Do I need a registered agent for my LLC?

Updated Oct 10, 2026

Short answer

Yes. The state where you form an LLC requires a registered agent in that state. The agent accepts lawsuits and official notices at a street address there and sends them on to the company.

You can be that agent when you live in the state and the statute lets an individual serve. Delaware and Oklahoma also let the LLC itself serve when it keeps an office in the state. A commercial service is the other way to meet the rule, used when no one on the LLC qualifies. This site's calculators use $99 a year for that commercial cost. Harbor Compliance's pricing page lists $99 the first year for new customers and says the service renews at $159 a year.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Who can serve

These five statutes say who may be the agent. The tests are not the same.

State	Who can serve	Address
Texas	A Texas resident who consents, or an organization authorized to do business in Texas. The LLC cannot name itself.	A street address where papers can be handed to the agent. It may not be only a mailbox service or a telephone answering service.
Florida	A Florida resident, or another corporation, LLC, or partnership that section 605.0113 allows.	The agent's business address is the same as the registered office.
Wyoming	A person at least 18 who lives in Wyoming, or a business with an office there. Serving more than 10 entities means registering as a commercial agent.	A physical street address where a person is present to accept service.
Delaware	The LLC itself, a Delaware resident, or certain entities with a Delaware office.	A Delaware business office. The agent may not work only through a virtual office or a mail forwarding service. The address includes a street, number, city, and postal code.
Oklahoma	An Oklahoma resident, the LLC itself, or a domestic or qualified foreign corporation, limited liability company, or general or limited partnership (including a limited liability partnership or a limited liability limited partnership).	A business office identical to the registered office, open during regular business hours. The foreign LLC form says a post office address is not acceptable.

The citations are Texas Business Organizations Code section 5.201, Florida Statutes section 605.0113 (2026), Wyoming Statutes sections 17-29-113 and 17-28-101, Delaware Code title 6 section 18-104, and Oklahoma Statutes title 18 section 2010.

A person who lives in Texas can serve for a Texas LLC. That home address does not meet the Wyoming or Delaware test, which asks for a person who lives there or an office there.

The state fee and the service fee

The filing fee is a state charge. The $99 figure is a commercial price this site plugs into the calculators. They are different bills.

Florida's formation fee is $125: $100 for the articles of organization plus $25 for the certificate that designates the registered agent (section 605.0213). LLC cost in Florida uses that $125.

Texas charges $300 to file the certificate of formation. Wyoming charges $100 for the articles of organization. Delaware charges $110 to form a domestic LLC (filing fee plus municipality fee). All three are on LLC cost by state.

Oklahoma's fee schedule lists a $40 annual agent fee for Oklahoma and foreign LLCs (18 O.S. section 2055) and a $25 annual certificate. The Secretary of State's foreign LLC instructions say the $40 is due each July 1 when the Secretary of State is the agent, and that it is not due when you appoint your own agent. See LLC cost in Oklahoma.

Five-year totals from the calculator

The table uses the site's own cost function, with Texas as the home state. Forming in Texas counts a commercial agent at $0, which is what the state pages do when you form at home and serve yourself. Forming in Wyoming or Delaware counts $99 a year, the figure in data/settings.json.

The Texas franchise report fee is $0 when annualized total revenue is at or below $2,650,000 for reports due in 2026 and 2027. You still file the report. Wyoming's annual license tax in this example is the $60 minimum: the fee schedule charges $60 or two-tenths of one mill ($0.0002) on assets in Wyoming, whichever is greater, and $60 is the amount at or under $300,000 of those assets. Delaware's annual LLC tax is $400. Year 1 is the formation year. The Wyoming report and the Delaware tax start in year 2. Texas foreign registration is $750 in year 1 when the LLC is formed in another state and operates in Texas.

Choice	First year	5-year total
Form in Texas, you are the agent	$300	$300
Form in Wyoming, register in Texas, agent at $99 a year	$949	$1,585
Form in Delaware, register in Texas, agent at $99 a year	$959	$2,955

Wyoming year 1 is $100 + $750 + $99. Each later year is $60 + $99. Delaware year 1 is $110 + $750 + $99. Each later year is $400 + $99. Those totals match the calculator. They use $99 every year, which is the first-year Harbor price, not the $159 renewal.

Compare your own home state on the which-state tool. The state pages for Texas, Wyoming, and Delaware use the same fees.

If the agent quits

In Texas, a resignation ends the appointment on the 31st day after the Secretary of State receives the notice (section 5.204). If the LLC has no agent, or the agent cannot be found at the office, the Secretary of State can accept service (section 5.251).

In Florida, the LLC cannot bring a case in a Florida court until it has an agent and has paid what the statute requires. If a court orders a penalty, it is $5 for each day, or $500, whichever is less (section 605.0113).

In Wyoming, the LLC has 30 days after it receives a resignation to name a new agent. With no successor, the Secretary of State classes the LLC as delinquent and waiting for administrative dissolution (W.S. 17-28-103).

In Oklahoma, a resignation takes effect 30 days after it is filed. If no new agent is named by then, the Secretary of State is treated as the agent until you name one (section 2010).

Before you file

Read the formation state's rule and see if you qualify to serve.
Use a street address that statute accepts.
If you form outside your home state, budget a registered agent there and the home state's foreign registration.
Start from LLC cost by state or the which-state comparison.

Sources

General information from official sources, not legal or tax advice.