location_on Georgia State Guide

Registered Agent in Georgia: requirements, cost & best options

Georgia gives every LLC the same hard deadline — April 1 — and quietly raised its fees in late 2025. Here's what the registered-agent rules, the annual registration, and the new costs mean for your LLC.

By Luis Cornado, Founder & Editor · Published June 24, 2026 · Updated July 26, 2026

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Georgia compliance, simplified

The exact Georgia rules, real costs, and the right registered-agent option for your LLC — checked against the official Georgia source.

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The Short Answer

Georgia requires every LLC to keep a registered agent with a physical Georgia street address — a PO box or mail drop does not qualify.
You can be your own agent if you're a Georgia resident with a Georgia address; the LLC can also use a commercial agent.
The part people miss: the Annual Registration is due April 1 — the same date for every LLC, not your formation anniversary, and Georgia raised its fees in September 2025 ($110 to form, $60 to renew, after a new $10 service charge).
Miss April 1 and a $25 penalty hits, with administrative dissolution following if you keep ignoring it.
For privacy and to never miss the flat April 1 deadline, a service like Northwest is the easy choice.

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Affiliate disclosure: some links on this page are affiliate links. If you sign up through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you — it never changes what we recommend or what you pay. See how we make money.

See Northwest for Georgia → $39 + state fee · registered agent free for year one · keeps your address private

boltQuick decision for Georgia

chevron_rightUse a professional registered agent if you work from home, travel, or run the LLC from outside Georgia — it keeps your street address off the public eCorp record and guarantees someone is there to accept a lawsuit.
chevron_rightBe your own agent if you're a Georgia resident with a street address that's staffed during business hours and you don't mind that address appearing on the public Secretary of State record.
chevron_rightNorthwest fits if privacy and never missing the flat April 1 registration deadline matter more to you than saving ~$125 a year.

Georgia Registered Agent & LLC Facts

Requirement / Metric	Georgia Specifics
Registered agent required?	Yes — every Georgia LLC & corporation
Governing statute	O.C.G.A. § 14-11-209 (registered office and registered agent)
Physical Georgia address required?	Yes — a physical Georgia street address
PO box allowed?	No — the registered office cannot be a PO box or mail drop
Can you be your own agent?	Yes, if you're a Georgia resident with a Georgia street address — an individual agent must be a state resident (O.C.G.A. § 14-11-209)
LLC filing fee	$110 (confirm current)
Annual report	Annual Registration, due every year between January 1 and April 1 — the same deadline for every LLC, not your formation anniversary. New LLCs file their first registration the year after forming. $60 ($50 base + the $10 service charge added Sept 2025); a $25 late penalty applies after April 1.
Franchise / annual tax	No franchise tax. Georgia has a flat 4.99% personal income tax (2026) that LLC owners pay on pass-through income; the corporate net-worth tax applies only to an LLC that elects to be taxed as a corporation.
Publication requirement	None for LLCs. (Georgia corporations must publish a notice of intent to incorporate, but LLCs are exempt.)
Change registered agent fee	Filed by amending your annual registration (Form CD 920) through the Secretary of State's eCorp system — a small amendment fee applies; confirm the current amount on the SOS fee schedule.
Official source	Georgia Division / Secretary of State

Fees and rules change — always confirm the current figures on the official Georgia source linked above before filing.

What Georgia requires from a registered agent

Like every state, Georgia requires every LLC to keep a registered agent at a physical Georgia street address (a PO box won't do), staffed during business hours to receive lawsuits and official state mail. And Georgia adds a step most states skip: None for LLCs. (Georgia corporations must publish a notice of intent to incorporate, but LLCs are exempt.)

Can you be your own registered agent in Georgia?

