Paying a registered agent company
Do you have to pay a registered agent every year in NY?
By Sandeep ArnejaUpdated
The short answer
New York law does not require an LLC to have a registered agent: an LLC "may designate" one "In addition to the designation of the secretary of state" (LLC Law §302(a)). Every New York LLC already has an agent for service of process: the Secretary of State, named in its articles of organization.
A yearly registered agent bill comes from the LLC's contract with an agent company: an agent company's bill follows its contract with the LLC, not the State's record.
Cancelling a registered agent company's yearly contract does not change a New York LLC's State record: the State keeps listing the agent, and the LLC's service of process address, until a filing changes them. Remove Registered Agent files the Certificate of Change that takes the agent company off a New York LLC's State record and, where needed, replaces the LLC's service of process address with one the LLC chooses. With the State's filing receipt in hand, the LLC can then cancel or not renew its contract with the agent company, as that contract allows.
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. 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.
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.
Do you need a registered agent in New York at all?
Every New York LLC has had the Secretary of State as its agent for service of process since formation.
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)). Process is the papers served to start or carry on a legal action, such as a summons. That address is 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.
A registered agent is a second, optional designation. Under §302(a), an LLC "may designate a registered agent upon whom process against the limited liability company may be served", and it does so "In addition to the designation of the secretary of state". A filing that only revokes the registered agent therefore leaves the LLC compliant with New York's registered-agent rule; the Secretary of State has been its agent for service of process since formation (§301(a), (b)).
- 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.
Key fact
Fewer than three in ten active New York LLCs name a registered agent, by our count of New York DOS open data.
Of the 2,069,584 active domestic LLCs in the Department of State's open data on October 27, 2026, 573,852 (27.7%) name a registered agent, by our count, with placeholders such as "Registered Agent Revoked" left out. Among the 177,895 formed from October 23, 2025 to October 22, 2026, 67,198 (37.8%) name one.
Fewer still name a registered agent company. Of those 177,895 newer LLCs, 40,640 (22.8%) name one of the registered agent companies our free record check recognizes; across all 2,069,584 active domestic LLCs, 310,931 (15.0%) do, by our count of the same data.
Related guide: Does a New York LLC need a registered agent? The law, quoted
Where the yearly registered agent bill comes from
The State's standard formation forms have no blank for a registered agent; the yearly bill comes with a company's service.
None of the Department of State's four standard forms that create or authorize an LLC has a blank for a registered agent: DOS-1336-f (domestic LLC), DOS-1374-f (PLLC), DOS-1361-f-a (foreign LLC) and DOS-1369-f-a (foreign PLLC), each Rev. 12/22. Each designates the Secretary of State as the agent for service of process.
An LLC names a registered agent by its own choice, and yearly charges often start as a bundled first year: some companies' published pages include the first year of registered agent service with a formation, or list a lower price for the first year, and then renew the service each year after it.
Many LLCs pay an agent company under a yearly contract. An agent company's bill follows its contract with the LLC, not the State's record. The State's record lists the registered agent and the LLC's service of process address; it shows nothing about what the LLC pays an agent company. A Certificate of Change changes the State's record only: none of its statements is about an agent company's contract or bill.
| The State's record | The agent company's contract | |
|---|---|---|
| What it holds | The registered agent, if any, and the LLC's service of process address | The service the company sells, its price and its renewal |
| What it costs | No yearly fee: each of the LLC Law's fees for it (§1101) is paid once, per filing | The company's own price, which the companies whose prices we read publish as a yearly one |
| What changes it | A filing: under §301(c), the address "shall continue until the filing of a certificate or other instrument under this chapter directing the mailing to a different post office address" | The contract's own terms, including how and by when a cancel request must reach the company |
| What leaves it as it is | Cancelling the contract: the agent and the address stay on the record | A Certificate of Change: none of its statements is about the contract or the bill |
How much a registered agent costs per year in New York
Every registered agent price we read is a yearly one, with a renewal that can be charged automatically.
The yearly prices that six registered agent companies publish run from $125 to $249 (read October 29, 2026; one from an archived copy). Of those six, one lists a lower price for the first year, and two include the first year with a formation.
The published terms of those six each describe a renewal that can be charged automatically unless the service is cancelled before it. When a renewal falls due, how and by when a cancel request must reach the company, and whether any refund applies are addressed under each company's published terms, where it publishes them. Some companies' terms say charges and renewals continue until their own cancellation steps are completed.
These are the companies' own published prices for their registered agent service. The State's record shows none of them, and no filing with the State changes them.
What each company's published terms ask when you leave is quoted, dated and linked, in the table in our cancelling guide.
