Tennessee requires every LLC and corporation to keep a registered agent with a Tennessee street address. You can be your own agent (A registered agent "who maintains an office at the same street address as the registered office"..., full wording in the be-your-own-agent guide). Changing your agent costs $20 for an LLC and $20 for a corporation. If you have no agent: If the secretary of state determines grounds exist for dissolving an LLC (including failure to maintain a registered agent, under a related provision not in this cache), the secretary serves written notice of the determination. If the LLC does not correct the ground or show it does not exist within two months after that notice, the secretary of state administratively dissolves the LLC by signing a certificate of dissolution. Administrative dissolution does not terminate the designation or authority of the LLC's registered agent or registered office. Separately, whenever a registered agent cannot be found with reasonable diligence, the secretary of state is deemed an agent of the LLC upon whom process may be served. 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 Tennessee
- 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 Tennessee street address to put on the form.
- Or file the paper form. Statement of Change of Registered Agent/Office by Entity or Agent (Form SS-4534), from the Tennessee Secretary of State, Division of Business Services. The mailing address is printed on the form. Open the Tennessee 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 Tennessee
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.
Tennessee at a glance
Fees, forms and deadlines
| Item | Tennessee |
|---|---|
| Filing office | Tennessee Secretary of State, Division of Business Services sos.tn.gov/businessesSource: sos.tn.gov/businesses, read 2026-09-09 |
| Registered agent statute (LLC) | Tenn. Code Ann. § 48-249-109 (Registered office and registered agent)Source: law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-48/limited-liability-companies/ch (secondary source), read 2026-09-09 |
| Registered agent statute (corporation) | Tenn. Code Ann. § 48-15-101 (Registered office and registered agent) |
| Change of agent form | Statement of Change of Registered Agent/Office by Entity or Agent (Form SS-4534)Source: sos.tn.gov/businesses/services/business-forms-fees, read 2026-09-15 |
| Change of agent fee, LLC | $20Source: sos.tn.gov/businesses/services/business-forms-fees, read 2026-09-15 |
| Change of agent fee, corporation | $20Source: sos.tn.gov/businesses/services/business-forms-fees, read 2026-09-15 |
| Annual report due | not confirmed |
| Annual report fee, LLC | not confirmed |
| Annual report fee, corporation | not confirmed |
| Late fee | not confirmed |
| No agent on file | If the secretary of state determines grounds exist for dissolving an LLC (including failure to maintain a registered agent, under a related provision not in this cache), the secretary serves written notice of the determination. If the LLC does not correct the ground or show it does not exist within two months after that notice, the secretary of state administratively dissolves the LLC by signing a certificate of dissolution. Administrative dissolution does not terminate the designation or authority of the LLC's registered agent or registered office. Separately, whenever a registered agent cannot be found with reasonable diligence, the secretary of state is deemed an agent of the LLC upon whom process may be served. Tenn. Code Ann. § 48-249-605 (Procedure for and effect of administrative dissolution); § 48-249-112 (Service on LLC, not independently verified against cache)Source: law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-48/limited-liability-companies/ch (secondary source), read 2026-09-09 |
| Be your own agent | You can be your own agent (A registered agent "who maintains an office at the same street address as the registered office"..., full wording in the be-your-own-agent guide)Source: law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-48/limited-liability-companies/ch (secondary source), read 2026-09-09 |
What the statute says
Each domestic and foreign LLC shall continuously maintain in this state: (1) A registered office, which may be the same as any of its places of business; and
Tenn. Code Ann. § 48-249-109 (Registered office and registered agent), read 2026-09-09
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 Tennessee, not a PO box, and be available during business hours.
Annual report and what happens without an agent
We have not confirmed the annual report due date yet. Fee: not confirmed for an LLC, not confirmed for a corporation. Late fee: not confirmed.
Without an agent on file: If the secretary of state determines grounds exist for dissolving an LLC (including failure to maintain a registered agent, under a related provision not in this cache), the secretary serves written notice of the determination. If the LLC does not correct the ground or show it does not exist within two months after that notice, the secretary of state administratively dissolves the LLC by signing a certificate of dissolution. Administrative dissolution does not terminate the designation or authority of the LLC's registered agent or registered office. Separately, whenever a registered agent cannot be found with reasonable diligence, the secretary of state is deemed an agent of the LLC upon whom process may be served (Tenn. Code Ann. § 48-249-605 (Procedure for and effect of administrative dissolution); § 48-249-112 (Service on LLC, not independently verified against cache)).
Sources and dates
- https://sos.tn.gov/businesses, read 2026-09-09
- https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-48/limited-liability-companies/chapter-249/part-1/section-48-249-109/, read 2026-09-09
- https://sos.tn.gov/businesses/services/business-forms-fees, read 2026-09-15
- https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-48/limited-liability-companies/chapter-249/part-6/section-48-249-605/, read 2026-09-09
- 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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