Yes, if you're a Georgia resident with a Georgia street address — an individual agent must be a state resident (O.C.G.A. § 14-11-209). The catch most pages skip: that address goes on Georgia's public record (scraped by data brokers if it's your home), and you must be available during business hours or risk missing a lawsuit — so home-based and remote owners usually use a service. Here's the full DIY trade-off.

thumb_upBeing your own agent — pros

addNo annual registered-agent fee — you keep the ~$100–$125/year a service would charge
addYou receive every Georgia state notice and legal document directly, with no middle layer
addPerfectly workable if you're a Georgia resident already staffing a street address during business hours

infoCons & risks

removeYour Georgia street address becomes part of the public eCorp record — and home addresses get scraped by data brokers
removeAn individual agent must be a Georgia resident and present during business hours; a missed lawsuit can become a default judgment
removeYou alone have to catch the April 1 deadline every year, or eat the $25 penalty and risk administrative dissolution

Using your Georgia home as your own agent address puts it on the public, searchable eCorp record and invites service of process at your door — sometimes in front of family or customers. For home-based Georgia founders, that exposure is the main reason to use a service.

Registered agent cost in Georgia

Forming an LLC in Georgia costs $110 up front, and a registered agent runs about $100–$150 a year on top — Northwest includes the first year free, then about $125. Full breakdown, including the DIY $0 route, in cheapest registered agent. To see Georgia's filing and annual fees beside all 50 states, use our LLC cost calculator.

Privacy & the public record in Georgia

The registered-office address you give Georgia goes onto the public Secretary of State record at eCorp and is searchable by anyone — data brokers, marketers, and process servers included. Georgia also bars a registered office that is only a PO box or mail drop (O.C.G.A. § 14-11-209), so a UPS box won't substitute. List your home and it becomes the address tied publicly to your business. The clean fix is a commercial agent: their Georgia street address appears on the record instead of yours, while your legal mail still reaches you.

Out-of-state & non-resident founders: Out-of-state and international founders can own a Georgia LLC, but an individual registered agent must be a Georgia resident with a physical Georgia street address — which you usually can't provide yourself from another state or country. A commercial agent is effectively required there, and it also catches the April 1 Annual Registration you'd otherwise miss from afar.

Best registered agent for Georgia: Northwest

For a Georgia LLC specifically, Northwest supplies a Georgia street address that satisfies O.C.G.A. § 14-11-209, keeps your personal address off the public eCorp record, and flags the April 1 Annual Registration deadline so you don't eat the $25 penalty.

doneFirst year free in Georgia when you form ($39 + state fee), then about $125/yr
donePrivacy by Default — their Georgia address on public filings instead of yours
doneUS-based support, no upsell funnel, all 50 states covered

Get Northwest for Georgia →

Honest caveat: Northwest is not the cheapest path. If you're a Georgia resident comfortable being your own agent at a staffed address and don't mind that address being public, the DIY route costs $0 beyond Georgia's own fees. Northwest mainly earns its ~$125/year when privacy and never missing April 1 matter to you.

Comparing options? See our Northwest review, Northwest vs LegalZoom, or the budget pick in Northwest vs Bizee.

Best Registered Agent Services in Georgia

We weigh providers on real first-year and renewal cost, privacy, upsell pressure, and support — the same way for every state. Here are the three we point Georgia founders to.

starEditor's Choice

Northwest

check_circleAvailable in Georgia

$125/year

First year free when you form, then a flat ~$125/year. Strong privacy and no upsell funnel.

doneRegistered agent free for year one
donePrivacy by Default® — their address, not yours
doneUS-based support, no upsells

Visit Northwest

Bizee

check_circleAvailable in Georgia

$119/year

Lowest upfront cost — $0 service fee, first RA year free. Best if you'll decline the checkout add-ons.

done$0 formation service fee
done1st year registered agent free
doneLifetime compliance alerts

Visit Bizee

ZenBusiness

check_circleAvailable in Georgia

$199/yr renewal

$99 intro first year

All-in-one platform with a compliance guarantee. We don't earn a commission from ZenBusiness — here's our honest comparison.

doneWorry-Free compliance guarantee
doneAll-in-one formation suite
doneHigher renewal than our top picks

Compare ZenBusiness

Pricing reflects each provider's advertised rates as of July 2026 and can change — confirm the current price on the provider's own site before you buy.

