How to Change Your Agent for Service of Process in California (2026)

To change your agent for service of process in California, file Form LLC-12 with the Secretary of State: $0 between filings. Our pick: Mainstay Filing, California agent for service of process for $149/yr (renews at $149), updated Statement of Information filed for you, any state fee at cost → https://www.mainstayfiling.com/califo... Already have an agent? Start the switch here: https://checkout.mainstayfiling.com/s... Chapters 00:00 How to change your agent for service of process in California 00:37 Before you file 01:04 Filing Form LLC-12, step by step 01:59 If your agent resigns 02:36 Changing only the address 03:05 Can the annual report change it? 03:27 What it costs, and our pick Changing a California agent for service of process: the facts (as of 2026) Filing: an updated Statement of Information, Form LLC-12, with the California Secretary of State (bizfile Online, or mail to Sacramento). There is no separate change-of-agent form (Corp. Code §§ 17701.14, 17702.09). Fee: no fee for an update between required filings; the initial and every-two-years statements are $20. Online filing has required web User Access since August 1, 2026. No notary; signed under penalty of perjury. Effective when the Secretary of State files it; a new agent isn't effective before then (§ 17701.16). New agent: an individual California resident with a California street address (no P.O. box), or a corporation with a current § 1505 certificate (listed by name only, with its advance approval). Your LLC can't be its own agent. Agent's address changes: the LLC files a new statement for an individual agent; a corporate agent files an updated 1505 certificate. Agent resigns: Form RA-100, no fee; the agent's authority ends when it is filed (§ 17701.15). The LLC must promptly name a replacement. No agent: a court can order service on the Secretary of State ($50 fee), complete 10 days after delivery (§ 17701.16). Recurring filing: the every-two-years Statement of Information ($20), which can also name the new agent. Full California registered agent guide:    • California Agent for Service of Process 20...   Sources Statement of Information, Form LLC-12 (PDF): https://bpd.cdn.sos.ca.gov/llc/forms/... Resignation of Agent for Service of Process, Form RA-100 (PDF): https://bpd.cdn.sos.ca.gov/pdf/ra100.pdf LLC Statement of Information forms: https://www.sos.ca.gov/business-progr... Statements of Information filing tips: https://www.sos.ca.gov/business-progr... Business Entities FAQs: https://www.sos.ca.gov/business-progr... Service of Process: https://www.sos.ca.gov/business-progr... Corp. Code § 17701.13: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/fa.... Corp. Code § 17701.15: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/fa.... Corp. Code § 17701.16: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/fa.... Corp. Code § 17702.09: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/fa.... Corp. Code § 1505: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/fa.... General information, not legal advice.