North Carolina Registered Agent Service
North Carolina writes its registered agent law once and applies it everywhere. Chapter 55D, Article 4 of the General Statutes governs registered agents for LLCs, business corporations, nonprofits, and partnerships alike: § 55D-30 sets the requirement, § 55D-31 governs changes. So the rules on this page are not LLC-specific quirks; they are the state's single agent regime. North Carolina built this framework itself rather than adopting the uniform Model Registered Agents Act used in some states.
The Requirement
Every North Carolina LLC must continuously maintain two linked things: a registered office, a physical street address in the state, and a registered agent whose business office is identical with that registered office. The agent receives service of process, state notices, and official mail for the company. A mailing address such as a PO box may be listed only in addition to the street address, never instead of it. Agent and office go on the public record at the Secretary of State.
Who Qualifies as an Agent
Under Chapter 55D, the agent must be one of the following:
- An individual who resides in North Carolina
- A domestic business corporation, nonprofit corporation, or LLC whose business office is identical with the registered office
- A foreign corporation, nonprofit, or LLC authorized to transact business in North Carolina whose business office is identical with the registered office
Can You Be Your Own Agent? Two Answers
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Get StartedThis question has a precise answer in North Carolina, and both halves matter:
The LLC itself cannot serve. The instructions on the state's own Form BE-06 spell it out: an eligible agent is one of the listed types "other than your own entity." Your company cannot list itself as its own registered agent.
A member who lives in North Carolina can. The Secretary of State says so explicitly. Any North Carolina resident individual qualifies, and that includes an LLC's own members and managers. A sole owner in Raleigh may legally name herself, personally, as agent for her LLC.
The practical tradeoffs of the second option are the usual ones: the address goes on the public record (and the registered office cannot be a PO box, so a home-based owner is publishing a home address), someone must actually be present during business hours, and a missed service of process can mean a lawsuit proceeds without your knowledge. Eligibility and wisdom are separate questions.
Changing Agents: Form BE-06 and a $5 Fee
North Carolina makes switching agents cheap and simple: file the Statement of Change of Registered Office and/or Registered Agent, Form BE-06, with the Secretary of State for $5 under § 55D-31. The form is shared across entity types, one more consequence of the unified Chapter 55D design. Worth knowing: the online annual report cannot change the agent's name, so BE-06 (or a paper annual report) is the vehicle when the agent itself changes. We handle this filing for customers switching to our service.
What You Get With Our Service
- A registered office address in North Carolina, keeping your own address off the state's public registry
- Same-day scanning and delivery of every document served or mailed to your company
- Reminders ahead of the April 15 annual report so the $200 filing never slips
- A document portal with your full receiving history
- A staffed office during business hours, every business day, satisfying § 55D-30 without you thinking about it
Pricing
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Get Started$99 per year, flat. Form your LLC through us and the first year is included in the $199 formation package, with the $99/year rate applying at renewal. Existing LLCs can hire us standalone at the same $99/year, and we file the BE-06 to make the switch.