Compare your options in Georgia

Every realistic way to meet the Georgia registered-agent requirement — including doing it yourself.

Option	Best for	Pros	Cons
Be your own agent	Georgia residents with a staffed street address who want $0 cost	addNo annual fee addDirect receipt of all documents	removeAddress is public on eCorp removeMust be a Georgia resident present in business hours removeYou track the April 1 registration yourself
Northwest Registered Agent	Privacy-focused, home-based, or out-of-state Georgia owners	addTheir Georgia address on the record, not yours addFlags the April 1 deadline addFirst RA year free with formation, ~$125/yr after	remove~$125/year after the first year removeNot the absolute cheapest if you'd self-file anyway
Bizee or another formation service	Owners who want the lowest upfront formation cost	add$0 formation service fee addFirst RA year free addCompliance reminders	removeHeavier checkout upsells removeLess privacy focus than Northwest remove~$119/yr RA after year one
Georgia attorney or CPA as agent	Complex entities already paying a Georgia professional	addA professional already handling your filings addCan advise on Georgia income tax and net-worth tax	removeUsually the most expensive option removeOverkill for a simple single-member LLC

Georgia's one-size April 1 deadline and the 2025 fee bump

Georgia looks ordinary until you hit two things competitor guides routinely get wrong. First, the Annual Registration is due April 1 every year — the exact same date for every LLC in the state, regardless of when you formed (most states tie it to your formation anniversary). A brand-new LLC files its first registration the following calendar year, and you can even pre-file for one, two, or three years at once through the Secretary of State's eCorp portal. Second, Georgia added a $10 service charge on September 6, 2025, so the real numbers are now $110 to form and $60 to renew — not the $100 / $50 that older articles still quote. Miss the April 1 deadline and you're charged a $25 late penalty; ignore it long enough and the state administratively dissolves the LLC.

Georgia is genuinely a good fit for:

doneBusinesses operating in metro Atlanta or anywhere across Georgia
doneOwners who value Georgia's lack of a franchise tax
doneCompanies serving the Southeast from Georgia's logistics hub

Georgia's annual registration: one deadline for everyone

Most states tie your renewal to your formation date. Georgia doesn't — every LLC files its Annual Registration by April 1, the same date statewide. Here's the cycle, including the fee bump that landed in September 2025.

after you form Then file by April 1 — every year · $60 same deadline for every Georgia LLC · you can prepay 1–3 years at once Miss April 1 → $25 late penalty ignore it and Georgia administratively dissolves the LLC (O.C.G.A. § 14-11-603)

Georgia LLC cycle — form for $110 via eCorp, then file the Annual Registration by April 1 every year for $60 (the same date statewide). RegisteredAgentHub original.

Georgia-specific things to know

The single most important Georgia fact is the deadline: your Annual Registration is due April 1, and it's April 1 for everyone — Georgia does not key the deadline to your formation date the way most states do. If you form an LLC in, say, August, your first registration isn't due that year at all; it's due by April 1 of the next calendar year. Georgia also lets you file (and pay) for up to three years at once, which is a genuinely useful way to stop worrying about it. You file through the Corporations Division's eCorp system at ecorp.sos.ga.gov.

Watch the money, too. Effective September 6, 2025, Georgia added a $10 service charge to online filings, so forming now costs $110 and the annual registration is $60 ($50 base + the $10 charge). A large share of the 'Georgia LLC cost' content online still shows the old $100 / $50 figures — if a guide quotes those, it predates the change.

