolina, a domestic corporation,..., full wording under the statute below). Changing your agent costs $10 for an LLC and $10 for a corporation. The annual report due date is not published on the page we read. If you have no agent: If a limited liability company or foreign limited liability company fails to appoint or maintain an agent for service of process in this State or the agent for service of process cannot with reasonable diligence be found at the agent's address, the Secretary of State is an agent of the company upon whom process, notice, or demand may be served.. 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 South Carolina
Three steps. Most owners finish online in under fifteen minutes.
- Choose the new agent. You can be your own agent (for LLCs, an agent must be an individual resident of South Carolina, a domestic corporation,..., full wording under the statute below). Or hire a service from the price table below; they give you their South Carolina street address to put on the form.
- File online. "In addition to filing online, the public may access forms in PDF format in the Business Filings Online system." (sos.sc.gov business entities page); the specific portal URL for filing the change-of-agent statement itself is not in cache beyond the Business Filings Online system homepage. Open businessfilings.sc.gov
- Or file the paper form. Notice of Change of Registered Office or Registered Agent or Both (Form F0077/F0078 corp; separate LLC form), from the South Carolina Secretary of State, Business Filings Division. The mailing address is printed on the form. Open the South Carolina filing office Direct PDF
- Pay the fee. Changing your agent costs $10 for an LLC and $10 for a corporation. Keep the confirmation; the new agent is effective when the state records it.
What a registered agent costs in South 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. "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.
South Carolina at a glance
Fees, forms and deadlines
| Item | South Carolina |
|---|---|
| Filing office | South Carolina Secretary of State, Business Filings Division sos.sc.govSource: businessfilings.sc.gov, read 2026-09-08 |
| Registered agent statute (LLC) | S.C. Code § 33-44-108Source: scstatehouse.gov/code/t33c044.php, read 2026-09-08 |
| Registered agent statute (corporation) | S.C. Code § 33-5-101Source: scstatehouse.gov/code/t33c044.php, read 2026-09-08 |
| Change of agent form | Notice of Change of Registered Office or Registered Agent or Both (Form F0077/F0078 corp; separate LLC form) (online filing available)Source: businessfilings.sc.gov/BusinessFiling/Home/DownloadForms, read 2026-09-08 |
| Change of agent fee, LLC | $10Source: businessfilings.sc.gov/BusinessFiling/Home/DownloadForms, read 2026-09-08 |
| Change of agent fee, corporation | $10Source: businessfilings.sc.gov/BusinessFiling/Home/DownloadForms, read 2026-09-08 |
| Annual report due | not publishedSource: scstatehouse.gov/code/t12c020.php, read 2026-09-08 |
| Annual report fee, LLC | not publishedSource: scstatehouse.gov/code/t12c020.php, read 2026-09-08 |
| Annual report fee, corporation | $25Source: scstatehouse.gov/code/t12c020.php, read 2026-09-08 |
| Late fee | not publishedSource: scstatehouse.gov/code/t12c020.php, read 2026-09-08 |
| No agent on file | If a limited liability company or foreign limited liability company fails to appoint or maintain an agent for service of process in this State or the agent for service of process cannot with reasonable diligence be found at the agent's address, the Secretary of State is an agent of the company upon whom process, notice, or demand may be served. S.C. Code Ann. § 33-44-111(b)Source: scstatehouse.gov/code/t33c044.php, read 2026-09-08 |
| Be your own agent | You can be your own agent (for LLCs, an agent must be an individual resident of South Carolina, a domestic corporation,..., full wording under the statute below)Source: scstatehouse.gov/code/t33c044.php, read 2026-09-08 |
What the statute says
A limited liability company and a foreign limited liability company authorized to do business in this State shall designate and continuously maintain in this State:
S.C. Code § 33-44-108, read 2026-09-08
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 South Carolina, not a PO box, and be available during business hours. You can be your own agent (for LLCs, an agent must be an individual resident of South Carolina, a domestic corporation,..., 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: not published for an LLC, $25 for a corporation. Late fee: not published.
Without an agent on file: If a limited liability company or foreign limited liability company fails to appoint or maintain an agent for service of process in this State or the agent for service of process cannot with reasonable diligence be found at the agent's address, the Secretary of State is an agent of the company upon whom process, notice, or demand may be served. (S.C. Code Ann. § 33-44-111(b)). In practice that means missed lawsuits and a company that can lose its good standing.
Sources and dates
- https://businessfilings.sc.gov, read 2026-09-08
- https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t33c044.php, read 2026-09-08
- https://businessfilings.sc.gov/BusinessFiling/Home/DownloadForms?pdfCategoryId=8, read 2026-09-08
- https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t12c020.php, 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.