Can you be your own registered agent in New York? The law

Who can be a registered agent for a New York LLC

Section 302(b) of New York's LLC Law lists three kinds of registered agent, each with its own New York condition.

"The agent must be either: (1) a natural person who is a resident of this state or has a business address in this state; (2) a domestic limited liability company or an authorized foreign limited liability company; or (3) a domestic corporation or a foreign corporation authorized to do business in this state." (LLC Law §302(b) (opens in a new tab))

1. (1)

   A natural person

   In the statute's words

   "a natural person who is a resident of this state or has a business address in this state"

2. (2)

   A limited liability company

   In the statute's words

   "a domestic limited liability company or an authorized foreign limited liability company"

3. (3)

   A corporation

   In the statute's words

   "a domestic corporation or a foreign corporation authorized to do business in this state"

What address a registered agent uses in New York

New York articles of organization that name a registered agent give its "name and address within this state" (LLC Law §203(e)(5) (opens in a new tab)).

LLC Law §203(e)(5) asks the articles to set forth, "if the limited liability company is to have a registered agent, its name and address within this state and a statement that the registered agent is to be the agent of the limited liability company upon whom process against it may be served". For the LLC's service of process address, the post office address to which the Secretary of State mails a copy of any process against the LLC served on it, §203(e)(4) says "within or without this state". Process is the papers served to start or carry on a legal action, such as a summons.

On a Certificate of Change, form DOS-1359-f asks for the agent's name and then "The street address of the registered agent is:".

DOS-1359-f (Rev. 12/22)

THIRD: The change(s) effected hereby are: [check appropriate statement(s)]

• The county

  • The county location, within this state, in which the office of the limited liability company is located, is changed to:

• The service of process address

  • The post office address to which the Secretary of State shall mail a copy of any process against the limited liability company served upon the Secretary of State by personal delivery is changed to read in its entirety as follows:

• The e-service email address, three statements

  • The email address to which the Secretary of State shall email a notice of the fact that process against the limited liability company has been served electronically upon the Secretary of State

    • is:
    • is changed to read as follows:
    • is deleted.

• Designating, changing or re-addressing a registered agent, three statements

  • The limited liability company hereby designates its registered agent upon whom process against the limited liability company may be served. The street address of the registered agent is:
  • The limited liability company hereby changes the designation of its registered agent to: The street address of the registered agent is:
  • The limited liability company hereby changes the address of its registered agent to:

• Revoking the agent

  • The limited liability company hereby revokes the designation of its registered agent.

Highlighted: the statements that designate, change or re-address a registered agent.

Whether the Department of State accepts a post office box as a registered agent's street address is not established: none of the statutes or Department of State pages Remove Registered Agent read on October 25, 2026 addresses it.

Is a registered agent's name and address public in New York?

New York's Department of State says it can provide a registered agent's name and address, "if one has been designated".

The New York Department of State's FAQ page for corporations and business entities (opens in a new tab), read October 25, 2026, says: "The Department of State is able to provide the address to which the Secretary of State is required to forward copies of process accepted on behalf of a corporation, limited liability company, limited partnership and limited liability partnership, as well as the name and address of the registered agent, if one has been designated."

The Department of State's FAQ page also lists the information available on an entity, including "(5) service of process address; (6) registered agent, if any".

What the State's record shows when a person is the agent, and when no one is

The State's record shows a person named as registered agent with an address; a revoked entry names no one.

On the 20 active LLCs we read on October 27, 2026 whose registered agent is a person (formed in 2024 and 2025, sampled at random), the State's live record showed that person's name and an address under "Registered Agent Name and Address"; on 7 of the 20, the same name was on the service of process "Name:" line.

On all 14 records we read on October 23, 2026 whose agent a Certificate of Change had revoked, the State's live record showed "Registered Agent Revoked" under "Registered Agent Name and Address", with a blank agent address.

Being your own registered agent does not replace the Secretary of State

A New York LLC's registered agent serves "In addition to the designation of the secretary of state" (LLC Law §302(a)).

The articles of organization of a New York LLC designate the Secretary of State as the LLC's agent for service of process, with a post office address to which the Secretary of State mails a copy of any process (LLC Law §203(e)(4)). Designating a registered agent leaves the Secretary of State's designation as a New York LLC's agent for service of process in place.

• LLC Law §301

  The Secretary of State

  The LLC's agent for service of process, named in its articles of organization

  What the law says

  Under §301(b), no LLC may be formed "unless its articles of organization or application for authority designates the secretary of state as such agent".

  After a certificate that only revokes the agent

  The Secretary of State has been the agent for service of process of every New York LLC since its formation (LLC Law §301(a), (b)).
• LLC Law §302

  A registered agent

  An additional person or company "upon whom process against the limited liability company may be served" (LLC Law §302(a))

  What the law says

  An LLC "may designate" one "In addition to the designation of the secretary of state" (LLC Law §302(a)).

  After a certificate that only revokes the agent

  "REGISTERED AGENT REVOKED" on DOS Public Inquiry. Revoking the agent designates no one new.

