Michigan: LLC Registered-Agent and Registered-Office Requirements
The short answer
A Michigan LLC must continuously maintain a Michigan registered office and resident agent. The agent may be a Michigan-resident individual whose business office or residence matches the registered office, a domestic corporation or LLC, or an authorized foreign corporation or LLC with a matching business office. The articles name the agent and give the office's Michigan street address; resignation ends on a successor appointment or after 30 days, and an absent or unfindable agent permits registered-mail service on the state administrator.
Ask Ezel about your situation
This is the general rule in Michigan. Ezel applies current Michigan law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law and terminology | Michigan Limited Liability Company Act; 'resident agent' and 'registered office' (Mich. Comp. Laws §§ 450.4101, 450.4207) |
|---|---|
| Continuous designation duty | Domestic LLC must continuously maintain both a Michigan registered office and resident agent; articles state the initial agent and office (§§ 450.4203(c), 450.4207(1)) |
| Eligible individual | Individual must reside in Michigan and use a business office or residence identical to the registered office; no separate statutory age or citizenship rule (§ 450.4207(1)(b)) |
| Eligible entity and self-service | Domestic corporation or LLC, or authorized foreign corporation or LLC, qualifies with a matching business office; the statute does not exclude the represented LLC, and an owner may serve personally if independently qualified (§ 450.4207(1)(b)) |
| Registered office, address, and hours | Michigan street address; separate mailing address may be a P.O. box; agent's business office or residence must be identical to registered office; no fixed statutory hours (§§ 450.4203(c), 450.4207(1); Form 700) |
| Consent and initial filing | Organizer-signed articles name agent and state office street/mailing addresses; current form has no separate agent signature or filed acceptance (§ 450.4203(c); Form 700) |
| Change, resignation, and replacement | LLC files agent/office change, ordinarily effective when endorsed; agent may move office by filing and mailing copy; resignation ends on successor appointment or day 30, and LLC must promptly appoint successor (§§ 450.4104(6), 450.4208-.4209) |
| Agent duties and service | Resident agent receives process, notices, and demands; statute states no separate private-agent forwarding deadline (§ 450.4207(2)) |
| Lapse consequences and fallback service | No agent or unfindable/unservable agent permits registered-mail delivery of summons and complaint to administrator; separate 2-year annual-statement default can end good standing after notice and 60-day cure, but LLC remains in existence (§§ 450.4207(4), 450.4207a(2)-(3)) |
Compare this rule across all 50 states + DC →
Requirements one by one
Governing law and terminology
Mich. Comp. Laws § 450.4101 calls the governing statute the Michigan limited
liability company act. Michigan uses resident agent for the recipient and
registered office for the Michigan location.
Continuous designation duty
Section 450.4207(1) requires a domestic LLC to have and continuously maintain
both items in Michigan. The office may be the LLC's place of business, but it
does not have to be.
The duty starts in the formation filing. Mich. Comp. Laws § 450.4203(c) requires the
articles to state the initial registered office's street address, a different
mailing address if there is one, and the initial resident agent's name.
Eligible individual
An individual agent must be a Michigan resident. That person's business office
or residence must be identical to the registered office under § 450.4207(1).
The section states no separate minimum age or citizenship condition.
A member, manager, owner, or employee receives no special exemption. The person
may serve by independently meeting the resident-and-address test.
Eligible entity and self-service
Section 450.4207(1) lists four entity categories: a domestic corporation, an
authorized foreign corporation, a domestic LLC, and an authorized foreign LLC.
Each must have a business office identical to the registered office.
Unlike statutes that expressly exclude the represented company, Michigan's
listed domestic-LLC category contains no such exclusion. A filer using the LLC
itself should still identify a real Michigan registered office where the entity
can receive service; merely repeating the company name does not eliminate the
address requirement.
Registered office, address, and hours
The current Form 700 separates the street address of the Michigan registered
office from an optional different mailing address. The mailing field may use a
P.O. box, but LARA's Form 520 says a P.O. box cannot be the registered office
itself.
