Updated September 6, 2026. Quick answer: In Louisiana, this role is called a registered agent, governed by La. R.S. 12:1308 (registered office and registered agent). Louisiana appears to exclude the LLC itself from serving as its own registered agent, and its default-if-none mechanism converts the Secretary of State’s own office into the registered office rather than dissolving the entity outright.
What the address rule requires
Louisiana requires the LLC to continuously maintain a registered office in the state.
Who can serve as your registered agent
A Louisiana citizen who resides in the state; a professional or business entity (attorneys, corporations, LLCs) with an address in the state; or a foreign corporation or foreign LLC authorized to transact business in Louisiana. The statute’s own list does not include the LLC itself as an eligible registered agent.
What happens if you don’t have one
If the LLC ceases to maintain a registered agent, a successor must be appointed within 30 days. If not cured, the office of the Secretary of State may thereafter be treated as the registered office by any person other than the LLC itself, effectively becoming the default point of service. The Secretary of State’s office becomes the constructive registered office for service-of-process purposes once the 30-day cure period lapses uncured, rather than an automatic dissolution clock.
How to change your registered agent
A change requires a statement signed by a manager (in a manager-managed LLC) or at least one member (in a member-managed LLC), plus a notarized affidavit of acceptance from the new agent, filed for record with the Secretary of State. A specific dollar fee was not independently confirmed this session.
| Citation | La. R.S. 12:1308 (registered office and registered agent) |
| Confidence | High |
This page covers what Louisiana’s own law requires. For the general question of whether you should pay a commercial service or serve as your own agent, see registered agent: do you actually need to pay for one.
Every citation on this page was read directly from the state’s own statute, Secretary of State site, or official filing form this session (or, where that site could not be reached, from an independently cross-checked legal-database mirror of the same codified text, disclosed below). General information, not legal advice; fees and specific procedures can change, and your state’s Secretary of State has the final say for any individual filing.
Related: Louisiana’s LLC Certificate of Good Standing cost, including who issues it and how fast you can get one.