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Alabama: LLC Registered-Agent and Registered-Office Requirements

verified against the statute 2026-07-27 9 statute sources

The short answer

An Alabama LLC must continuously maintain a registered agent and registered office. The agent may be an Alabama-resident individual or a domestic entity or registered foreign entity, and the office must be an Alabama street address where the agent can be personally served, not solely a mailbox or telephone-answering service. The formation certificate names the initial agent and office; a later agent change requires written consent, resignation normally takes effect on day 31 or upon an earlier replacement, and an enacted amendment effective August 1, 2026 will bar performing the role solely through a virtual office, mail-forwarding service, or both.

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This is the general rule in Alabama. Ezel applies current Alabama law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.

Governing law and terminologyAlabama Business and Nonprofit Entities Code plus Alabama Limited Liability Company Law of 2014; 'registered agent' and 'registered office' (Ala. Code §§ 10A-1-5.31, 10A-5A-1.01)
Continuous designation dutyDomestic LLC must designate and continuously maintain both a registered agent and registered office in Alabama (§ 10A-1-5.31(a))
Eligible individualIndividual must be an Alabama resident; no separate statutory age, citizenship, ownership, or daily-hours qualification is stated (§ 10A-1-5.31(b))
Eligible entity and self-serviceAgent may be a domestic entity or foreign entity registered to transact in Alabama; the section states no separate self-service rule for the appointing LLC. A member or manager may serve personally only if the person qualifies as an Alabama-resident individual (§ 10A-1-5.31(b))
Registered office, address, and hoursAgent's business office and registered office use the same Alabama street address where personal service can occur; office need not be the LLC's business site and cannot be solely mailbox/answering service. No daily hours stated; solely virtual/mail-forwarding performance barred Aug. 1, 2026 (§ 10A-1-5.31(b)–(c); 2026 HB 248)
Consent and initial filingOrganizer-executed certificate states the registered-office Alabama street address and county and names the registered agent; no separate initial agent signature/acceptance is stated. A later new agent must consent in writing on or attached to the change statement (§§ 10A-5A-2.01(a), 10A-1-5.32(b))
Change, resignation, and replacementLLC change is effective when SOS accepts the statement; agent name/address change requires a signed filing and at least 10 days' prior written notice. Resignation is effective at 12:01 a.m. on day 31 after delivery or earlier replacement (§§ 10A-1-5.32 to -5.34)
Agent duties and serviceAgent is the statutory recipient for process, notices, and demands at the registered office; the cited provisions state no separate forwarding deadline or damages rule (§ 10A-1-5.31(b))
Lapse consequences and fallback serviceNo agent-lapse dissolution event is stated for a domestic LLC; if no agent is maintained or reasonable-diligence service fails, serve under the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure, including an officer, managing/general agent, or authorized agent (§ 10A-1-5.35; Ala. R. Civ. P. 4(c)(6))

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Requirements one by one

Governing law and terminology

Ala. Code § 10A-5A-1.01 calls the LLC chapter and applicable Chapter 1 provisions the
Alabama Limited Liability Company Law of 2014. Chapter 1 uses the terms registered
agent and registered office for the LLC's legal-delivery arrangement.

Continuous designation duty

Ala. Code § 10A-1-5.31(a) requires an Alabama filing entity to “designate and continuously
maintain” both a registered agent and a registered office in the state. The duty continues after
the certificate of formation is accepted; it is not merely an initial filing field.

Eligible individual

Under § 10A-1-5.31(b), an individual agent must be an Alabama resident. The section states no
separate minimum age, citizenship, professional license, owner status, or fixed daily-hours
qualification.

A member, manager, organizer, owner, or employee is not a separate eligibility class. Such a
person may serve personally only by satisfying the resident-individual rule.

Eligible entity and self-service

The entity route covers a domestic entity or a foreign entity registered to transact business in
Alabama. Section 10A-1-5.31(b) states no separate rule resolving whether the appointing LLC
itself may be named. That question is distinct from a member or manager serving personally as
an Alabama-resident individual.

Registered office, address, and hours

The agent must maintain a business office at the same address as the LLC's registered office.
That office must be an Alabama street address where process may be personally served. It need
not be the LLC's place of business, but it may not be solely a mailbox service or telephone-
answering service.

The law verified on July 27 states no numbered 9-to-5 or other daily availability window. A
signed enactment changes the boundary on August 1, 2026: amended § 10A-1-5.31(b)(4)
will prohibit performing the agent's duties solely through a virtual office, a mail-forwarding
service, or both. The amendment defines a virtual office as duties performed solely through the
internet or other remote communication.