The agent's business office or residence and the registered office must be the
same address. Neither § 450.4207 nor the current forms prescribe a fixed daily
availability window.
Consent and initial filing
The current articles form names the resident agent and office but contains only
the organizer-signature block. Section 450.4203(c) likewise requires the agent
name and address information without a separate filed acceptance or agent
signature.
That filing design is not permission to list an unwilling person. It means only
that Michigan does not make a separate agent-consent document part of the
statutory formation filing.
Change, resignation, and replacement
The LLC changes its agent or office through the statement described in
§ 450.4209 and current Form 520. The filing states the old and new information,
confirms that the agent address and registered office are identical, and records
the required company authorization. Under § 450.4104(6), the filed document is
effective when endorsed unless it states a later time no more than 90 days after
delivery.
An agent that moves within Michigan may file the office-address change and mail
a copy to the LLC. An agent resigns by filing written notice with both the
administrator and a member or manager under § 450.4208. The LLC must promptly
appoint a successor. If the notice is filed July 27 and no successor is named,
the appointment ends 30 days later; an earlier successor appointment ends it
sooner.
Agent duties and service
Section 450.4207(2) makes the resident agent the person or entity on whom legal
process, notices, and demands may be served. The LLC Act defines that receipt
role but states no separate private-agent forwarding deadline or damages rule.
Lapse consequences and fallback service
An agent lapse does not make the LLC unreachable. If the company fails to
appoint or maintain an agent, or the agent cannot be found or served despite
reasonable diligence, § 450.4207(4) permits delivery or registered-mail service
of the summons and complaint on the state administrator.
Michigan's ordinary good-standing consequence follows a separate annual-
statement track. After two consecutive missed statements, the administrator
sends notice. If all missing statements and fees are not filed within 60 days,
§ 450.4207a makes the LLC not in good standing. The company nevertheless remains
in existence and may continue transacting business.
What trips people up
Michigan calls the role a resident agent. “Registered agent” is common
national shorthand, but the Michigan LLC Act pairs a resident agent with a
registered office.
The same-address rule is stricter than a mailing-address rule. The agent's
business office or residence must match the registered office. A separate P.O.
box may be listed only as the mailing address.
Resignation is not immediate. It ends on the earlier successor appointment
or the end of the 30-day statutory period, while the LLC has a prompt-replacement
duty.
No agent does not mean no service. Section 450.4207(4) supplies a direct
administrator route after the no-agent or reasonable-diligence condition is met.
Common questions
Can a member use a home address? Yes, if the member is a Michigan-resident
individual and that residence is the registered office. The address becomes part
of the public formation record.
Can the resident agent move the registered office? Yes. Section 450.4209(2)
lets the agent file a Michigan address change and requires a copy to be mailed to
the LLC.
Does loss of good standing dissolve the LLC? No. Section 450.4207a expressly
says the company remains in existence and may continue transacting business,
although other filing and name-protection consequences apply.
Statutes and sources
- Mich. Comp. Laws §§ 450.4101, 450.4203, and 450.4207 — Act name,
articles contents, continuous office/agent duty, eligibility, receipt role,
and administrator fallback service.
https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-450-4207
(accessed 2026-07-27) - Mich. Comp. Laws §§ 450.4104 and 450.4208-.4209 — filing effectiveness,
company changes, agent address changes, resignation, notice, and replacement.
https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-450-4208
(accessed 2026-07-27) - Mich. Comp. Laws § 450.4207a — missed annual statements, notice, 60-day
cure, loss of good standing, and continued existence.
https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-450-4207a
(accessed 2026-07-27) - Michigan LARA Forms CSCL/CD 700, 520, and 521 — current public filing
fields and instructions for formation, street/mailing addresses, change, and
resignation.
https://www.michigan.gov/lara/-/media/Project/Websites/lara/cscl/NonImages_new/Corps/forms/llc/700-0725.pdf
(accessed 2026-07-27)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
Get the answer for your situation
You just read how Michigan handles this in general. Ezel applies current Michigan law to your facts and answers your specific question, with citations.
Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer cites the authority it relies on.