Updated September 6, 2026. Quick answer: In Rhode Island, this role is called a resident agent (statute), marketed by the Secretary of State’s office as ‘registered agent’, governed by R.I. Gen. Laws Section 7-16-11 (resident agent requirement, change, resignation, and Secretary of State as default agent), Section 7-16-41 (revocation of certificate of organization after 60 days’ notice for filing defaults). Rhode Island still uses the older statutory term ‘resident agent’ rather than ‘registered agent,’ and its official fee schedule separately prices a full agent change ($20) versus an address-only change for the same agent (free); a distinction most states don’t make.
What the address rule requires
The resident agent must maintain a Rhode Island street address (the registered office) and be available there during normal business hours to accept service of process; P.O. boxes and shipping/postal-company addresses do not meet this standard and are not allowed, per the Secretary of State’s official guidance implementing Section 7-16-11.
Who can serve as your registered agent
An individual resident of Rhode Island, or a domestic or foreign corporation, limited partnership, or limited liability company authorized to transact business in the state (Section 7-16-11).
What happens if you don’t have one
The Secretary of State is appointed agent of the LLC for service of process if no resident agent has been appointed, if the resident agent’s authority has been revoked, or if the resident agent cannot be found or served after reasonable diligence (Section 7-16-11); the official fee schedule separately prices service of process on the Secretary of State as agent at $15.00 for two copies. If a resident agent resigns or changes and the LLC fails to file the required statement of change (or other required amendments/dissolution filings), the Secretary of State may revoke the LLC’s certificate of organization, but only after mailing the LLC written notice, addressed to its resident agent, at least 60 days before revocation (Section 7-16-41).
How to change your registered agent
$20.00 to file a Change of Resident Agent for a domestic LLC; a Change of Address of Resident Agent ONLY is free. (source: Rhode Island Secretary of State, Division of Business Services, official Fee Schedule for the Division of Business Services (Title 7))
A note on sourcing: Whether the LLC itself can qualify as its own resident agent under Section 7-16-11’s category ‘a domestic … limited liability company’ was not explicitly confirmed by any source fetched this session; the statute text obtained does not address self-designation directly, so self_service is reported as unclear rather than asserted either way.
This page covers what Rhode Island’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: Rhode Island’s LLC Certificate of Good Standing cost, including who issues it and how fast you can get one.