Mississippi Certificate of Authority/Agent and address
The Mississippi agent and address every foreign entity lists
Every foreign entity that gets Mississippi authority lists a registered agent at a street address inside the state, and changing it later costs $10. For an LLC, the Act's rule is that a local resident, or an entity organized or authorized in Mississippi, may serve if its own office is the registered office.
Agent rules by filing
- Address
- A street address inside Mississippi
- LLC qualification
- an individual resident of Mississippi, a Mississippi corporation, nonprofit corporation or LLC, or a foreign one that is authorized to transact business in Mississippi, in each case with a business office that matches the registered office
- Change of agent or office
- $10 (F0010)
- Appointment for a foreign entity
- $25 (F0009)
- If the agent relocates
- $10 per company
- Resignation
- No fee
The street address rule
The guide wants the agent reachable at a Mississippi street address, and the LLC Act wants the agent's own office to be the registered office. A mailbox or a virtual address with no one present will not serve.
Who qualifies as an LLC agent
The Act accepts three kinds of agent: a person living in Mississippi, a corporation, nonprofit or LLC formed in Mississippi, or a foreign counterpart holding Mississippi authority. Each must run its own office from the registered address. For a corporation or nonprofit, the guide's rule is a Mississippi street address where the agent can be reached.
Changing the agent
To switch agent or office, an LLC files a certificate with its name, both addresses, both agents, the successor agent's written consent, and a line promising the addresses will line up. The schedules put the statement of change at $10 and the certificate of change for a foreign LLC at $10.
If the agent relocates
An agent that moves its office files one certificate listing every LLC it serves, which counts as an amendment for each and is followed by a copy to each LLC.
When the agent resigns
The resignation takes effect 90 days after it is filed. With the filing goes an affidavit that each LLC received certified or registered mail notice at least 30 days beforehand. There is no fee. The entity then needs a new agent quickly, because 60 days without one is a ground for revocation.
No agent: the Secretary of State receives process
Without an agent, or when the agent cannot be reached after reasonable effort, the Secretary of State receives the process. Service is complete on the earliest of the day the LLC receives the mail, the signed return receipt date, or 5 days after mailing. The state collects $25 each time.
Commercial registered agents
To be listed, a commercial registered agent files a statement for each address and pays $100; leaving the list takes a termination statement at $50. Appointing an agent for service of process by statement costs $10. Before hiring an agent company, confirm it appears on that list.
Choosing an agent
Look for a staffed street office, quick forwarding and staying power, because a lapse starts the revocation clock. We can be your Mississippi agent if you like, or you can name someone else.
Questions to ask an agent company
Ask whether the agent is on the Secretary of State's list of commercial registered agents, what the street address is and who staffs it, how legal papers reach you and how fast, what happens if you stop paying, and how it handles a resignation. A company that cannot answer in plain terms is not the one to trust with your legal papers. Compare the annual price with the $10 it costs to switch, which is small by comparison, so a poor agent is easy to replace.
Keeping the agent record current
Treat the agent as part of the yearly routine. When you file the report, confirm the agent's name and street address are still right, and if either has changed, file the change first. An agent that has moved without telling anyone is a common reason papers go unseen.
Agent questions
Can the entity act as its own agent?
Only if it is itself authorized in Mississippi with an office at the registered address.
Can an officer be the agent?
A Mississippi resident can, if the registered address is also that person's business office.
Does the agent need to be in the same city?
No, only in Mississippi.
How fast is a change effective?
On the Secretary of State filing the statement.
Our fee plus the state fee
Start my Mississippi filing
- The Mississippi form that matches your entity type
- Your home-state certificate checked against the age limit
- A Mississippi street-address agent, from us or from you
- The filed record sent to you
- Renewal: after the first year, the agent service renews at $149 a year
$199
+ the Mississippi fee for your entity
Begin filingThe state portion runs $100 to $500 by entity, and checkout shows it on its own line. $199 plus the state fee, including your first year of registered agent service; after that the agent service renews at $149 a year.
Sources
- Mississippi Secretary of State, business filing fee schedule
- Mississippi Limited Liability Company Act (Secretary of State copy)
- Mississippi Secretary of State, business FAQs
- Mississippi Secretary of State, annual reports
- Mississippi Secretary of State, services and fees schedule
- Mississippi commercial registered agent listing statement
- Start Your Business in Mississippi, registering foreign companies
Not sure which Mississippi filing you need?
Pick your entity type and the right one is prepared.