Consent and initial filing

Ala. Code § 10A-5A-2.01(a) requires the organizer-executed certificate of formation to state the
registered office's Alabama street address and county and the registered agent's name. The
certificate goes to the Secretary of State under subsection (e). The section does not require the
initial agent to sign the certificate or file a separate acceptance.

Consent becomes explicit on a later replacement. Section 10A-1-5.32 requires the new agent's
written consent either on the statement of change or attached to it.

Change, resignation, and replacement

The LLC changes its agent, registered office, or both by delivering a statement of change under
§ 10A-1-5.32. Acceptance by the Secretary of State makes the change effective without an
amendment to the certificate of formation.

An existing agent changing its own name or registered-office address uses § 10A-1-5.33. The
agent or authorized signer files the statement and certifies that the LLC received written notice
at least 10 days beforehand.

For resignation, § 10A-1-5.34 requires written notice to the LLC before the agent delivers the
resignation statement. The resignation takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the 31st day after delivery
to the Secretary of State, unless the LLC designates a new agent sooner.

Agent duties and service

Section 10A-1-5.31(b)(1) makes the registered agent the person or entity on whom process,
notices, and demands may be served. The cited agent provisions establish receipt at the
registered office but state no separate general deadline for forwarding a received document to
the LLC and no stand-alone damages rule for delayed forwarding.

Lapse consequences and fallback service

Loss of the agent does not make the LLC unreachable. Section 10A-1-5.35 sends service to the
Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure when the LLC fails to maintain an agent or the agent cannot
with reasonable diligence be served. Rule 4(c)(6) permits service on an LLC's officer, managing
or general agent, or another agent authorized by appointment or law.

The domestic LLC dissolution list in § 10A-5A-7.01 names agreement events, unanimous member
consent, loss of the last member subject to continuation routes, and judicial dissolution for
impracticability. It does not name a registered-agent lapse as a separate dissolution event.

What trips people up

The office and agent business addresses must match. Alabama does not merely require any
street address somewhere in the state; § 10A-1-5.31 ties the agent's business office to the
registered office.

“No mailbox-only office” is not the same as a statutory 9-to-5 rule. The current section
requires a street location where personal service can occur, but states no daily hours. The new
solely-virtual and mail-forwarding restriction begins August 1, 2026.

A resignation filing does not end the appointment immediately. The normal endpoint is the
start of day 31 after delivery, and an earlier replacement ends it sooner.

Alabama does not substitute automatic Secretary-of-State service for every failed agent.
Section 10A-1-5.35 points to the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure instead.

Common questions

Can an Alabama member be the registered agent? Yes, if the member is an individual Alabama
resident and uses a qualifying office arrangement. Membership alone is not the qualification.

Can the registered office be only a P.O. box? No. The statute requires an Alabama street
address where the agent may be personally served and bars an office that is solely a mailbox
service.

Must the initial agent sign the formation certificate? The LLC formation section requires the
organizer to execute the certificate and requires the agent's name and office information, but it
does not state a separate initial-agent signature or acceptance. A replacement agent later must
consent in writing.

What changes on August 1, 2026? The agent may no longer perform the role solely through a
virtual office, mail-forwarding service, or both. The street-office, matching-address, and
continuous-maintenance rules remain.

Statutes and sources

Source links

Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.

Ala. Code § 10A-5A-1.01 · accessed 2026-07-27
Ala. Code § 10A-1-5.31(a)–(c) (effective through July 31, 2026) · accessed 2026-07-27
Ala. Code § 10A-5A-2.01(a), (e) · accessed 2026-07-27
Ala. Code §§ 10A-1-5.32 to 10A-1-5.34 · accessed 2026-07-27
Ala. Code § 10A-1-5.35 · accessed 2026-07-27
Ala. R. Civ. P. 4(c)(6) · accessed 2026-07-27
Ala. Code § 10A-5A-7.01 · accessed 2026-07-27
2026 Ala. HB 248, amending Ala. Code § 10A-1-5.31(b) (effective Aug. 1, 2026) · accessed 2026-07-27
2026 Ala. Act 495 (HB 248) — official enactment record · accessed 2026-07-27
This page is general legal information about the registered-agent and registered-office minimums for an ordinary domestic LLC, not legal advice or a recommendation for or against a commercial registered-agent service. Eligibility, address, consent, availability, change, resignation, replacement, and fallback-service rules vary by state, and an LLC may still be sued when its agent is absent or defective. Foreign LLCs, regulated businesses, series structures, and other entity types may face different rules. Verified against the official statute text on the date shown; confirm the current law and official filing form before submitting a formation or change filing, and obtain licensed legal advice for missed process or a disputed service question.

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