Updated September 6, 2026. Quick answer: In Washington, this role is called a registered agent, governed by RCW 23.95.405 (duty to designate/maintain a registered agent), RCW 23.95.410 (address requirement), RCW 23.95.415 / 23.95.430 (designation/change), RCW 23.95.605(3) and 23.95.610 (30 consecutive days without an agent is grounds for administrative dissolution, with a 60-day cure), RCW 23.95.450(4) (Secretary of State as default agent). Washington has one of the shortest ‘no agent’ triggers researched here; just 30 consecutive days without a registered agent creates dissolution grounds; yet registered-agent changes and resignations are entirely free to file, per the Secretary of State’s own $0 fee listing.
What the address rule requires
Per RCW 23.95.410, a registered-agent filing must state a street address in Washington (plus a mailing address if different); the Secretary of State’s own guidance is explicit that ‘PO Boxes or PMBs are prohibited’ and the agent must maintain a physical Washington address during business hours.
Who can serve as your registered agent
Per the Secretary of State’s guidance: ‘Anyone who consents to receive all legal mail and accept Service of process on behalf of the entity/business’; either a Non-Commercial Registered Agent (any consenting individual or business with a WA address, including an office-title designee) or a listed Commercial Registered Agent (RCW 23.95.415, .420).
What happens if you don’t have one
Per RCW 23.95.450, if the LLC has no agent or the agent can’t be served with reasonable diligence, service shifts first to certified/registered mail to the principal office, then to personal service on the person in charge of a place of business, and finally the Secretary of State becomes the entity’s agent if none of those succeed. Per RCW 23.95.605(3), the Secretary of State may commence an administrative-dissolution proceeding if the LLC ‘does not have a registered agent in this state for thirty consecutive days’; per RCW 23.95.610, the SOS must then serve notice, and if the LLC doesn’t cure within 60 days of that notice, the SOS administratively dissolves it.
How to change your registered agent
$0.00; the official Secretary of State fee listing shows a ‘Required Filing Fee’ of $0 for both ‘Designate or Change a Non-Commercial Registered Agent’ and a registered-agent ‘Statement of Resignation.’ (source: Washington Secretary of State, Corporations & Charities Division, official ‘Filings, Forms & Information’ fee listing (sos.wa.gov))
This page covers what Washington’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: Washington’s LLC Certificate of Good Standing cost, including who issues it and how fast you can get one.