Changing Your Registered Agent in Delaware

Switching your Delaware registered agent requires one filing with the Division of Corporations and a $50 state fee. The mechanics are simple, but the filing must be captioned correctly, and the sequencing matters if you want zero gap in coverage.

When to Change Your Registered Agent

Common triggers for switching:

• Price: The current agent's renewal keeps climbing past what the service warrants
• Poor service: Slow document forwarding, unreliable scanning, or unresponsive support
• Agent ceased operations: The company or individual you designated is no longer active
• Agent resigned: Delaware permits registered agents to resign by filing with the Division of Corporations, which can leave your entity without coverage
• Privacy: You listed a personal address and want a commercial address on the public record instead

The Exact Form: Name, Fee, and Where It Goes

For a Delaware LLC, the filing is the Certificate of Amendment Changing Only the Registered Office/Agent of Limited Liability Company, submitted to the Delaware Department of State, Division of Corporations. Delaware forms carry no numbers, so the caption itself does the work, and the wording is financially significant: 6 Del. C. § 18-1105(a)(11) prices an amendment "specifically captioned" as changing only the registered office or agent at $50, while a general certificate of amendment under § 18-202 is $180. Same outcome, $130 apart.

Filing details:

• Official form: The Division's amendment packet (PDF), described on the state's certificate of amendment page
• Fee: $50
• Filed with: Delaware Department of State, Division of Corporations
• Processing: Standard queue by default; Delaware's paid expedited tiers (24-hour $50, same-day $200, 2-hour $500, 1-hour $1,000) are available when speed matters

Corporations changing agents use their own certificate with the Division rather than the LLC amendment above.

Filing Steps, In Order

1. Sign up with your new registered agent before anything else, so the replacement exists on paper the moment the state records the change. We provide our Delaware office details immediately at signup.
2. Complete the Certificate of Amendment Changing Only the Registered Office/Agent, entering your entity name and the new agent's name and registered office address. Keep the caption intact to preserve the $50 rate.
3. Submit the certificate to the Division of Corporations with the $50 fee.
4. Leave the outgoing agent in place until the Division confirms the change. Cancelling early is how coverage gaps happen.
5. Verify your entity record on the Division's website shows the new agent, then close out the old service.

Why the Gap Matters

A lapse in registered agent coverage means the Division of Corporations cannot reach your entity and courts may struggle to serve process on it. Delaware treats an entity without an agent as a compliance problem, and a plaintiff treats it as an opening. Neither is a situation a functioning business should invite, and the ordered steps above exist precisely to prevent it.

Timing Around the June 1 Tax

If Delaware's annual LLC tax deadline (June 1) or a corporate Annual Report deadline (March 1) is close, file the agent change first and let the record settle before the payment or report goes in. Clean sequencing keeps the state's records and your filings telling the same story.

Order Here Questions about the switching process? Contact us.