Each domestic and foreign Business Corporation, Nonprofit Corporation, Limited Liability Company, Limited Partnership and Limited Liability Partnership registered on the NC Business Registry is required to have a current Registered Agent and Registered Agent Office of record with the NC Secretary of State’s Office. This guarantees that legal documents and notices can actually be delivered to the business.
You are required to update the Registered Agent Name and Office within 60 days of any change in the information.
Not updating this information will provide the NC Secretary of State with grounds for administrative dissolution. View the FAQ on Administrative Dissolutions for more information.
As a registered agent you can sign up for free e-notifications when a client company files a document and/or when the status of a company may be changing. For example, when the company files an amendment, you will receive an email that a document has been filed. This can be useful to identify business entity theft. You can also elect to receive an email notification if the status is changing. In this case you would get an email when the NC Secretary of State’s Office posts a notice for grounds for administrative dissolution/revocation to the profile, about one week prior to the mailing of post cards or official e-mail to the registered agent.
Please review the instructions at: https://www.sosnc.gov/Guides/email_notification_subscriptions
To determine which entities have selected a registered agent from the Public Registered Agent List during online annual report or creation filing or paper filing, conduct a search at www.sosnc.gov/online_services/search/by_title/_Business_Registration and choose “Registered Agent” from the field to “Select what you want to search.” Then enter the agent’s last name first, then first name (i.e., Smith, John) and click to search.
A listing of registered agents with the same name appears, the difference may be the address used, but it also may be the fact different punctuation is used.
Cleaning Up the Companies into a Single Report
If a registered agent’s name is entered into the NC Business Registry in multiple ways, i.e., Smith, John; Smith, John A., Smith John A. Jr., or with different addresses, you will see multiple names with 1 or more entities. You may want to clean them up into one report on our website. There are a few ways to get this done. Method One is the quickest, but may be the most expensive to the registered agent. Please use which method works best for you and your clients.
Method One: Registered Agent Filing
- Create a listing of all companies you have agreed to serve as registered agent.
- Remove any company from the list which is using the correct address and correct spelling of the registered agent name.
- Include the SOSID#, Registered Agent Name Spelling of Record and Registered Agent Address. You can accomplish this through use of the search above, or through your business records.
- Provide one form BE-12 Agents Statement of Change of Registered Office Address. On this form in #2, please indicate the current spelling of the registered agent’s name and then indicate the correct spelling.
- Submit form BE-12 and the listing of companies you want to standardize the registered agent information for along with $5 for each entity listed to be changed. For example, if there are 10 entities on the listing, the fee for making this change is $50
Method Two: Company Amendments or Annual Report Filings
Business Corporation, Limited Liability Companies and Limited Liability Partnerships are required to file an annual report each year. You may contact each company and ask them to update the registered agent information when making the annual report filing. If you have elected to be on the Public Registered Agent Listing, they can choose your name from the drop down menu of names. If you are not on the listing, please provide them with the exact spelling, including punctuation and the address you want to them to use.
Limited Partnerships and Nonprofit Corporation are not required to file an annual report; therefore, they will need to file a Statement of Change of Registered Office and/or Registered Agent, Form BE-06. See the form section for the specific form.
The sole duty of the registered agent is to forward any notice, process or demand it receives on behalf of an entity to the last known address of that entity. The entity has a duty to keep the registered agent updated.
The Registered Agent is also required to update the registered agent mailing address within 60 days of any change. In addition, when the registered agent resigns and files the resignation form with the NC Secretary of State’s Office, the registered agent is required to forward a filed copy of the form to the principal office of the entity. The company then has 60 days to file a new designation to prevent grounds for administrative dissolution of the company.
Resignation by a registered takes effect 31 days after the filing of the document.