What a registered agent's yearly fee pays for
In law, a registered agent is one more party who can be served with process for the LLC.
Under §302(a), a registered agent is an agent "upon whom process against the limited liability company may be served". What an agent company does for its fee, such as forwarding the process it receives, is set by its own contract with the LLC.
The Secretary of State's route runs whether or not an LLC names an agent. For an LLC that is not suspended, when process is personally delivered to the Secretary of State, service on the LLC is complete at that point, and the Secretary of State then promptly sends a copy by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the post office address on file for that purpose (LLC Law §303(a)(1)). For an LLC suspended under §301-A, service through the Secretary of State follows LLC Law §301-A(e)(2).
Keeping a registered agent serves an LLC that wants a person or company in New York to receive process served on it and forward it under a contract, alongside the State's own mailing. New York leaves the choice to the LLC.
Related guide: Can you be your own registered agent in New York?
What New York charges for its own agent for service of process
None of the Department of State's fees in the LLC Law is a yearly one.
LLC Law §1101 lists the fees the Department of State collects under the LLC Law, from (a) to (v). None of them is a yearly fee, and none is for the Secretary of State's designation as the LLC's agent for service of process apart from filing the articles of organization, where the designation is made: "For filing articles of organization pursuant to section two hundred nine of this chapter, two hundred dollars." (LLC Law §1101(f))
| Filing with the Department of State | Fee under LLC Law §1101 |
|---|---|
| The articles of organization, which designate the Secretary of State | "two hundred dollars" (§1101(f)) |
| The statement of address an LLC files biennially under §301(e)(1) | "nine dollars" (§1101(c)) |
| A Certificate of Change that revokes the registered agent or changes the service of process address | "thirty dollars" (§1101(v)) |
The annual filing fee some LLCs pay the Department of Taxation and Finance on Form IT-204-LL (opens in a new tab) is a tax filing, separate from the agent designation.
Why cancelling the contract leaves the agent company on your record
Ending the contract changes nothing the State lists: that takes a filing.
Cancelling a registered agent company's yearly contract does not change a New York LLC's State record: the State keeps listing the agent, and the LLC's service of process address, until a filing changes them.
Two separate steps
Step 1
Your New York record
With: The New York Department of State
One Certificate of Change can take the agent company off the record and, where needed, replace the service of process address. The LLC signs it, and Remove Registered Agent files it.
The State's filing receipt confirms the filingStep 2
Your contract with the agent company
With: The agent company
The LLC cancels or does not renew the contract, under that company's own terms.
Cancelling the contract alone does not change the State's record
Revoking a New York LLC's registered agent does not move its service of process address: the Secretary of State keeps mailing a copy of any process against the LLC to the address on file until a filing changes it. One Certificate of Change, form DOS-1359-f, can revoke the registered agent and replace the service of process address on the same filing.
Often, both entries point to the agent company. Of the active New York LLCs formed from October 23, 2025 to October 22, 2026 that name a registered agent company, three in four (75.9%) have their service of process address at their agent's own building, by our count of New York DOS open data on October 23, 2026.
Some agent companies' published terms ask for proof they are no longer listed as the LLC's registered agent; a filed Certificate of Change and the updated State record are that record. Whether a company accepts the filed record is between the LLC and that company.
After a registered agent service ends, a New York LLC's State record can still name the agent company, and its service of process address can still be that company's address. One Certificate of Change can take the agent company off a New York LLC's State record and, where needed, replace the LLC's service of process address.
Related guide: Does removing a registered agent change your service of process address?
Taking the agent company off your record: one filing, paid once
The State's side of leaving is one certificate, and its State fee is paid once.
Can an LLC file the Certificate of Change itself? Yes, 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. The rest go to finding the right form, filling in both of its pages and the cover sheet, the signature, the State fee, and mailing it with a self-addressed stamped envelope for the confirmation. In our operator's experience, one small mistake on the form brings a correction letter and a resubmission. The DOS-1359-f guide lists every step.
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. 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.With Remove Registered Agent, the LLC's part is to confirm its details by email, choose any new address and sign.
| You, filing it yourself | Remove Registered Agent | |
|---|---|---|
| Read the LLC's record | You look it up on DOS Public Inquiry and read both entries | Reads the live record and says what the certificate would change, before anything is filed |
| The certificate | You pick the statements, and fill in the form and its cover sheet | 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 and prepares the certificate it calls for: the revoke statement and, where the address is still the agent company's, the address statement |
| The new address | You choose it, and it is public on the State's record | You choose it; Remove Registered Agent writes it in |
| The State fee | Paid by check or card authorization form | Inside one price, one payment per certificate, with nothing recurring |
| Sending it | By email or mail | Electronically, through eCorp's E-Submission upload, under its operator's service company account |
| A correction the State asks for | You fix it and send it again | Makes the correction and resubmits the certificate at no charge; if the correction changes the certificate, you sign the corrected copy first |
| Afterwards | You check the record again | Checks the record and sends the State's filing receipt and what changed |
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.
