North Carolina Foreign Registration Registered agent rules
Picking the agent who receives legal papers for a North Carolina foreign LLC
A foreign LLC registered in this state keeps a registered agent, and an office on a North Carolina street, and any change goes to the Secretary of State within 60 days on Form BE-06, for $5. Spending 60 days or longer without either gives the state a ground to revoke.
Who may serve
The state's instructions accept a North Carolina resident; a North Carolina corporation, nonprofit corporation or LLC; an out-of-state corporation, nonprofit corporation or LLC that is authorized in North Carolina. In every case the registered office must be at a street address in North Carolina. The agent's name goes in item 4 of Form L-09 and the office address in item 5. A mailing address in North Carolina may be a P.O. box or drawer, but only in item 6.
Quick eligibility check
| Candidate | Eligible? | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| A North Carolina resident | Yes | Residents may serve |
| A North Carolina corporation, nonprofit or LLC | Yes | Existing domestic entities qualify |
| An out-of-state company authorized here | Yes | It holds authority in North Carolina |
| An out-of-state company with no authority here | No | Not authorized in North Carolina |
| A friend outside North Carolina | No | No North Carolina residence or office |
The office address
The registered office is a physical place. The application asks for the street address and county. If mail does not go to that street address, give a North Carolina mailing address separately. A mailing address is for convenience, never a substitute for the street address.
Keeping the agent current
Two clocks run at once. Going 60 days or longer with no agent or office gives the Secretary of State grounds to revoke (G.S. 57D-7-30(a)(3)), and a change of agent or office must be reported inside 60 days. The form for the change is Form BE-06, at $5. Whoever signs it should confirm that the new agent has agreed to serve.
What happens to the agent when the certificate is revoked
The agent's role can outlast the certificate: the statute makes the registered agent's authority survive revocation for service of process on the company (G.S. 57D-7-31(e)). The Secretary of State also serves revocation notices on the agent, so an agent who has quietly stopped forwarding mail is a real risk. Tell your agent to forward every item from the Secretary of State at once.
Using a commercial agent
A commercial agent suits companies with no North Carolina presence. Check that it is authorized to operate in North Carolina and that the address it gives is a street address. We can serve as your North Carolina registered agent. Pick that option at checkout and our name and North Carolina office go onto the application; if you already use an agent, just tell us who.
Appointing and changing an agent
Choose an eligible agent
Resident, domestic entity or authorized foreign entity.
Confirm the street address
In North Carolina, with county.
Enter the agent on the form
The agent block of Form L-09.
Report any change in time
Form BE-06, $5, within 60 days.
How the agent connects to speed
The registered agent has no effect on how fast the state files your application, but a missing agent is a reason for rejection, because the agent's name, street address and county are required items. When you are working against a rush deadline, settle the agent first. If you plan to serve as your own agent, be sure you are a North Carolina resident and that the address you list is a street address where you can be found during business hours.
Notices from the Secretary of State
The agent is where the state's formal notices go, including a notice that revocation is being considered. The company then has 60 days to cure each ground. An agent who does not pass notices on promptly turns a 60-day window into a few days. Ask your agent how it forwards mail and to whom, and give it an email address that more than one person reads.
Registered agent questions
Can I serve as my own agent?
Yes, provided you live in North Carolina. Your name and street address then sit on the public record.
Does the state fee pay for an agent?
No. An agent is a separate service from the $250 the state charges.
Can the agent use a P.O. box?
Only for the North Carolina mailing address. The registered office needs a street address.
What if my agent resigns?
Appoint a new one and report it within 60 days.
Fixed fee, state fees at cost
- The state form for your entity type, completed from your answers
- An original certificate of existence from your home state, requested for you
- Filed electronically with the Business Registration Division in Raleigh
- A North Carolina registered agent: ours, or the one you pick
- Your issued certificate and the date of your first April 15 report
- Renewal: after the first year, the agent service renews at $149 a year
State filing fees and any rush option are charged at cost and listed apart from our fee. $199 plus the state fee, including your first year of registered agent service; after that the agent service renews at $149 a year.
State sources
- North Carolina Secretary of State, LLC fee schedule
- Form L-09, Application for Certificate of Authority (LLC)
- North Carolina Secretary of State, Business Registration fees (nonprofit, LLP, expedite, payment fees)
- North Carolina Secretary of State, Business Registration forms
- North Carolina Secretary of State, Business Registration Division (turn-around times)
- North Carolina Secretary of State, Business Registration forms list (nonprofit, LP and LLP forms)
- North Carolina Secretary of State, annual report due dates
- North Carolina Secretary of State, Register a Foreign Business: maintaining registration
- N.C. Gen. Stat. 57D-7-30 (grounds for revocation)
- North Carolina Secretary of State, Register a Foreign Business: requirements
- N.C. Gen. Stat. 57D-7-31 (procedure for and effect of revocation)
Need to be registered in North Carolina soon?
Order online, choose a rush option if you need one, and we prepare and file the application.