Louisiana Registered Agent

Registered Agent Responsibilities in Louisiana

A registered agent’s main duty is to remain at the designated physical address (known as a registered office) during regular business hours and accept government correspondence on your behalf. They then forward such correspondence to you so that you can take the appropriate action.

For example, if legal action is taken against your organization, your registered agent receives and delivers service of proces. Failing to fulfill this duty might cause you to miss the court appearance, in which case the ruling will most likely be against you. This is known as default judgment, and it can significantly harm your organization’s standing.

That’s why choosing a responsible agent with near-constant availability is essential to addressing any legal issues promptly.

Louisiana Registered Agent Requirements

As per Louisiana R.S. 12:1-501, your registered agent can be either of the following:

1. An individual residing in the state (which can be your friend, family member, employee, etc.)
2. A domestic or foreign organization authorized to transact in Louisiana that meets all of the following requirements:
   1. Maintaining a physical office in the state
   2. Filing a statement enlisting at least two individuals authorized to receive service of process who will be available at the designated office
   3. Acting as a registered agent as authorized by the entity’s organizational documents

Organizations serving as registered agent are typically referred to as commercial agents. They’re considered more reliable than individual agents, particularly because Louisiana’s laws mandate that said organizations name at least two individuals who can receive your notices. This lowers the risk of your notice being missed due to the agent’s absence.

Louisiana also allows you to be your own agent, but only as an individual—your organization can’t serve as its own registered agent. While appointing yourself might seem like the simplest solution, you should beware of some significant drawbacks:

• Your name and address would be publicly available on the secretary of state’s website.
• You’d need to be present at the registered office five days a week during regular working hours, which limits your flexibility.

Appointing and Changing Your Louisiana Registered Agent

To appoint your registered agent, you’ll need to provide their name and address in your formation documents, which depend on your business structure:

• Articles of Incorporation for profit and nonprofit corporations
• Articles of Organization for LLCs

If your organization is formed in another state and you wish to expand to Louisiana, you’ll name the agent in your foreign qualification filings.

You can’t name the agent after forming or foreign qualifying your legal entity, as your filings will likely be rejected without one. What you can do is change the agent if your organization already operates in Louisiana but you want to switch to another provider.

You can do this by submitting a Notice of Change of Registered Office and/or Change of Registered Agent to the secretary of state. All you need to do is enter the details of your current agent and the new one and then submit the filings upon paying a $25 fee.

Commercial agents can update the secretary of state if their address changes, in which case you don’t need to file this form because the agent does it on behalf of all represented entities.

Louisiana Registered Agent Services by Harbor Compliance

We at Harbor Compliance have developed a robust framework that ensures the timely delivery of all important notices. Our Registered Agent Service comes with numerous benefits, most notably:

• Same-day delivery of your correspondence—As soon as we receive and process your notice, you’ll get an email with a link to the secure Client Portal from which you can download and manage your notices.
• Additional precautions in case of a lawsuit—If legal action is taken against you, we’ll call you by phone after forwarding the notice to make sure you don’t miss it.
• A local office in Lafayette—Our office is open at all times during business hours, and someone is always there to receive your notices.

If you run a multistate organization, you can leverage our rich software to manage notices from different states effortlessly, no matter where you are. You also get access to pre-filled state forms that speed up the filing process and reduce manual work.

Besides helping you meet Louisiana’s registered agent requirement, Harbor Compliance lets you stay on top of other regulations through various services:

Individual Louisiana Registered Agents vs. Harbor Compliance

A commercial registered agent like Harbor Compliance is superior to individual agents for several key reasons:

• Enhanced privacy and confidentiality—If you appoint yourself as a registered agent, your information will enter the public record. Appointing someone from your organization means you might receive service of process in front of your team or clients. None of this is the case with Harbor Compliance—our name and address will be listed with the secretary of state, and all notices will be delivered to our Lafayette office.
• Advanced security—From strong data encryption to confidentiality agreements signed by our team members, Harbor Compliance implements a suite of industry-standard security protocols you may not get with a typical individual agent.
• Flexibility and convenience—Individual agents must reside in the state of the represented entity, which means you’d need a separate agent for each state you operate in. By contrast, Harbor Compliance has a nationwide presence and local offices in every state, from which we can deliver your notices electronically, regardless of your location.
• Reliability and peace of mind—While an individual agent might be absent due to travel, sickness, or emergencies, we ensure process servers can always deliver official notices to our Lafayette office. Thanks to efficient forwarding, you’ll have ample time to respond to legal action and avoid the consequences of missed notices.

How To Appoint Harbor Compliance as Your Registered Agent in Louisiana

There are three distinct scenarios in which you may want to partner with Harbor Compliance:

1. Registering a new legal entity in Louisiana
2. Foreign qualifying into the state
3. Changing your registered agent

The specific steps to appointing us as your representative differ between these cases and are explained in more detail below.

Registering a New Organization

Harbor Compliance offers a fully managed approach to registration through comprehensive Nonprofit Formation, Incorporation, and LLC Formation Services. Choose your preferred service, and we will:

1. Gather the necessary information on your business
2. Prepare all the relevant paperwork
3. Submit the registration filings on your behalf and name Harbor Compliance your registered agent

If you want to submit the filings by yourself, you can order our Registered Agent Service separately. In this case, you can find our details in the Client Portal, which you’ll add to your formation documents before filing them with the secretary of state.

Foreign Qualifying in Louisiana

Our robust Foreign Qualification Service package helps you expand into Louisiana without regulatory setbacks. Complete the wizard, and we’ll handle the foreign qualification process from start to finish.

As we obtain your certificate of authority, we’ll appoint Harbor Compliance as your registered agent so that you don’t need to do it manually. You’ll also get the Registered Agent Service free of charge for a year if you opt for the package.

Changing Your Registered Agent

If you want to engage with us instead of your current registered agent, you either submit the aforementioned notice to the secretary of state or let us handle the change as a part of the Registered Agent Service.

Before you check out, you’ll see the Add Change of Agent option. When you select it and complete the purchase, we’ll make the change on your behalf.

Choose Harbor Compliance as Your Louisiana Registered Agent

By partnering up with us, you’ll get a trusted partner for your registered agent needs and other regulatory matters. Order our Registered Agent Service today and let a team of experts take over the responsibility for receiving your correspondence to enjoy more freedom.

If any of the additional services you saw above seem helpful, get in touch with us to learn more about them. Besides a rich service offering, we’ve launched an advanced software solution that helps you navigate Louisiana’s regulatory landscape more easily. Request a demonstration to see how it works.

To check if your organization operates in accordance with the law and identify any potential red flags, get your free Harbor Compliance Score™ and avoid disruptions caused by unmet requirements.

If you’re expanding beyond Louisiana or wish to register your organization in another state, learn about registered agent service in other jurisdictions by referring to the following table: