How to Change Your Registered Agent in California

Switching your registered agent in California, the state whose statutes call the role the agent for service of process, is one of the simpler filings a business owner will make. There is a wrinkle worth understanding before you start, though: California has no dedicated change of agent form. The change happens inside a broader filing, the Statement of Information.

The Form: An Updated Statement of Information (Form LLC-12)

To put a new registered agent on record, an LLC files an updated Statement of Information (Form LLC-12) with the Secretary of State's Business Programs Division, submitted through the bizfileOnline portal. The official form name and number matter here because there is nothing labeled "change of agent" to hunt for; you simply file the LLC-12 again with the new agent listed. The incoming agent's consent is captured within the filing itself, so no separate acceptance document goes to the state.

Corporations follow the same pattern with their own version of the statement: Form SI-550 for stock corporations and Form SI-100 for nonprofits.

The Fee: $0 Between Filing Periods

California's fee logic depends entirely on timing:

Between filing periods An updated statement submitted only to report a change carries no fee at all. Most agent changes fall here, so most agent changes are free.

During your scheduled filing period If the change rides along with your regular biennial filing, the standard fee applies: $20 for an LLC, or $25 for a corporation filing its annual statement.

Either way, the state charges nothing extra for the agent change itself.

Steps to Change Your Registered Agent in California

1. Line up a replacement agent who satisfies California's rules: a California street address staffed during normal business hours, held by either an individual who is at least 18 and a California resident or a corporation that has filed the Corp. Code § 1505 certificate. An LLC cannot fill the role, and your company cannot appoint itself.
2. Sign in to bizfileOnline, open your entity's record, and file an updated Statement of Information (Form LLC-12) listing the new agent's name and California address.
3. Once the Secretary of State processes the filing, confirm the new agent appears on your entity's page in the state business search.
4. Let your outgoing agent know the change is complete so their obligations end cleanly.

A caution about the reverse situation: agents can quit. When an agent resigns by filing Form RA-100, your company sits exposed until a new statement designates a replacement, so treat any resignation notice as urgent.

Why Businesses Change Their Registered Agent

Renewal creep Plenty of providers advertise one number and renew at another, with the market running anywhere from $125 to $436 per year once extras are added. A flat annual price is reason enough for many switches.

Missed or slow documents An agent who forwards a lawsuit slowly, or not at all, turns a routine legal matter into a default judgment risk.

Privacy Owners who listed themselves as agent eventually notice their home address sitting in the public record and want it out.

Life and business changes Agents move away, retire, close offices, or stop answering. California requires continuous coverage, so any of these means designating a replacement.

How We Make the Switch Simple

Enroll with us and we hand you exactly what the LLC-12 asks for: our name and our California street address, formatted for the agent section of the form. We stay available for questions while the filing is in progress, and the moment the state's records show us as your agent, we begin accepting documents and scanning them into your portal the same day they arrive.

Ready to Switch?

Order Here Your filings gain a stable California address, and your own address drops out of the agent field of the public record. Visit our checkout page or contact us with questions.