Virginia requires every LLC and corporation to keep a registered agent with a Virginia street address. You can be your own agent (Registered agents must meet the following requirements: Be a Virginia resident; Have a Virginia..., full wording in the be-your-own-agent guide). Changing your agent costs $0 for an LLC and $0 for a corporation. The Annual Report (corporation, no fee) plus Annual Registration Fee (all active entity types) is due on the last day of the month in which the entity was formed, incorporated, or registered to transact business in Virginia (Limited Partnerships and Business Trusts: on or before October 1 instead). If you have no agent: You have 31 days from the time [a registered agent's resignation] filing was completed to appoint a new registered agent. If a registered agent is not appointed by then, you will receive a notification that your business status changed to pending inactive. If this is not resolved by the last day of the second month after receiving the notification, your business status will change to terminated, revoked, or canceled automatically. 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 Virginia
- 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 Virginia street address to put on the form.
- File online. SCC forms and fees pages (fetched 2026-09-15): 'Update your Registered Office Address or Change your Registered Agent (LLC1016) | No Fee | File Online or Request a Form'; the same row for stock corporations reads SCC635/834, No Fee. The Clerk's Information System (CIS) is the online route; the paper form is sent on request, not downloaded. Open cis.scc.virginia.gov
- Or file the paper form. Update your Registered Office Address or Change your Registered Agent (LLC1016 for LLCs; SCC635/834 for stock corporations), from the Virginia State Corporation Commission, Clerk's Office. The mailing address is printed on the form. Open the Virginia filing office
- Pay the fee. Changing your agent costs $0 for an LLC and $0 for a corporation. Keep the confirmation; the new agent is effective when the state records it.
What a registered agent costs in Virginia
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 $0 fee | Break-even |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LegalZoom | $249 | $124 | $372 | $124 | at once |
| Registered Agents Inc | $200 | $75 | $225 | $75 | at once |
| ZenBusiness | $199 | $74 | $222 | $74 | at once |
| Harbor Compliance | $159 | $34 | $102 | $34 | at once |
| Bizee | $149 | $24 | $72 | $24 | at once |
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.
Virginia at a glance
Fees, forms and deadlines
| Item | Virginia |
|---|---|
| Filing office | Virginia State Corporation Commission, Clerk's Office scc.virginia.gov/businesses/Source: scc.virginia.gov/businesses/business-faqs/annual-registration-fees/, read 2026-09-08 |
| Registered agent statute (LLC) | Va. Code § 13.1-1015 (Registered office and registered agent)Source: law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title13.1/chapter12/section13.1-1015/, read 2026-09-08 |
| Registered agent statute (corporation) | not foundSource: law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title13.1/chapter12/section13.1-1015/, read 2026-09-08 |
| Change of agent form | Update your Registered Office Address or Change your Registered Agent (LLC1016 for LLCs; SCC635/834 for stock corporations) (online filing available)Source: scc.virginia.gov/businesses/forms-and-fees/virginia-limited-liability-, read 2026-09-15 |
| Change of agent fee, LLC | $0Source: scc.virginia.gov/businesses/forms-and-fees/virginia-limited-liability-, read 2026-09-15 |
| Change of agent fee, corporation | $0Source: scc.virginia.gov/businesses/forms-and-fees/virginia-limited-liability-, read 2026-09-15 |
| Annual report due | last day of the month in which the entity was formed, incorporated, or registered to transact business in Virginia (Limited Partnerships and Business Trusts: on or before October 1 instead) ("Each active domestic and foreign stock and nonstock corporation is required to file an annual report with the Commission by the last day of the month in which it was incorporated or authorized to transact business in Virginia." LLC/corporation annual registration fee: "Your due date is the last day of the month your business was organized/formed or registered." Limited Partnerships and Business Trusts: "Your fee is due on or before October 1.")Source: scc.virginia.gov/businesses/business-faqs/annual-registration-fees, read 2026-09-08 |
| Annual report fee, LLC | $50Source: scc.virginia.gov/businesses/business-faqs/annual-registration-fees, read 2026-09-08 |
| Annual report fee, corporation | $100Source: scc.virginia.gov/businesses/business-faqs/annual-registration-fees, read 2026-09-08 |
| Late fee | $25 (The $25 late-fee figure applies to LLCs, limited partnerships and business trusts ("All other business types are $25"). Stock corporations: greater of 10% of the annual fee or $10. Nonstock corporations: flat $10.)Source: scc.virginia.gov/businesses/business-faqs/annual-registration-fees, read 2026-09-08 |
| No agent on file | You have 31 days from the time [a registered agent's resignation] filing was completed to appoint a new registered agent. If a registered agent is not appointed by then, you will receive a notification that your business status changed to pending inactive. If this is not resolved by the last day of the second month after receiving the notification, your business status will change to terminated, revoked, or canceled automatically. not stated as a Code of Virginia section number on the cached FAQ page; procedural detail from the SCC's own Registered Agent FAQSource: scc.virginia.gov/businesses/business-faqs/registered-agents, read 2026-09-08 |
| Be your own agent | You can be your own agent (Registered agents must meet the following requirements: Be a Virginia resident; Have a Virginia..., full wording in the be-your-own-agent guide)Source: scc.virginia.gov/businesses/business-faqs/registered-agents, read 2026-09-08 |
What the statute says
Each domestic limited liability company and each foreign limited liability company registered pursuant to Article 10 of this chapter shall continuously maintain in the Commonwealth: A registered office that may be the same as any of its places of business.
Va. Code § 13.1-1015 (Registered office and registered agent), 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 Virginia, not a PO box, and be available during business hours.
Annual report and what happens without an agent
The Annual Report (corporation, no fee) plus Annual Registration Fee (all active entity types) is due on the last day of the month in which the entity was formed, incorporated, or registered to transact business in Virginia (Limited Partnerships and Business Trusts: on or before October 1 instead). Fee: $50 for an LLC, $100 for a corporation. Late fee: $25 (The $25 late-fee figure applies to LLCs, limited partnerships and business trusts ("All other business types are $25"). Stock corporations: greater of 10% of the annual fee or $10. Nonstock corporations: flat $10.).
Without an agent on file: You have 31 days from the time [a registered agent's resignation] filing was completed to appoint a new registered agent. If a registered agent is not appointed by then, you will receive a notification that your business status changed to pending inactive. If this is not resolved by the last day of the second month after receiving the notification, your business status will change to terminated, revoked, or canceled automatically (not stated as a Code of Virginia section number on the cached FAQ page; procedural detail from the SCC's own Registered Agent FAQ).
Sources and dates
- https://www.scc.virginia.gov/businesses/business-faqs/annual-registration-fees/, read 2026-09-08
- https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title13.1/chapter12/section13.1-1015/, read 2026-09-08
- https://www.scc.virginia.gov/businesses/forms-and-fees/virginia-limited-liability-companies, read 2026-09-15
- https://www.scc.virginia.gov/businesses/business-faqs/annual-registration-fees, read 2026-09-08
- https://www.scc.virginia.gov/businesses/business-faqs/registered-agents, 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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