Registered Agents for Your Illinois LLC

What is a Registered Agent?

A man with a title Registerd Agent in the background

An Illinois Registered Agent provides various services including accepting formal documents and correspondence from the Illinois Secretary of State (IL SOS).

Your LLC is required to have a Registered Agent at all times. You appoint one when you first start your business, but you can also replace your existing Illinois Registered Agent at a later date, assuming the service is uninterrupted while switching between the old and new agents.

Illinois Registered Agent Requirements

Every domestic and foreign corporation is required to maintain a Registered Agent with a registered office in the State of Illinois at all times.
The Registered Agent is allowed to be either a natural person, or a domestic or foreign (licensed to transact business in this State) artificial legal entity (Corporation, LLC, LP or LLP).
The registered office must be located at a street address in the State of Illinois, and a P.O. Box isn’t allowed.
If it’s a business, they are required to be able to conduct business in Illinois.
If it’s a person, they are required to reside in Illinois.
The Registered Agent is required to be available in person during normal business hours to sign for any correspondence.

Note that the address for your Illinois agent doesn't need to be the same as your business address. In fact, you can use an Illinois virtual mailbox for your business address.

Important: A virtual mailbox is not a substitute for a Registered Agent. They perform two different functions and per state law, you must have a Registered Agent.

What an Illinois Registered Agent Does

The Registered Agent’s main function is to accept official documents and correspondence.

This includes:

Official communication from the IL SOS
Process notice service (if your LLC is required to appear in court or sued)
Official correspondence and notifications from the state or federal government
Tax forms and requests to complete permits, company filings and reports

Bizee Provides Free Illinois Registered Agent Service for the First Year

Bizee offers complete Illinois Registered Agent service for any LLC that’s formed in the state. Even better, if you start your business through us, your Registered Agent is free for the first year, and only $119 a year after that.

Bizee can legally act as your Registered Agent and is authorized to conduct business in Illinois. Here’s what you’ll get from the our Registered Agent service:

An Illinois Registered Agent always available to receive correspondence, documents and legal proceedings on your behalf
A real-time dashboard where you can access, store and retrieve any information we’ve received on your behalf
Email notification when we receive documents for your business
Automatic forwarding of all information directly to you, such as legal correspondence and documentation

Get Our Trusted Registered Agent Service

Appointing a Registered Agent for Your LLC

Illinois requires you to appoint a Registered Agent when you first form your LLC, but you can change it at any point after that. Here’s how to go about it.

Assign a Registered Agent When You Form Your LLC

Your business is required to have a Registered Agent when it’s formed, and you have two opportunities to do this:

When You File Articles of Organization with the IL SOS

When You Form Your LLC Through Bizee

Start Your Business Through Bizee

Assign a Different Registered Agent After Formation

You can always change your Illinois Registered Agent after you’ve formed your LLC. There are two ways to do this.

Choose a Registered Agent Service and File a Form with the IL SOS

We’ll File the Change on Your Behalf

Order Bizee’s Registered Agent Service

Illinois Registered Agent Search

You may need to know the name of the Registered Agent that represents another LLC in Illinois. You can usually find this information in the state's business database.

You can also request it through the Secretary of State's office if you can’t find the Registered Agent’s information online.

What Happens If You Don’t Have a Registered Agent?

If you don’t provide details of a Registered Agent to the IL SOS, there could be consequences, such as:

Not finding out about getting served or sued. You could lose to a default judgment in your absence if your LLC is served with a lawsuit.
Losing your good standing with the IL SOS. If you don’t respond to certain correspondence (like the request for your annual report), the state may take away your right to do business.
Losing your status as an LLC in Illinois. A Registered Agent shows the state that your business exists, and without it, your LLC may be dissolved.

Acting as Your Own Registered Agent

You can be the Registered Agent for your Illinois LLC if you have an address in the state, but there can be disadvantages:

The Registered Agent must reside at a physical street address in Illinois, so if you’re forming an LLC outside the state you’ll need to use a Registered Agent that resides in-state.
You must always have someone on hand during business hours at the listed Illinois address to accept important documents.
The Registered Agent’s name and address are part of the public record and are available through the IL SOS website. You should choose a Registered Agent service if you prefer your name and address aren’t published.
If you change your business address or move out of state, you must file additional documentation with the Secretary of State for the new address—a step made unnecessary by using a Registered Agent service.