A Certificate of Change that only designates a registered agent also leaves the LLC's service of process address as it is: that address "shall continue until the filing of a certificate or other instrument under this chapter directing the mailing to a different post office address" (LLC Law §301(c) (opens in a new tab)). One Certificate of Change can designate an agent and change the service of process address together, since "Any one or more such changes may be accomplished by filing a certificate of change" (LLC Law §211-A(a) (opens in a new tab)).

How a registered agent is named, changed or removed later

A New York Certificate of Change can "make, revoke or change the designation of a registered agent" (LLC Law §211-A(a)).

An LLC that has designated a registered agent can later revoke that designation with a Certificate of Change under §211-A(a). A registered agent also "may resign as such agent" (LLC Law §302(d)) by filing a certificate of resignation with the Department of State, and under LLC Law §302(e), "The designation of a registered agent shall terminate thirty days after the filing with the department of state of the certificate of resignation."

The Certificate of Change that Remove Registered Agent files names no new agent. Depending on the record, that certificate revokes the registered agent, replaces the LLC's service of process address, or does both.

When you leave an agent company

Registered agent companies set their own terms for leaving, and the texts differ.

Established agent companies' own words, dated and linked, are quoted in the table of how to cancel a registered agent service in New York. New York's rule is the same whatever the company: a registered agent is optional, since an LLC "may designate" one (§302(a)). Whether a company accepts the filed record is between the LLC and that company.

Taking the agent company off the record is one Certificate of Change. An LLC can fill it in and file it itself, by email or mail. For an owner filing it by hand, it comes to at least 10 hours of work, with everything right the first time; our operator timed it. Most of those hours go to steps a quick estimate leaves out: reading the LLC Law to choose the statements, checking with the agent company, calling the Department of State and waiting for its answer, and checking everything again before mailing. In our operator's experience, one small mistake on the form brings a correction letter and a resubmission. The DOS-1359-f guide lists where the hours go.

Remove Registered Agent files electronically through its operator's service company account with the Department of State: the certificate goes into the Department's system when it is submitted, dated that day, with nothing to print, mail or scan. Of the 12 Certificates of Change our operator emailed to the Department of State from June 15 to July 1, 2026, 11 were dated the day they were sent or the next business day; a mailed one is dated no earlier than the day the mail reaches the Department. Remove Registered Agent applies LLC Law §211-A (opens in a new tab), §302 (opens in a new tab) and §301 (opens in a new tab) to your LLC's live record: which statements it calls for, and whether the address must be replaced. The certificate Remove Registered Agent prepares follows the State's record to the letter: the LLC's exact name and filing date, the filer block, and the statements that take the agent company off. If the State asks for a correction, Remove Registered Agent makes the correction and resubmits the certificate at no charge. The Certificate of Change accepted by the State, or your full $100 back.

Remove Registered Agent files each signed certificate electronically through the E-Submission upload of eCorp, the Department of State's online filing system, under its operator's service company account; filers without a service company account email or mail the Certificate of Change. The LLC's part is to confirm its details by email, choose any new service of process address, sign and pay.

Our operator's own filings show what each route has meant in practice. Of the 100 Certificates of Change our operator filed from January 12 to October 29, 2026, the 29 uploaded through eCorp's E-Submission, the route every certificate an LLC signs takes, had a median of under 1 day from filing to the State's response, and the 23 sent by mail a median of 7.2 days from mailing. These are past records, not a promise.

As of October 30, 2026, our operator has filed 100 New York Certificates of Change since January 2026, all accepted by the State: the same filing a New York LLC uses to revoke its registered agent. The Our work page lists every one: the day filed, how it was filed, the day the State responded and the days between.

Related guide: Does a New York LLC need a registered agent?

Related page: Removing a New York LLC's registered agent: the options compared

Free record check: what the State lists for your LLC

Remove Registered Agent reads your LLC's live State record for free, before anything is filed.

You enter your LLC's name or DOS ID in our record check. It shows the registered agent the State lists for your LLC, if any, and its service of process address, where the Secretary of State mails a copy of any process against the LLC that is served on the Secretary of State, then says what one Certificate of Change would change and what it costs.

Remove Registered Agent, a document filing service for New York LLCs, is operated by Sandeep Arneja LLC. It is not a law firm, and this page is general information, not legal advice.

Sources

• New York Limited Liability Company Law §203 (opens in a new tab), §211-A (opens in a new tab), §301 (opens in a new tab) and §302 (opens in a new tab), on the New York State Senate's site.
• The Department of State's FAQ page for corporations and business entities (opens in a new tab), read October 25, 2026.
• Form DOS-1359-f (Rev. 12/22), from the Department of State's Certificate of Change page (opens in a new tab).
• The State's live records of 20 active LLCs whose registered agent is a person, read October 27, 2026, and of 14 LLCs whose agent a Certificate of Change had revoked, read October 23, 2026.
• Our operator's Certificates of Change, each listed on Our work.