Deal alert! Northwest will form your LLC for $39 (60% discount). See details.
Choosing an Illinois Registered Agent
Before filing your Illinois LLC Articles of Organization with the Business Entities Division, you need to select a Registered Agent for your Illinois LLC.
What is an Illinois Registered Agent?
An Illinois Registered Agent is a person or business entity who agrees to accept legal documents on behalf of your Limited Liability Company in case your Illinois business gets sued.
In most states, a Registered Agent will also serve as a general point of contact for receiving business and tax notices, payment reminders, and other documents.
Special offer: Hire Northwest to form your LLC ($39 + state fee), and you'll get a free year of Registered Agent service.
(Why is Northwest the best? Read our Northwest Registered Agent review)
What are the requirements to be a Registered Agent?
All Illinois Registered Agents must have a physical address in Illinois. PO Boxes aren’t allowed.
Your Registered Agent must also be available during normal business hours (9am – 5pm) in case Service of Process arrives. Service of Process for an LLC includes delivery of legal documents such as complaints, summons, and/or subpoenas.
Who can be a Registered Agent in Illinois?
When forming an LLC in Illinois, you have 3 options:
- You can be your own Registered Agent.
- A friend or family member can be your LLC’s Registered Agent.
- You can hire a Registered Agent Service, also called a Commercial Registered Agent.
Important: If your Illinois Registered Agent is going to be an individual (you, a friend, or a family member), that individual needs to be a resident of Illinois.
Illinois Registered Agent Service
If you need to hire a Registered Agent Service in Illinois, we recommend Northwest Registered Agent ($125 per year).
Why we recommend Northwest Registered Agent
Northwest Registered Agent is our personal recommendation (and the Registered Agent Service we use ourselves) because they’ve been in business for over 20 years, have great customer service, and they let you use their address throughout your entire LLC filing in order to keep your address off public record.
How to keep your address off public records:
Many filers in Illinois start businesses from their home. For this reason, it’s important to know that all addresses that are on your LLC’s Articles of Organization get listed on public record and may appear in google searches.
If you were thinking of using your home address, but would rather keep it off public record, you can hire a Registered Agent that will allow you to use their address throughout your Articles of Organization.
Northwest Registered Agent provides this unique service at no additional cost. They offer Registered Agent services for $125 per year and they’ll let you use their address throughout your Articles of Organization.
Any mail that is sent to your LLC will be scanned by them and uploaded into your online account.
Special discounted pricing for LLC University® readers
Northwest usually charges $100 + state fees to form an LLC. However, we’ve negotiated a discounted rate (60% off) for LLC University® readers.
Special offer: Hire Northwest to form your LLC ($39 + state fee), and you'll get a free year of Registered Agent service.
(Why is Northwest the best? Read our Northwest Registered Agent review)
What are the risks of being a Registered Agent?
In short, there are risks. They are not likely to occur, but if they do, you could lose your liability protection.
For example, if the state is unsuccessful in reaching your LLC’s Registered Agent, you may lose your good standing status, and the state has the authority to dissolve your LLC.
Additionally, if a process server is unsuccessful in reaching your LLC’s Registered Agent about a lawsuit (they’ll try a few times), the court case can proceed in your absence and you might not even know about it. Worse, the court could enter a default judgment against your LLC if you aren’t there to defend yourself.
A few reasons a process server might not be able to reach your LLC’s Registered Agent:
- You, your friend, or family member are not there during normal business hours
- You/they are on vacation
- You moved and forgot to file a Change of Registered Agent with the state
Hiring a Registered Agent Service in Illinois is a more reliable setup. It also gives you the freedom to take vacations and not worry about changing your Registered Agent address if you move.
Many Illinois Registered Agents will also help keep your LLC in compliance by sending you reminders of annual reporting requirements.
How do I know which Registered Agent to choose?
If you have a street address located in Illinois (such as a home or office), and are available during regular business hours, you can list yourself as the Registered Agent.
If you don’t have a street address in Illinois, you can use a friend or family member’s address and they can be your Illinois Registered Agent. They need to have a street address in Illinois and be available during business hours.
