Statutory requirements, filing fees, and recommended services for Georgia businesses.
Verified against Georgia Secretary of State, Corporations Division · Updated 2026-04-30
Per O.C.G.A. §14-11-209, a Georgia registered agent must maintain a physical street address inside Georgia and accept service of process during ordinary business hours. The Georgia Secretary of State, Corporations Division records the agent’s name and address as part of the public business filing. This page documents how Georgia treats the registered agent designation under O.C.G.A. §14-11-209, the fees the Georgia Secretary of State, Corporations Division charges to file, and the practical mistakes that trip up first-time filers.
A Georgia registered agent is the individual or business entity that O.C.G.A. §14-11-209 requires every LLC and corporation to maintain as the official recipient of service of process, state tax notices, and Georgia Secretary of State, Corporations Division correspondence. The agent must keep a physical Georgia street address — P.O. boxes alone do not satisfy the statute — and must be reliably available during normal business hours. The Georgia Secretary of State, Corporations Division files the agent’s name and street address as part of the public business record, searchable by any member of the public through the agency’s online entity database.
The registered agent designation in Georgia is filed as part of the Articles of Organization, submitted to the Georgia Secretary of State, Corporations Division’s business filings division. Most filers use the Georgia Corporations Division eCorp filing portal, which accepts the formation document, the agent designation, and the $100 filing fee in a single transaction, with paper filings costing $110 versus $100 online. Online submissions typically clear in two to seven business days; paper filings can take two to four weeks depending on agency workload.
Georgia’s annual registration window is January 1 through April 1 — narrower than most states — and a $25 late fee plus eventual administrative dissolution apply if the $50 fee is not paid in that window.
Once the entity is on file, the registered agent’s role continues for as long as the LLC or corporation exists. Georgia’s ongoing maintenance is handled through an annual report at $50, due annually between January 1 and April 1, and any subsequent change of registered agent is filed with the Georgia Secretary of State, Corporations Division via a Statement of Change at a $20 fee. The agent must file a written consent or, where the agency requires, sign the formation document itself — the Georgia Secretary of State, Corporations Division rejects designations that lack agent consent.
Five state-specific gotchas account for most of the registered agent problems we see in Georgia filings.
Listing a P.O. box or commercial mailbox. O.C.G.A. §14-11-209 requires a physical street address, and the Georgia Secretary of State, Corporations Division returns filings that list anything other than a real Georgia street. Commercial mailbox services without a registered street component (typical UPS Store-style addresses) are routinely rejected.
Using a non-Georgia address. The agent’s address must be physically inside Georgia. Out-of-state owners cannot list their own home address; they must either hire a commercial agent or designate a Georgia-resident individual.
Letting the agent designation lapse without filing a Statement of Change. When a commercial agent service is terminated and a replacement is not filed with the Georgia Secretary of State, Corporations Division, the LLC enters a compliance gap. The $20 change fee is trivial compared with the cost of administrative dissolution and reinstatement.
Missing the annual report deadline. Georgia’s annual report is due annually between January 1 and April 1, and the registered agent is the only party who receives mailed reminders from the Georgia Secretary of State, Corporations Division. If the agent is unreliable, the entity can miss the deadline silently.
Georgia’s April 1 deadline is earlier than most states’ annual deadlines. Owners moving from Florida or Texas often miss it because they expect a later window.
National registered agent services — Northwest Registered Agent, Mainstay Filing, ZenBusiness, and LegalZoom — operate in Georgia with the same pricing and feature set they offer in every other state. For most Georgia LLCs and corporations, a national provider is the right choice: consistent pricing, an online dashboard with scanned mail, and same-day acceptance of service of process. Northwest’s $125/year tier and Mainstay Filing’s $99/year tier are the two most common picks for Georgia businesses that want privacy and reliability without paying premium prices.
A Georgia-specific provider like Georgia Registered Agent.co makes sense in narrower cases. State-focused agents tend to specialize in Georgia filings only, which can mean faster local turnaround on Statements of Change, deeper familiarity with the Georgia Secretary of State, Corporations Division’s portal, and a single jurisdiction to worry about. For business owners who plan to operate exclusively in Georgia and value a local-only operator, a state-specific provider is often a better cultural fit than a multi-state brand. The tradeoff is interface polish: state-specific services usually lack the dashboard depth and mail-forwarding automation of the national services.
| # | Service | Price/yr | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Northwest Registered Agent | $125 | privacy-focused customers |
| 2 | Mainstay Filing Best Value | $99 | balanced value |
| 3 | ZenBusiness | $199 | new businesses bundling formation |
| 4 | LegalZoom | $249 | customers wanting brand-name support |
Georgia-specific option: Georgia Registered Agent.co operates exclusively in Georgia and specializes in same-state filings. Best for businesses that want a state-focused provider with local-only operations.
| Physical address required | Yes — must be a street address in Georgia |
|---|---|
| P.O. box allowed | No |
| Business hours availability | Required during normal business hours |
| Resident requirement | Georgia resident OR authorized business entity |
| Listed in public record | Yes — searchable via Georgia Secretary of State, Corporations Division |
| Statute reference | O.C.G.A. §14-11-209 |
| Filing Type | Fee | Renewal | Renewal Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| LLC formation (Articles of Organization) | $100 online / $110 paper | annually between January 1 and April 1 | $50 |
| DBA / Fictitious Name | $172 | Every 0 years | $172 |
| Registered Agent change | $20 | — | — |
| Annual Report | $50 | annually between January 1 and April 1 | $50 |
Yes — if you are a Georgia resident with a physical street address and are available during business hours.
Yes. Georgia law requires every LLC to maintain a Georgia-based registered agent regardless of where the owner lives.
The Georgia Secretary of State, Corporations Division can administratively dissolve your business after approximately 60 days of non-compliance.
Yes — file a Statement of Change of Registered Agent with the Georgia Secretary of State, Corporations Division for $20.
$50–$150 per year for commercial services; free if you self-serve.
Yes. The agent's name and address are searchable via the Georgia Secretary of State, Corporations Division business records.
Same-day with most commercial services; same-business-day filing if submitted online before the daily cutoff.
This page provides general information about Georgia registered agent requirements, not legal advice. Filing fees and procedures may change; verify current details with the Georgia Secretary of State, Corporations Division before filing. We may receive compensation from services listed in our comparisons; this does not influence our editorial selections.