How long does it take to change a registered agent in Tennessee?

Changes filed online with the Tennessee Secretary of State are typically processed within 1-2 business days, while mail filings may take 5-10 business days. You'll submit Form SS-4031 (Statement of Change of Registered Agent) through the Secretary of State's online filing system or by mail to the Division of Business Services in Nashville. The change becomes effective on the date the Secretary of State accepts and processes your filing, not the date you submit it. This matters because your old registered agent remains legally responsible for receiving service of process until the new agent is officially active. A critical gap if you need immediate protection. To avoid service delays, file online rather than by mail, and confirm the change has posted on the Secretary of State's website before notifying your new registered agent to begin their duties.

What is the cost to change a registered agent in Tennessee?

The filing fee to change your registered agent in Tennessee is $20, payable to the Tennessee Secretary of State. You'll submit this fee alongside Form SS-4307 (Statement of Change of Registered Agent and/or Registered Office) through the Secretary of State's online filing system or by mail to their Nashville office. This $20 fee is a one-time cost regardless of how many registered agent changes you make in a single filing. If you're changing both your registered agent and registered office address simultaneously, the fee remains $20. You don't pay separately for each change. For LLC owners, this relatively low cost makes it practical to update your registered agent promptly if your current agent becomes unavailable or you need to switch to a professional service. Processing typically takes 5 to 10 business days through online filing. To proceed, visit the Tennessee Secretary of State website, complete Form SS-4307 with your new agent's information, and submit it with your $20 fee online or by mail.

Can I be my own registered agent in Tennessee?

Yes, you can serve as your own registered agent in Tennessee if you meet two requirements: you must be a Tennessee resident and maintain a street address (not a P.O. box) where you can receive legal documents during normal business hours. This means your registered agent address on file with the Tennessee Secretary of State must be a physical location accessible for service of process. However, this creates a practical liability. As your own registered agent, you personally receive all lawsuits, regulatory notices, and legal documents. Missing a deadline because you were unavailable could result in a default judgment against your LLC. Additionally, your registered agent address becomes public record, exposing your personal address to potential solicitation. To change your registered agent in Tennessee, file Form SS-4308 with the Secretary of State and pay the $20 filing fee. If you decide a professional registered agent service better protects your privacy and ensures compliance, you can update this information immediately.

Will changing my registered agent affect my LLC's good standing?

No, changing your registered agent won't affect your LLC's good standing in Tennessee, provided you file the change correctly with the Tennessee Secretary of State. However, failing to maintain a registered agent at all can trigger administrative dissolution of your LLC. To change your registered agent, file Form SS-4308 (Change of Registered Agent) with the Tennessee Secretary of State's office in Nashville. The filing fee is $20 if submitted by mail or $15 online through the Secretary of State's portal. There's no statutory deadline, but you must have a registered agent in place continuously. Gaps in representation can jeopardize your standing. The practical implication is significant: your LLC remains compliant as long as the transition is smooth with no lapse in agent coverage. Tennessee requires your registered agent to maintain a physical office address within the state; missing this requirement can result in administrative dissolution notices. Next step: File Form SS-4308 immediately to ensure your new agent's information is recorded before your current agent's appointment ends.

Can I file the registered agent change online in Tennessee?

Yes, Tennessee allows you to file registered agent changes online through the Tennessee Secretary of State's website at https://sos.tn.gov. You'll submit Form SS-4307, the "Change of Registered Agent" form, via the online filing portal, which processes your request within 1-2 business days at no additional charge beyond Tennessee's standard $50 filing fee. Online filing eliminates mail delays and provides immediate confirmation of submission, allowing you to update your LLC's official records without visiting an office or waiting for postal delivery. The online system generates a timestamp-stamped receipt, which serves as proof of filing for your records and satisfies compliance requirements. This method is particularly valuable if your current agent is resigning or relocating, as you need the change effective immediately to avoid potential legal liability. To proceed, gather your LLC's entity number, your current and new agent's complete addresses, and access the Secretary of State's online portal to complete and pay for Form SS-4307 today.

LLC Guide

How to Change Your Registered Agent in Tennessee

Step-by-step guide to updating your LLC's registered agent with the Tennessee Secretary of State

Last updated: June 2026

Read this guide for another state:

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 →

Step diagram for changing an LLC's registered agent in Tennessee, showing the 5 filing steps required by the Secretary of State. — The 5 steps to change your registered agent in Tennessee. Source: Tennessee Secretary of State.

How to File

1
Choose Your New Registered Agent
Select a new registered agent who is either a Tennessee resident with a street address in the state, or a business entity authorized to do business in Tennessee. The agent must be available during normal business hours to receive legal documents.
2
Obtain Written Consent
Get written consent from your new registered agent before filing the change. This ensures they agree to serve as your agent and understand their responsibilities for receiving official documents and legal notices.
3
Complete the Statement of Change
Fill out the Statement of Change of Registered Agent form. Include your LLC's name, the name and address of your current registered agent, and the name and address of your new registered agent.
4
File with Tennessee Secretary of State
Submit the completed Statement of Change form to the Tennessee Secretary of State. You can file online at https://sos.tn.gov or mail the form to the Division of Business Services. The filing fee is $20.
5
Update Your Records
Once the change is processed, update your LLC's internal records and notify your bank, insurance companies, and other business partners of the new registered agent information.

Ready to file your annual report?

Go directly to the Tennessee Secretary of State portal.

