How to Change Your Registered Agent in Florida
A detailed walkthrough of the process, forms, and fees required to update your Florida LLC or corporation's registered agent.
A detailed walkthrough of the process, forms, and fees required to update your Florida LLC or corporation's registered agent.
There are several situations that commonly prompt a Florida business owner to change their registered agent. Your current agent may have moved out of state, resigned, or simply stopped providing reliable service. Perhaps you started out as your own registered agent but have decided you want the privacy and convenience of a professional service. Or maybe you are switching from an expensive provider to a more affordable one. Regardless of the reason, Florida law requires you to maintain a valid registered agent at all times.
Under Florida Statute §605.0113, an LLC must continuously have a registered agent and registered office in the state. If there is any gap — even briefly — the Division of Corporations may begin the process of administrative dissolution.
The good news is that changing your registered agent in Florida is straightforward and can usually be completed online within minutes through the Sunbiz portal.
The most direct way to change your registered agent outside of your annual report window is to file a Statement of Change of Registered Agent/Registered Office with the Florida Division of Corporations. The process begins with logging in to Sunbiz at dos.sunbiz.org and navigating to the filing section for your entity type. You then locate your entity by searching for your business by name or document number to pull up your current filing records. Next, you submit the Statement of Change by entering the new registered agent's full legal name, their physical street address in Florida (P.O. Boxes are not accepted), and their signature or consent to serve. The filing fee is $25 for LLCs and $35 for corporations, accepted online via credit card. The change is typically processed within 1-2 business days, and you will receive an electronic confirmation from Sunbiz once the update is on record.
The new agent's appointment takes effect upon the filing being accepted by the Division of Corporations under Florida Statute §605.0114. There is no waiting period — once approved, the new agent is immediately the official point of contact for legal service.
If the timing works out, the simplest way to change your registered agent is to update the information when you file your Annual Report. The report is due between January 1 and May 1 each year, and the standard filing fee is $138.75 for LLCs and $150 for corporations. The annual report form includes fields for your current registered agent and registered office. Simply replace the existing agent's information with the new agent's details. Since you are already paying the annual report fee, there is no additional charge for the agent change — it is included in the standard filing. This method is ideal if you are planning a change well in advance and your current annual report filing window is approaching.
Sometimes the change is initiated not by you but by your registered agent. An agent can voluntarily resign by filing a Resignation of Registered Agent form with the Department of State. The resigning agent must provide written notice to the business entity at its last known address. The resignation becomes effective 31 days after filing, or when a successor agent is appointed, whichever comes first. If the business fails to appoint a new agent within the 31-day window, the Division of Corporations records will show no registered agent on file — a condition that can lead to administrative dissolution.
The resignation filing fee is $87.50 for agents resigning from a corporation and $25 for agents resigning from an LLC. This fee is typically paid by the resigning agent, not the business, though some agents may pass the cost along.
Before completing the change, keep several critical points in mind. The consent requirement means the new agent must agree to serve before you file the change — filing someone's name without their knowledge or consent can create legal complications and may be rejected by the Division of Corporations. The address requirements dictate that the new agent's address must be a physical street address in Florida, not a P.O. Box, and if the agent uses a virtual office, a natural person must be physically present at the address during business hours. The change has no retroactive effect, meaning any legal papers served on the old agent before the change was filed remain validly served. Finally, if you own multiple entities, you must file a separate Statement of Change for each entity, as there is no bulk filing option through Sunbiz.