Texas Registered Agent: Requirements and Best Services (2026)

Texas Registered Agent Legal Requirements

Under Texas Business Organizations Code Chapter 5, every Texas LLC must maintain a registered agent who meets all of the following requirements:

• Physical Texas street address: The registered agent must have a physical street address in Texas. P.O. boxes, mailbox services, and addresses outside Texas do not qualify. The address must be a real, physical location where someone is physically present during regular business hours.
• Availability during regular business hours: The registered agent must be physically available at the registered address during normal business hours (Monday through Friday, 9am–5pm local time is the standard expectation) to accept legal documents in person if required. A business address where no one is ever present does not satisfy this requirement.
• Individual resident or authorized entity: The registered agent must be either (a) an individual who is a Texas resident, or (b) a domestic or foreign entity that is registered and authorized to do business in Texas and maintains a physical Texas office.
• Written consent: The registered agent must have consented to serve in that role. You cannot appoint someone as registered agent without their knowledge and consent. Commercial registered agent services provide consent as part of their service agreement.

Three Ways to Fulfill the Texas Registered Agent Requirement

Texas Registered Agent Services Compared

Annual costs for standalone registered agent service. Some services include RA free for year one when bundled with LLC formation.

Best Texas Registered Agent: Northwest Registered Agent

Northwest Registered Agent is our top pick for Texas registered agent service at $125/year, for three specific reasons that matter in Texas:

Full filing address coverage. Northwest uses their Texas address in all address fields of your Certificate of Formation, not just the registered agent field. In Texas, the Certificate of Formation lists the principal office address separately from the registered agent address. Both fields are searchable in the public SOSDirect database. Northwest fills both fields with their address, keeping your personal address out of the public Texas record entirely.

No data selling. Northwest has an explicit, documented policy of never selling or sharing customer information with third parties for marketing purposes. This matters because your contact information is valuable to financial services companies, insurance providers, and payroll vendors who pay formation services for leads. Northwest does not participate in this market.

Physical Texas office, always available. Northwest maintains actual physical offices in all 50 states, including Texas. Their Texas registered agent address is a real office location where staff are present during business hours, not a mail forwarding facility. When legal documents arrive, Northwest scans and uploads them to your online dashboard the same day.

Budget Texas Registered Agent: Bizee

Bizee charges $119/year for registered agent service, the lowest renewal rate among major commercial services. First year is free when bundled with their $0 LLC formation. For owners who prioritize minimum cost above privacy considerations, Bizee covers the legal requirement effectively.

The limitation in Texas specifically: Bizee applies their address to the registered agent field of the Certificate of Formation. If you list your personal address in the principal office field (which is common when using Bizee), that address is in the public SOSDirect database. Bizee also shares customer data with marketing partners.

Bizee Texas registered agent: $119/year → Note: shares data with partners.

Other Texas Registered Agent Services

Harbor Compliance ($99–$149/year)

Harbor Compliance specializes in multi-state compliance and registered agent service. Their pricing is competitive ($99–$149/year depending on plan) and their service is robust for businesses with registered agents needed in multiple states. For single-state Texas operations, Northwest's $125/year provides comparable service at a similar price point with the added advantage of privacy coverage across all filing fields.

Texas Registered Agent LLC (local, $35/year)

Several Texas-based registered agent services (including Texas Registered Agent LLC) operate at $35/year, the lowest price point for commercial RA service. They meet the legal requirement and provide a physical Texas address. The tradeoff: fewer support services, potentially less robust document management compared to national providers, and Texas-only coverage (relevant if your LLC ever foreign-qualifies in another state). For a straightforward, permanently Texas-based LLC with no multi-state plans, a local $35/year provider meets the legal requirement.

How to Change Your Registered Agent in Texas

Changing your registered agent in Texas is a simple filing through SOSDirect:

• Document to file: Statement of Change of Registered Agent (Form 401)
• Filing fee: $15
• Processing time: 2–3 business days standard; same-day expedited available
• Where to file: SOSDirect at sos.texas.gov (online) or mail to Texas Secretary of State
• What to include: LLC name, file number, old registered agent information, new registered agent name and Texas street address, authorized signature

The change is effective when the state processes the filing. Until then, legal documents should continue to go to the old registered agent address. Inform your new registered agent before filing so they can begin accepting documents once the change takes effect.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use a P.O. box as my registered agent address in Texas?

No. Texas law explicitly requires a physical street address for the registered agent, not a P.O. box, not a mailbox service address that uses a street address format, and not a UPS Store box. The address must be a real physical location where someone is actually present during business hours. If you attempt to use a P.O. box on your Certificate of Formation, the Texas Secretary of State will reject the filing.

Does my registered agent have to be in the same city as my business in Texas?

No. Your registered agent only needs a physical Texas street address, it can be anywhere in the state, regardless of where your business is located or where you operate. Most commercial registered agent services use a single Texas address in a major city (typically Austin, Dallas, or Houston) for all their Texas clients, regardless of where those clients' businesses are actually located.

What happens when legal documents are served to my registered agent?

The registered agent receives the legal documents, signs to acknowledge receipt (establishing the date of service), and promptly forwards them to the LLC. Commercial registered agent services typically scan documents and upload them to your online dashboard the same day they are received, then mail originals. The service date, when the RA received and signed for the documents, is when legal deadlines begin running. This is why timely notification is critical: you typically have 20–30 days from the date of service to respond to a lawsuit, and that clock starts when the RA receives it, not when you personally learn about it.

Is my Texas registered agent information public?

Yes. The registered agent's name and address listed on your Certificate of Formation are part of the public record in the Texas Secretary of State's SOSDirect database, searchable by anyone. This is why many business owners use a commercial registered agent service, to keep their personal address out of this public database. Using Northwest Registered Agent means their Texas address appears in the RA field (and all other address fields), not yours.