File at Tennessee SOS →

When Should You Change Your Registered Agent?

Your current registered agent is no longer available or has moved out of Tennessee
You want to switch from being your own registered agent to a professional service
Your registered agent's business has closed or they're no longer providing the service
You need better service reliability or privacy protection from a commercial registered agent

Hiring a service is optional. You can name yourself or another individual with a street address in Tennessee, and the FAQ below gives Tennessee's own rule.

Registered agent services for Tennessee 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

: Changes filed online with the Tennessee Secretary of State are typically processed within 1-2 business days, while mail filings may take 5-10 business days. You'll submit Form SS-4031 (Statement of Change of Registered Agent) through the Secretary of State's online filing system or by mail to the Division of Business Services in Nashville. The change becomes effective on the date the Secretary of State accepts and processes your filing, not the date you submit it. This matters because your old registered agent remains legally responsible for receiving service of process until the new agent is officially active. A critical gap if you need immediate protection. To avoid service delays, file online rather than by mail, and confirm the change has posted on the Secretary of State's website before notifying your new registered agent to begin their duties.
: The filing fee to change your registered agent in Tennessee is $20, payable to the Tennessee Secretary of State. You'll submit this fee alongside Form SS-4307 (Statement of Change of Registered Agent and/or Registered Office) through the Secretary of State's online filing system or by mail to their Nashville office. This $20 fee is a one-time cost regardless of how many registered agent changes you make in a single filing. If you're changing both your registered agent and registered office address simultaneously, the fee remains $20. You don't pay separately for each change. For LLC owners, this relatively low cost makes it practical to update your registered agent promptly if your current agent becomes unavailable or you need to switch to a professional service. Processing typically takes 5 to 10 business days through online filing. To proceed, visit the Tennessee Secretary of State website, complete Form SS-4307 with your new agent's information, and submit it with your $20 fee online or by mail.
: Yes, you can serve as your own registered agent in Tennessee if you meet two requirements: you must be a Tennessee resident and maintain a street address (not a P.O. box) where you can receive legal documents during normal business hours. This means your registered agent address on file with the Tennessee Secretary of State must be a physical location accessible for service of process. However, this creates a practical liability. As your own registered agent, you personally receive all lawsuits, regulatory notices, and legal documents. Missing a deadline because you were unavailable could result in a default judgment against your LLC. Additionally, your registered agent address becomes public record, exposing your personal address to potential solicitation. To change your registered agent in Tennessee, file Form SS-4308 with the Secretary of State and pay the $20 filing fee. If you decide a professional registered agent service better protects your privacy and ensures compliance, you can update this information immediately.
: No, changing your registered agent won't affect your LLC's good standing in Tennessee, provided you file the change correctly with the Tennessee Secretary of State. However, failing to maintain a registered agent at all can trigger administrative dissolution of your LLC. To change your registered agent, file Form SS-4308 (Change of Registered Agent) with the Tennessee Secretary of State's office in Nashville. The filing fee is $20 if submitted by mail or $15 online through the Secretary of State's portal. There's no statutory deadline, but you must have a registered agent in place continuously. Gaps in representation can jeopardize your standing. The practical implication is significant: your LLC remains compliant as long as the transition is smooth with no lapse in agent coverage. Tennessee requires your registered agent to maintain a physical office address within the state; missing this requirement can result in administrative dissolution notices. Next step: File Form SS-4308 immediately to ensure your new agent's information is recorded before your current agent's appointment ends.
: Yes, Tennessee allows you to file registered agent changes online through the Tennessee Secretary of State's website at https://sos.tn.gov. You'll submit Form SS-4307, the "Change of Registered Agent" form, via the online filing portal, which processes your request within 1-2 business days at no additional charge beyond Tennessee's standard $50 filing fee. Online filing eliminates mail delays and provides immediate confirmation of submission, allowing you to update your LLC's official records without visiting an office or waiting for postal delivery. The online system generates a timestamp-stamped receipt, which serves as proof of filing for your records and satisfies compliance requirements. This method is particularly valuable if your current agent is resigning or relocating, as you need the change effective immediately to avoid potential legal liability. To proceed, gather your LLC's entity number, your current and new agent's complete addresses, and access the Secretary of State's online portal to complete and pay for Form SS-4307 today.

Sources

Each entry below is a document recorded in our verified Tennessee 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.

sos.tn.gov/businessesTennessee Secretary of State: business entity filings
law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-48/chapter-249/part-10/section-48-249-1017/Tennessee statutory text, unofficial mirror: Annual Report
sos-prod.tnsosgovfiles.com/s3fs-public/document/SS-4270%20LLC_0.pdfTennessee agency guidance: Annual Report
tn.gov/content/dam/tn/revenue/documents/tax_manuals/june-2025/Frachise-Excise-Tax-Manual.pdfTennessee agency guidance: Franchise and Excise Tax
tn.gov/content/dam/tn/revenue/documents/forms/fae/fae170instructions2022.pdfTennessee agency guidance: Franchise and Excise Tax
tn.gov/revenue/taxes/franchise---excise-tax.htmlTennessee Department of Revenue: file the Franchise and Excise Tax

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How to File

Choose Your New Registered Agent

Obtain Written Consent

Complete the Statement of Change

File with Tennessee Secretary of State

Update Your Records

When Should You Change Your Registered Agent?

Registered agent services for Tennessee LLCs, by renewal price

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

Need a Registered Agent in Tennessee?

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