If you don’t have a street address in Illinois, and you don’t have a friend or family member’s address that you can use (or prefer not to), you can hire an Illinois Registered Agent Service.
Using an Illinois Registered Agent Service offers more privacy and is usually a more reliable setup.
- Related article: Best Registered Agent Services in Illinois
Illinois Registered Agent FAQs
Is the Registered Agent of an Illinois LLC the Owner?
No, a Registered Agent isn’t automatically an owner of the Illinois LLC.
They are two separate roles.
Having said that, sometimes the same person can be both roles.
But you don’t become one simply by virtue of being the other.
To learn more, please see Is the Registered Agent of an LLC the Owner?
What is the best Registered Agent Service in Illinois?
We’ve reviewed the top Registered Agent Services in the industry and think the best Registered Agent Services in Illinois are:
- Northwest Registered Agent
- Our #1 recommendation for privacy
- ZenBusiness
- MyCompanyWorks
- Harbor Compliance
- IncFile
- Rocket Lawyer
- LegalZoom
To learn more about how these companies compare against each other, check out Best Registered Agent Services in Illinois.
Note: If you want to save money, you can be the Registered Agent for your Illinois LLC.
Can I be my own Registered Agent in Illinois?
Yes, you can be your own Registered Agent in Illinois, as long as you:
- have a street address in the state
- can be available at that address during business hours
- are a resident of Illinois
- are at least 18 years of age
- are comfortable with your address being public record
Can a family member be a Registered Agent in Illinois?
Yes, a family member can be your Registered Agent in Illinois, if they meet the legal requirements.
To be your Registered Agent, your family member must have a physical address in Illinois. (PO Boxes aren’t allowed). And they must be available at that address during normal business hours.
Can you change your Registered Agent Illinois?
Yes, you can change your Registered Agent in Illinois at any time as long as your LLC is in good standing with the Illinois Secretary of State.
To change your Illinois Registered Agent, you’ll need to fill out the LLC Change of Registered Agent and/or Agent’s Office Address.
You can file this form online and the filing fee is $25.
The Illinois Secretary of State reviews Change of Registered Agent forms within 10 business days of receiving the documents.
What do you think?
Can you take 10 seconds and rate this lesson?
Matt holds a Bachelor's Degree in business from Drexel University with a concentration in business law. He performs extensive research and analysis to convert state laws into simple instructions anyone can follow to form their LLC - all for free! Read more about Matt Horwitz and LLC University.
Illinois LLC Guide
Looking for an overview? See Illinois LLC
Hi Matt,
Love your University…it’s soo helpful! I want to set up my new LLC with a Registered agent, I’m a RE investor in CA and wondering if Northwest will handle everything for me, from LLC formation at IL, EIN, etc. (instead of doing it myself online on their platform) as I’m clueless & this’s all new to me. I tried calling them but never answer phone :/ I see some sites that u do everything yourself, but need an agent who will do everything for me and have that 1 on 1 access, etc. Thanks in. advance! :)
Hey Mila! Thanks so much! Northwest had a huge January rush this year, but they’ve since hired more support staff, so those phone issues should be resolved. And yes, Northwest can handle the LLC formation for you, including being your Registered Agent, offering a business address, EIN, Operating Agreement, and annual filings too (if applicable). Check out our Northwest Registered Agent review for more info. Hope that helps!
Hello, my wife has a Registered Agent for her business for long time. They file annual reports for her every year. I don’t think they offer the ability to change address of the LLC to their address. How do I change the address of the article of organization of her LLC to a company like yours and how long would it take. What other benefits does your company offers? Thank you.
Hi Frankie, it’s actually not our company (LLC University) that offers Registered Agent services, but rather, the company we recommend (Northwest Registered Agent) that offers Registered Agent service and they allow you to use their address as the Registered Agent address and any other address on your filing. If you hire Northwest as your LLC’s Registered Agent, they have an option during checkout (where you tick a box). When you do this, it notifies Northwest to make a filing with the state to change the Registered Agent’s name and address. However, if you need to change any other addresses on the Articles of Organization, you’ll need to file an Amendment with the Illinois Secretary of State. Hope that helps.