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.
Each filing carries Remove Registered Agent's guarantee; its terms are on the guarantee page.
Take the agent company off your record with one filing
Remove Registered Agent files a New York LLC's Certificate of Change for $100 all in, including the $30 State filing fee.
The Certificate of Change accepted by the State, or your full $100 back. How the guarantee works
The contract stays with the LLC: with the State's filing receipt in hand, the LLC can then cancel or not renew its contract with the agent company, as that contract allows.
Related guide: Cancelling a registered agent without a replacement in New York
See what one certificate would change 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.
Questions
Do I have to pay a registered agent every year for my New York LLC?
New York law does not require an LLC to have a registered agent: an LLC "may designate" one "In addition to the designation of the secretary of state" (LLC Law §302(a)). Every New York LLC already has an agent for service of process: the Secretary of State, named in its articles of organization. A yearly registered agent bill comes from the LLC's contract with a registered agent company: an agent company's bill follows its contract with the LLC, not the State's record. Cancelling a registered agent company's yearly contract does not change a New York LLC's State record: the State keeps listing the agent, and the LLC's service of process address, until a filing changes them. Remove Registered Agent files the Certificate of Change that takes the agent company off a New York LLC's State record and, where needed, replaces the LLC's service of process address with one the LLC chooses. With the State's filing receipt in hand, the LLC can then cancel or not renew its contract with the agent company, as that contract allows.
What does a registered agent company's yearly fee pay for?
Under LLC Law §302(a), a registered agent is a person or company "upon whom process against the limited liability company may be served", in addition to the Secretary of State. What an agent company does for its fee, such as forwarding the process it receives, is set by its own contract with the LLC. The State's record lists the registered agent and the LLC's service of process address; it shows nothing about what the LLC pays an agent company. The State has its own route: for an LLC that is not suspended, when process is personally delivered to the Secretary of State, service on the LLC is complete at that point, and the Secretary of State then promptly sends a copy by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the post office address on file for that purpose (LLC Law §303(a)(1)). For an LLC suspended under §301-A, service through the Secretary of State follows LLC Law §301-A(e)(2).
Is there a yearly State fee for the Secretary of State to receive process for my LLC?
No. LLC Law §1101 lists the fees the Department of State collects under the LLC Law, and none of them is a yearly fee or a fee for the Secretary of State's designation as the LLC's agent for service of process, apart from filing the articles of organization, where the designation is made: "For filing articles of organization pursuant to section two hundred nine of this chapter, two hundred dollars." (LLC Law §1101(f)). The statement of address an LLC files biennially under LLC Law §301(e)(1) costs "nine dollars" (§1101(c)). The annual filing fee some LLCs pay the Department of Taxation and Finance on Form IT-204-LL is a tax filing, separate from the designation.
Why did my registered agent charge me again this year?
Each of the six registered agent companies whose published price we read on October 29, 2026 lists it as a yearly one (one of them from an archived copy), and their published terms each describe a renewal that can be charged automatically unless the service is cancelled before it. Of those six, one lists a lower price for the first year, and two include the first year with a formation. When a renewal falls due, how and by when a cancel request must reach the company, and whether any refund applies are addressed under each company's published terms, where it publishes them. An agent company's bill follows its contract with the LLC, not the State's record.
Is removing a registered agent a one-time cost or a yearly one?
One time. The State's fee for a Certificate of Change is "thirty dollars" (LLC Law §1101(v)), paid when the certificate is filed, and none of the fees in §1101 is a yearly one. Remove Registered Agent's price is one payment per certificate, with nothing recurring, and the State filing fee is inside it: Remove Registered Agent prepares the certificate from the LLC's live State record, files it electronically through eCorp under its operator's service company account, makes any correction the State asks for at no charge, and sends the State's filing receipt. Cancelling the agent company's service is the LLC's own step, taken with the agent company under that company's terms. 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 Certificate of Change accepted by the State, or your full $100 back.
We fill in and file the Certificate of Change for you
Remove Registered Agent files a New York LLC's Certificate of Change for $100 all in, including the $30 State filing fee.
The Certificate of Change accepted by the State, or your full $100 back. How the guarantee works
5.0 out of 5 from 337 Google reviews Read the reviews
Check my record