Louisiana Resident Agent Service

Why Louisiana requires a resident agent

Under the 2015 Business Corporation Act, a domestic corporation may use a Louisiana resident, or a corporation or other eligible entity, domestic or foreign, that always keeps a Louisiana office, holds authority to do business there if foreign, has filed with the Secretary of State a list naming at least two individuals at that address to receive process, and whose organizational documents let it act as process agent. LLCs face a narrower rule: a state citizen living in Louisiana, a professional law corporation or law-licensed partnership, or an authorized corporation or LLC, domestic or foreign, whose organic documents allow agent service and whose two-individuals certificate is on file (La. R.S. 12:1308(A)(2)). Foreign corporations follow pre-2015 La. R.S. 12:308(A)(1), which also permits a resident whose business office is the registered office, an attorney, or a law partnership. La. R.S. 12:1-501(2); see also La. R.S. 12:1308(A)(2) (LLC); La. R.S. 12:308(A)(1) (foreign corporation)

What happens if you lapse

• A domestic corporation that goes 90 consecutive days without keeping a registered office and resident agent, or without filing its annual report, shall have its existence terminated administratively by the Secretary of State, but only after written notice of 30 days or more and a chance to cure. La. R.S. 12:1-1442(A)-(B)
• If a domestic LLC vacates its registered office and files no statement of change within 30 days, anyone other than the LLC itself may treat the office of the Secretary of State as the LLC's registered office. La. R.S. 12:1308(F)
• When a foreign corporation fails to keep a Louisiana resident agent or registered office and has not cured after no less than 60 days written notice, the Secretary of State may revoke its certificate of authority; revocation ends its authority to transact business, although the resident agent can still accept service. La. R.S. 12:313(A)(2), (B), (C)
• Likewise, a foreign LLC that fails to keep a Louisiana resident agent or registered office, with no cure after 60 days notice, may have its certificate of authority revoked or suspended. La. R.S. 12:1353(A)(2), (B)
• Doing business in Louisiana without authority bars a foreign LLC or foreign corporation from presenting any judicial demand before a Louisiana court, and the entity carries the burden of proving it is authorized. La. R.S. 12:314(A); La. R.S. 12:1354(A)
• A foreign LLC or foreign corporation that does business without a valid certificate of authority can be penalized by the Secretary of State up to $1,000 for each violation, and the attorney general can also recover back fees and taxes (12:314(C), 12:1354(C)). La. R.S. 12:314.1(B); La. R.S. 12:1355(B)
• An administratively terminated corporation has 5 years to reinstate: it files articles of reinstatement along with an annual report carrying the resident agent's written consent to the appointment, and it pays the annual-report filing fee for every year from the last annual report to reinstatement; LLCs revoked for annual-report failure get a 3-year reinstatement window and pay the fee that R.S. 12:1364(A)(1) authorizes for reinstatement, in the amount R.S. 49:222 sets. La. R.S. 12:1-1444(F)(2); La. R.S. 12:1308.2(C)(1)(c)

Switching to us

We prepare and file the change of resident agent for you. Louisiana charges $25 for an LLC R.S. 49:222(B) and $25 for a corporation R.S. 49:222(B) - twenty-five dollars for a corporation's statement of....

Official Louisiana links

• Louisiana Secretary of State - (225) 925-4704
• Business entity search
• Statutes
• Annual report filing

Frequently asked

Do I need a resident agent in Louisiana?

Almost every state does, and the Louisiana rule is set out above with its citation. Where the law leaves a choice, a resident agent is still the practical way to make sure service of process reaches you.

How much does Louisiana resident agent service cost?

$129 a year, with no setup fee, the same price in all 50 states plus DC, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Service of process is received and scanned the same business day.

Can I switch my Louisiana resident agent to ResidentAgents.com?

Yes. Order online and we prepare the change of agent filing for you; the state's filing fee is shown on this page.