Oregon Foreign Registration / Oregon agent
Registered agent and office rules for an Oregon foreign LLC
Every foreign LLC that pays Oregon's $275 for authority keeps a registered agent at a registered office in the state, and filing a change of agent carries no Oregon fee. Process served on the Secretary of State instead costs the plaintiff $20.
The rules at a glance
| Who may serve | an Oregon resident whose business office is the registered office, or a domestic LLC, corporation, professional corporation or nonprofit with that office, or an authorized foreign entity of those kinds with that office |
|---|---|
| The office | a street address suitable for personal delivery of legal papers, never a post office box, commercial mail receiving agency, mail forwarding business or virtual office |
| Change of agent | no fee |
| Resignation | Ends on day 31 after filing unless a successor is appointed first |
| Service on the Secretary of State | $20 |
Who can be the agent
The statute allows an individual who lives in Oregon and whose business office is that registered office, or a domestic LLC, corporation, professional corporation or nonprofit corporation with that office as its business office, or an authorized foreign LLC, corporation, professional corporation or nonprofit corporation with that office. The Secretary of State names four entity types that may serve: business corporations, professional corporations, limited liability companies and nonprofit corporations.
The registered office
The registered office may double as a place of business, though it need not. What it must be is a street address in Oregon that takes personal delivery of legal papers. A mailbox, forwarding service or virtual office is not acceptable.
Changing the agent
Swapping the agent or office is done by a statement of change that names the LLC and gives the new street address or new agent, noting that the agent agreed and that the registered office and the agent's office will match afterward. When an agent itself moves, it must change the registered office for each LLC it serves, tell each LLC in writing and file a statement for each.
When the agent resigns
The agent gives notice by delivering a signed statement to the Secretary of State and a copy to the LLC. The appointment ends 31 days after the statement is filed, unless the LLC has appointed a successor first. That is the clock for finding a replacement.
When the Secretary of State becomes the agent
Five situations make the Secretary of State an agent for process: no agent is kept or no agent can be found at the office; authority has been revoked; the LLC is working without authority; it has withdrawn; or it worked without authority and then stopped. That does not replace a registered agent. It is a backstop for plaintiffs.
What a missing agent costs
Failing to keep an agent, or failing to report a change, is a ground for revocation. Oregon writes first and allows 45 days to cure before it revokes.
Questions to ask a prospective agent
Does your office take personal delivery at an Oregon street address in business hours? Who signs for papers? How soon do we hear? What happens if you relocate? Ask for details, because lawsuits against the company arrive through the agent.
Agent and the annual report
The registered office and the agent's name are items in the annual report, so any change in them should be filed as a statement of change and then match the report.
Choosing an agent for an LLC with no Oregon presence
An LLC with nobody in Oregon needs a person who lives there and works from the registered office, or one of the permitted entity types with an Oregon office.
Our role
We can be your Oregon registered agent, or you can name another. If you choose us, our name and street address go in the agent fields of the application. The agent named must have agreed to serve.
About the Oregon agent
May I serve as my own agent?
Yes, if you live in Oregon and your business office sits at the registered office address.
How much does an agent change cost at the state?
Nothing.
Can the agent use a mail forwarding service?
No. A mail forwarding business is not an acceptable registered office.
What if the agent resigns?
It ends 31 days after the resignation is filed, so name a successor before that day.
Our fee and Oregon's
Register in Oregon
$275 Oregon fee + $199
Oregon's fee is $275. It appears on its own line 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.
$199
Oregon Foreign Registration
- The Oregon application filled in from your answers
- Your name checked against Oregon records first
- An Oregon registered agent, ours or yours
- The authority record returned when Oregon issues it
- Renewal: after the first year, the agent service renews at $149 a year
Sources
- Oregon Business Registry fee schedule
- ORS 56.140, Secretary of State business registry fees
- Oregon Secretary of State, foreign LLC forms
- ORS 63.721, registered office and registered agent
- Oregon Secretary of State, foreign LLC registration guide
- Oregon Secretary of State, application for authority form instructions
- ORS 63.727, resignation of registered agent
- ORS 63.724, change of registered office or agent
- ORS 63.731, service on a foreign limited liability company
- ORS 63.741, procedure for and effect of revocation
- ORS 63.737, grounds for revocation
- ORS 63.787, annual report
Ready to register in Oregon?
Order now and we start with the name check.