Illinois Registered Agents: How, Why, and When to Get One

What is a registered agent and what do they do?

A registered agent—sometimes called a resident agent or statutory agent—is an entity appointed for the sole purpose of receiving important legal notices and other official correspondence on behalf of the business. The registered agent serves as a point of contact for the business, ensuring that any critical documents and communications are received and addressed within a timely manner.

A registered agent’s main duties include:

• Maintaining a physical street address (not a P.O. Box) within the state of Illinois
• Being available during normal business hours to receive service of process on behalf of the business.
• Serving as a conduit between the business and the Illinois Secretary of State’s office.
• Forward important documents and legal notices to the business owner and provide timely alerts about upcoming deadlines.

Designating a registered agent is a necessary step in the business formation process. When you register your Illinois business with the Secretary of State, you'll need to provide your registered agent's name and business address when filing your articles of incorporation (for corporations) or articles of organization (for LLCs) in order to submit your registration.

A registered agent can be any person—including the business owner—or business entity that meets all the criteria set forth by the state.

Extra services offered by professional registered agents

While you don’t have to hire a professional registered agent service for your business, doing so can be beneficial. Professional registered agents may provide additional services that can save you time and effort so you can focus on other essential business functions.

Other services that a professional registered agent service may provide include:

• Document scanning and uploading
• Cloud storage of all essential paperwork
• Providing instant alerts for time-sensitive materials such as annual reports
• Maintaining virtual inboxes
• Filtering junk mail

As you're searching for the best registered agent service for your small business, it can be helpful to ask what extra services are offered beyond the basic service of process acceptance.

What are the state requirements to be an Illinois registered agent?

The Illinois registered agent requirements are relatively straightforward: The agent must be an individual or business entity residing in Illinois or legally authorized to transact business within the state. They must also continuously maintain a registered office with a physical address within the state of Illinois and be available to receive business-related correspondence during regular business hours.

Why should you hire an Illinois registered agent?

Beyond the additional job functions they may perform, there are many reasons why you would want to hire a professional registered agent service for your business.

• It affords you more flexibility. Your registered agent is required to be available at their registered address every day during normal business hours. This means that business owners who choose to serve as their own registered agent have limited availability to move around and perform other functions that may be critical to their business.
• It gives you more privacy. Serving as your own registered agent can leave little space between your business and personal life. Any lawsuits or other legal notices are served directly to you and your address will become a part of the public record. 
• It helps keep your business in good standing. Staying up to date with every legal compliance related to your business can be an overwhelming task. Using a professional registered agent can give you the confidence that you won’t miss a critical deadline or overlook an essential notice.

How to hire an Illinois registered agent

Finding an Illinois registered agent through LegalZoom is easy and can be completed in three simple steps.

• Step 1: Register for LegalZoom and quickly set up your username and password. Then, sign in.
• Step 2: Share your legal business name and contact info. We’ll then ask you a few questions about your business to get started.
• Step 3: We’ll take it from here. Our agents will complete all the necessary paperwork to register with the state. And if you ever need to switch agents, we’ll cover the costs and paperwork associated with the change.

Illinois registered agent FAQs

Can you change registered agents?

You can change your Illinois registered agent at any time. However, any change to your registered agent’s information must be communicated to the Illinois Secretary of State’s office. To do this, you’ll need to fill out a change of registered agent form to provide the state with your new registered agent’s name and address and submit it along with a $25 change fee.

If you decide to employ LegalZoom’s Illinois registered agent service, we’ll take care of the change paperwork for you and cover the cost.

Can I be my own registered agent in Illinois?

You can serve as your own registered agent in Illinois, but the disadvantages may outweigh any cost savings. Serving as a registered agent involves a lot of meticulous bookkeeping and constraints on your time and day-to-day movements. Balancing these responsibilities while also tackling the day-to-day work of running a business can be a lot for anyone to handle.

Of course, you do have the option to use your registered office address as your registered agent address, which can work if you plan to spend most of your time at your registered office location. But consider this: One of the registered agent’s primary responsibilities is accepting service of process. If you act as your own registered agent and you’re sued, you may have to receive lawsuit documents while you’re at work and in front of your employees.

For these reasons, it may be worth it to hire a professional registered agent service to take some of the weight off your shoulders.

How much does it cost to get a registered agent in Illinois?

Serving as your own registered agent won’t cost you a thing other than a massive amount of time and, potentially, a fair degree of worry. But employing a professional Illinois registered agent typically won’t break the bank—costs average around a few hundred dollars per year for registered agent service.

LegalZoom’s registered agent service costs $249 per year and includes extra services like unlimited cloud storage for your legal documents and instant alerts when an important business or legal correspondence needs your immediate attention.

Should you hire a registered agent before forming your LLC?

It can be a good idea to hire a registered agent or registered agent service before you take steps to form an Illinois LLC or any type of business entity in the state. Your agent’s name and address are required when you register your new business with the Secretary of State, and you won’t be able to complete your LLC formation without providing them.

If you’re still unsure about whether you’ll be hiring a registered agent service to handle your service of process, you can always name yourself or another employee as the registered agent and change it at a later time. Just remember that any change to an Illinois registered agent will come with more paperwork and a change fee.

Can I appoint a friend or family member to be my registered agent in Illinois?

Under state law, anyone can serve as an Illinois registered agent, provided they meet the criteria. 

However, you'll want to think carefully about whether or not your appointed person is able to carry out the responsibilities of a registered agent to the extent that you may need them to. Remember that your registered agent will need to handle sensitive legal documents on your behalf and maintain good records and failure to do so could throw your business out of good standing with the state or even threaten your business success.

You'll also need to make sure your friend or family member is comfortable with their personal information being a part of the public record and that they understand they'll need to remain at their physical address every day during business hours. 

If they're not willing to take on this responsibility in full, then you may be better off using an Illinois registered agent service for your company.