Massachusetts registered agent requirements
Check Massachusetts’s rules for receiving legal notices and keeping the public contact record current. The local role may be called a registered agent, resident agent, statutory agent, or agent for service of process.
Open official agency forms and instructions ↗Who can serve in Massachusetts?
A Massachusetts resident agent must have a Massachusetts registered office and be an eligible individual or authorized entity able to receive service. The agent and office are public. A P.O. box alone is insufficient. Massachusetts uses the term resident agent for many corporations and LLCs, and the appointment must remain current for service, notices, and good standing.
Massachusetts agent changes: forms and fees
A Massachusetts Statement of Change of Resident Agent or Resident Office is no fee when filed electronically with CID/PIN and $25.00 by mail or hand delivery; fax adds a $6.00 expedite charge to the $25.00 filing. Use https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/corporations/ and the entity record. The new agent must qualify and consent.
Resignation, notice, and effective dates
A Massachusetts Statement of Resignation of Resident Agent is no fee electronically with CID/PIN and $25.00 by mail or hand delivery, with a $6.00 fax expedite charge under the current schedule. Statutory notice and effective-date rules apply, and resignation does not appoint a successor. The entity must promptly maintain a qualified Massachusetts agent and office.
Consequences of a missing agent or address
An entity without a Massachusetts resident agent or office can miss process, suffer default judgments, lose good standing, face administrative revocation or dissolution, and incur reinstatement and annual-report costs. Limited service through state mechanisms does not replace the continuing appointment duty or guarantee that the entity receives notice.
Confirm the change reached the public record
Keep the accepted filing and confirm the agent or service address shown for the business. Arrange forwarding of legal notices during the change, and check which contact information will be public before supplying a home address.
Look up the Massachusetts entity record →