Louisiana Certificate of Authority / Registered agent
Who may serve as agent for a Louisiana certificate of authority
Every holder of a Louisiana certificate of authority must keep an agent for service and an office for that agent in the state. The statute recognizes 3 kinds of agent, the agent swears an acceptance, and replacing the agent costs $30 on Form 346.
The three permitted agents
| Agent | Requirements |
|---|---|
| A Louisiana resident | Works from the registered address |
| An attorney or law firm | Licensed to practice in Louisiana |
| A company | Authorized in Louisiana, based at the registered address, empowered by its charter to act as agent, and on file with a certificate that lists two people able to take process |
The registered office address
The registered office does not have to be the holder's own business address. For a resident or company agent, however, the registered office must be the agent's business address. The instructions to Form 346 exempt law partnerships and individual attorneys from that match.
The sworn acceptance
Each agent signs a notarized affidavit of acknowledgment and acceptance. The application prints it as the agent block at the foot of the form. Without it, process on the holder remains valid, so the document protects the state's ability to reach the holder more than it protects the holder.
Appointing a replacement
A new agent is appointed on Form 346 in duplicate, with the $30 fee. If only the registered office moves, the agent signs alone. If the agent changes, the entity's signer swears too, and the new agent accepts before a notary. The change takes effect on filing.
Changing the agent, step by step
| Step | Detail |
|---|---|
| Pick a successor | One of the three permitted kinds |
| Align the addresses | The registered office becomes the new agent's business address |
| Fill in two copies of Form 346 | The fee is $30 |
| Have both parties swear | The entity's signer and the new agent each appear before a notary |
| Submit | Filing makes the change effective |
When an agent resigns
An agent who wants out sends the Secretary of State a written notice in two copies, and one goes on to the holder's principal business office. The appointment ends thirty days after receipt, and a successor must be named within a further thirty days.
If the office is vacated
A registered office that has been left must be replaced within thirty days. If it is not, anyone but the holder may send papers to the Secretary of State's office as if it were the registered office.
The agent company's own name change
When a company serving as agent takes a new name, it files a matching statement within thirty days. If your agent is a company, tell us and we handle it.
Weighing the three kinds
A resident individual is inexpensive and simple but depends on one person staying in place. A lawyer or law firm is the one kind permitted an office different from the registered office. A company is meant to outlast any employee, so the statute has it name at least two people at its address. Favor the agent you expect to reach in three years.
Account books
Separately from the agent, the entity keeps written books on its Louisiana property and dealings wherever its principal place of business is located. The accounts cover assets and liabilities, receipts and disbursements, and gains and losses, and for an entity subject to state severance taxes, a complete record of what it produced.
What a lapse costs
A gap in the agent or office gives the state a basis for revocation, as does an unreported change. Revocation does not end the agent's power to receive process, so a holder that has lost its certificate can still be served.
What the agent does not do
The agent receives process for the entity. The annual report and the state fees stay with the holder.
Our agent or yours
We can act as your Louisiana registered agent, with the sworn acceptance included in the package. You can also name your own agent and we check that it qualifies. That agent's address becomes the registered office on the application.
Agent questions
Can a friend or employee in Louisiana be the agent?
Yes, provided the person resides in Louisiana and works from the registered office address.
What must the agent sign?
A notarized acceptance of the appointment.
What does a change cost?
$30 on Form 346.
Our fee and the state's
Get my Louisiana certificate
+ $185 Louisiana fee
- The Application for Authority to Transact Business in Louisiana, Foreign Limited Liability Company (Form 972), completed from your answers
- The registered agent's sworn acceptance, collected and attached with your home-state certificate
- A Louisiana registered agent and street office, supplied by us or by you
- The package sent to the Commercial Division, and the filed certificate returned to you
- Renewal: after the first year, the agent service renews at $149 a year
$199
Louisiana
Get my Louisiana certificateOur fee and Louisiana's $185 appear as separate lines at checkout. $199 plus the state fee, including your first year of registered agent service; after that the agent service renews at $149 a year.
Sources
- Louisiana Secretary of State, forms and fee schedule
- Louisiana Secretary of State fee schedule effective 10/1/26
- Louisiana Form 972, application of a foreign limited liability company
- La. R.S. 12:1345, application for certificate of authority
- La. R.S. 12:1350.1, annual report
- La. R.S. 12:1350, registered agent and registered office
- Louisiana Form 346, statement of change for a foreign corporation or limited liability company
- Louisiana Form 326, application of a foreign corporation for certificate of authority
- La. R.S. 12:1353, revocation or suspension of certificate of authority
Start your Louisiana application
Give us the entity type and where it was formed, and we begin drafting.