Updated September 6, 2026. Quick answer: In Ohio, this role is called a statutory agent, governed by Ohio Rev. Code Section 1706.09 (statutory agent requirements, change, resignation, and cancellation for failure to maintain an agent), Section 111.16(R)(1) (filing fee for change/resignation of agent), Section 1706.46 (reinstatement after cancellation). Ohio has an explicit, statute-specified 30-day notice-then-automatic-cancellation mechanism tied directly to statutory-agent lapses (paralleled only by New Mexico’s 30-day revocation ground), paired with a firm 2-year outer limit to reinstate before the cancellation becomes effectively permanent.
What the address rule requires
Section 1706.09 requires “the name and address in this state of the agent, including the street and number”; for entity agents it requires a “usual place of business” in Ohio, defined as a location “customarily open during normal business hours” with authorized personnel present, and the statute expressly states that “Usual place of business” does not include a post office box, regardless of whether that post office box has an associated street address.
Who can serve as your registered agent
Per 1706.09, the agent must be either a natural person who is a resident of Ohio, or a domestic/foreign corporation, nonprofit corporation, LLC, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, limited partnership association, professional association, business trust, or unincorporated nonprofit association with a business address in Ohio.
What happens if you don’t have one
Section 1706.09 does not create an immediate substituted-service mechanism; instead, on failing to continuously maintain a statutory agent (or file a required change), the Secretary of State mails a notice, and unless the default is cured within 30 days (or any further period the Secretary of State grants), the LLC’s articles are canceled without further notice. Per Section 1706.09, an uncured statutory-agent default is canceled; without further notice or action by the Secretary of State; 30 days after the Secretary mails notice of the default; a canceled LLC may be reinstated within two years of cancellation by filing a reinstatement application, appointing/confirming an agent, and paying the reinstatement fee under Section 111.16(Q).
How to change your registered agent
$25 to file Form 521 (Statutory Agent Update) for a change of agent, an agent’s resignation, or a change of the agent’s address, per Ohio Revised Code Section 111.16(R)(1); filing is available on paper or online through Ohio Business Central. (source: Ohio Revised Code Section 111.16(R)(1), as read directly from codes.ohio.gov this session)
This page covers what Ohio’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: Ohio’s LLC Certificate of Good Standing cost, including who issues it and how fast you can get one.