Ohio Foreign Registration › Statutory agent
The statutory agent rules for an Ohio foreign LLC
Every foreign LLC registered in Ohio has to maintain a statutory agent in Ohio continuously, and changing the agent costs $25 on Form 521. The agent signs an acceptance of the appointment, and if the agent lapses for 30 days after notice, Ohio cancels the registration.
The rules at a glance
- Who qualifies
- a natural person who lives in Ohio, or a corporation, LLC, partnership or other listed entity with a business address in Ohio that is authorized to operate in the state
- Address
- the primary residence of an individual agent or the usual place of business of an entity agent, always an Ohio address
- Not allowed
- Post office boxes and commercial mail receiving agency addresses
- At filing
- A signed appointment and a signed acceptance
- Change or resignation
- Form 521, $25
- Lapse
- Cancellation after 30 days without a fix
Who can serve
The agent is a natural person who lives in Ohio, or a corporation, LLC, partnership or other listed entity with a business address in Ohio that is authorized to operate in the state. An entity other than a domestic corporation must also meet Ohio's rules for an entity of its type to do business in the state.
What counts as an address
The address in the appointment must be the primary residence of an individual agent or the usual place of business of an entity agent, always an Ohio address. For an entity it is the usual place of business: a place in Ohio that is customarily open during normal business hours with a person generally present who is authorized to accept service of process and notices; a post office box never qualifies. A business that rents out mailboxes is a commercial mail receiving agency, and its address fails the test.
The appointment and the acceptance
Two signatures reach the Secretary of State with the first filing: the company's written appointment, signed by an authorized representative, and the agent's own written acceptance on the prescribed form. Form 617 builds both into its agent pages. The Secretary of State will not accept the original registration without them.
When the agent changes
If the agent dies, resigns or moves out of Ohio, the company must appoint another forthwith and file the appointment with an acceptance. If the agent keeps serving but changes its address, the agent or the company files the new address forthwith. All three events use Form 521, which has boxes for a subsequent appointment, a change of address and a resignation. The company can also revoke an agent by filing a new appointment with an acceptance and a statement that the former appointment is revoked.
If the agent quits
The agent files a signed notice of resignation and mails a copy to the company. The resigning agent stops serving 30 days after the notice is filed. That is the clock for finding a new agent.
What a lapse costs
The Secretary of State notifies the company by email when the agent is missing or a change was not reported. If the default stays open 30 days after the mailing, or a longer period that the office grants, the registration is cancelled. The cancellation can be reversed within 2 years on Form 525A, with a new agent, for $25.
Service through the Secretary of State
When the agent cannot be found, no longer has the address on file, or the company has not kept an agent, a party can file an affidavit and serve the Secretary of State with four copies and a fee of $5. The office then notifies the company and forwards the papers by certified mail. That route means legal papers may reach the company late, which is a reason to keep an agent current.
Our role
We can act as your Ohio statutory agent, or you can name someone else. If you choose us, we sign the acceptance on the form. Either way, the agent on the form must be a real person or business that has agreed.
Questions about the Ohio agent
Can I serve as my own agent?
Only a natural person who lives in Ohio can. Anyone else needs an agent with an Ohio address.
Can an agent use a mailbox?
No. Commercial mail receiving agency addresses are not allowed.
Can I change the agent later?
Yes, on Form 521 for $25.
What happens if I forget?
Ohio sends notice and cancels the registration if the default stays uncured for 30 days.
Our fee and Ohio's
Register in Ohio
- Form 617 typed from what you tell us
- The statutory agent paperwork finished, whether the agent is ours or yours
- The name checked against Ohio's naming rule before the form goes in
- The approved registration handed back to you
- Renewal: after the first year, the agent service renews at $149 a year
$199
+ $99 Ohio fee
Ohio's fee is $99. It is listed apart from our own. $199 plus the state fee, including your first year of registered agent service; after that the agent service renews at $149 a year.
Sources
- Ohio Secretary of State, filing forms and fee schedule
- Form 617, Registration of a Foreign Limited Liability Company
- R.C. 111.16, fees of the Secretary of State
- Form 530A, Foreign For-Profit Corporation Application for License
- R.C. 1703.27, foreign nonprofit corporations
- Form 521, Statutory Agent Update
- R.C. 1706.09, agents of limited liability companies
- Form 525A, Reinstatement and Appointment of Agent
Ready to register in Ohio?
Order now and the form is typed from your answers.