How to Change Your Registered Agent in North Carolina
Complete guide to updating your LLC's registered agent with the North Carolina Secretary of State, including required forms and fees.
Last updated: September 2026
Affiliate disclosure: We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Get registered agent service from NorthwestRegistered agent service is $125/yr. The included first year applies only when you form a new LLC with them ($39 plus your state's filing fee), so it does not apply to an LLC you already have. Registered agent customers are enrolled by default in annual report filing at $100 plus state fees, charged automatically to your saved payment method and cancellable any time.Get registered agent service from ZenBusinessRegistered agent service is $199/yr, their standard rate. The $99 first-year price applies only when you form a new LLC with them, so it does not apply to an LLC you already have.Not sure which service is right? Compare formation services →
How to File
- 1
Obtain the Change of Registered Agent form
Download Form L-10 (Statement of Change of Registered Office/Agent) from the North Carolina Secretary of State website at https://www.sosnc.gov or request it by mail.
- 2
Complete the required information
Fill out your LLC's name, file number, current registered agent information, and new registered agent details including name and North Carolina street address.
- 3
Get consent from your new registered agent
Ensure your new registered agent agrees to serve and has a physical North Carolina address (PO boxes aren't acceptable for registered agent addresses).
- 4
Sign and date the form
The form must be signed by an authorized person of the LLC, typically a member or manager, and include the date of signing.
- 5
Submit the form with payment
File Form L-10 with the NC Secretary of State along with the $5 filing fee. You can file online, by mail, or in person at the Secretary of State office.
- 6
Update your LLC records
Once approved, update your internal LLC records and notify any relevant parties (banks, vendors, etc.) of the registered agent change.
When Should You Change Your Registered Agent?
- Your current registered agent is moving out of North Carolina or changing business addresses
- You're switching from being your own registered agent to hiring a professional service
- Your registered agent company is going out of business or providing poor service
- You need better privacy protection and want to remove your personal address from public records
Hiring a service is optional. You can name yourself or another individual with a street address in North Carolina, and the FAQ below gives North Carolina's own rule.
Registered agent services for North Carolina LLCs, by renewal price
Affiliate disclosure: Northwest Registered Agent, Bizee, ZenBusiness and LegalZoom pay us a commission if you sign up through our link, at no extra cost to you. We list only the registered agent services we have an affiliate relationship with, so this is not a survey of the whole market.
This table is not scored. The four are listed cheapest annual renewal first, and the rows below it say which one fits which situation. The scored ranking, and the formula behind it, is on the formation services review, which orders them on three-year cost, BBB rating and Trustpilot score.
| Service | With formation, year 1 | Annual renewal | BBB | Trustpilot | Privacy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Registered Agent | Included with $39 formation | $125/yr | A | 4.1/5 (297) | Says it does not sell your information; runs its own servers |
| Bizee | Free year one | $149/yr | C (unaccredited) | 4.8/5 (26,100+) | No data-sharing commitment |
| ZenBusiness | $99, not included in any plan | $199/yr | A | 4.8/5 (32,500+) | Partial |
| LegalZoom | Not included, $249 extra | $249/yr | A+ | 4.6/5 (32,900+) | Partial |
Note: Bizee holds a C rating from the BBB and is not accredited. BBB's profile carries a live alert describing a pattern of complaints about unexpected charges, difficulty canceling and filing delays, and Bizee has posted a response to it. We flag this so you can make an informed choice.
Prices are each provider's standard published rates; year-one pricing applies when you form your LLC through the same service. BBB and Trustpilot figures as recorded September 15, 2026, not re-checked since, and both sources update continuously. These are the dates the figures were last written to our dataset, which is the most we can show: they are not verification dates. See how we evaluate these companies in our full formation services review →
This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. It reports what each state publishes about filing deadlines, fees, and the consequences of missing them, with the sources this page cites. It cannot tell you what your own company owes: the date turns on when and where you formed, states change these rules between our reviews, and in several states an entity-level tax falls due in a year when no report does. Confirm your own dates with the filing office named on this page before you rely on one here, because the penalty for missing a deadline can be administrative dissolution of the company.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sources
Each entry below is a document recorded in our verified North Carolina sources, and each entry says what the document is. Some statutory text is read from an accurate mirror rather than from the state's own host, and those say so.
- sosnc.gov/divisions/business_registrationNorth Carolina Secretary of State: business entity filings
- ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/PDF/BySection/Chapter_57D/GS_57D-2-24.pdfNorth Carolina statute: Annual Report
- sosnc.gov/divisions/business_registration/annual_report_helpNorth Carolina agency guidance: Annual Report
Formation Services Compared
Forming an LLC in North Carolina?
See how Northwest Registered Agent, Bizee, ZenBusiness and LegalZoom, the formation services we partner with, compare on 3-year cost, BBB rating and Trustpilot score before you choose.
Need a Registered Agent in North Carolina?
Affiliate disclosure: We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Get registered agent service from NorthwestRegistered agent service is $125/yr. The included first year applies only when you form a new LLC with them ($39 plus your state's filing fee), so it does not apply to an LLC you already have. Registered agent customers are enrolled by default in annual report filing at $100 plus state fees, charged automatically to your saved payment method and cancellable any time.Get registered agent service from ZenBusinessRegistered agent service is $199/yr, their standard rate. The $99 first-year price applies only when you form a new LLC with them, so it does not apply to an LLC you already have.Not sure which service is right? Compare formation services →