On the registered agent itself: Georgia requires a physical Georgia street address (no PO box or mail drop), and an individual agent must be a Georgia resident — so an out-of-state owner can't serve as their own. Changing your agent later isn't a standalone form; you update it by filing an Amended Annual Registration (Form CD 920) through eCorp. Miss the April 1 registration and Georgia adds a $25 penalty, then begins administrative dissolution if the registration stays unfiled past the statutory notice window (O.C.G.A. § 14-11-603).

Looking up an existing registered agent in Georgia

Every Georgia company's registered agent is public record — you can find any LLC's or corporation's agent, with the registered office address, free through the Secretary of State's eCorp business search. Search by company name and the record shows the current agent on file.

The usual reasons to look one up: serving legal papers on a company, due diligence on a business you're about to deal with, or confirming your own record updated correctly after a change of agent (in Georgia, that filing is filed by amending your annual registration).

"Registered agent near me" in Georgia — explained

Searched "registered agent near me"? In Georgia it's not about being near you — your agent just needs a physical Georgia street address, staffed during business hours, on file with the Georgia filing office. That's why a national service like Northwest works no matter where in Georgia — or which state — you personally live.

How to change your registered agent in Georgia

To switch in Georgia, file the state's change-of-agent form (filed by amending your annual registration) and put the new agent on record before cancelling the old one — many services handle it. Full steps in how to change your registered agent.

How to start an LLC in Georgia

In short: choose your name, appoint a registered agent (the step above), file your formation document with Georgia ($110), and get a free EIN from the IRS. Then keep it compliant: Annual Registration, due every year between January 1 and April 1 — the same deadline for every LLC, not your formation anniversary. New LLCs file their first registration the year after forming. $60 ($50 base + the $10 service charge added Sept 2025); a $25 late penalty applies after April 1.. No franchise tax. Georgia has a flat 4.99% personal income tax (2026) that LLC owners pay on pass-through income; the corporate net-worth tax applies only to an LLC that elects to be taxed as a corporation.. For the full walkthrough see our cheapest way to start an LLC guide.

Which path is right for you in Georgia?

verifiedUse Northwest if

doneYou work from home or want to keep your address off the public eCorp record
doneYou're forming or operating the LLC from outside Georgia
doneYou'd rather not be the one tracking the April 1 Annual Registration each year

personBe your own agent if

checkYou're a Georgia resident with a street address staffed during business hours
checkYou're comfortable with that address appearing on the public Secretary of State record
checkYou're confident you'll file the Annual Registration by April 1 every year

compare_arrowsConsider other options if

checkYour only priority is the lowest upfront formation cost (a budget service like Bizee)
checkYou already pay a Georgia attorney or CPA who can serve as your agent
checkYou want to compare on price first — see our Northwest vs Bizee and Northwest vs ZenBusiness guides

Georgia Registered Agent FAQ

When is the Georgia LLC annual registration due?expand_more

Between January 1 and April 1 every year — and it's April 1 for every LLC, not your formation anniversary. A new LLC files its first registration the calendar year after it forms. You can also file for one, two, or three years at once through the eCorp portal.

How much does a Georgia LLC cost in 2026?expand_more

$110 to form and $60 a year to keep registered, filing online through eCorp. Both figures include a $10 service charge Georgia added on September 6, 2025 — older guides still showing $100 to form and $50 to renew predate that change.

Can I be my own registered agent in Georgia?expand_more

Yes, if you're a Georgia resident with a physical Georgia street address (no PO box or mail drop). An individual agent must be a state resident, so an out-of-state owner can't serve as their own — they need a Georgia-resident individual or a commercial agent.

Does Georgia require newspaper publication to form an LLC?expand_more

No. Georgia corporations must publish a notice of intent to incorporate, but LLCs are exempt — there's no publication step or fee to form a Georgia LLC.

What happens if I miss the April 1 deadline in Georgia?expand_more

Georgia charges a $25 late penalty, and if the registration stays unfiled past the statutory notice window the Secretary of State administratively dissolves the LLC (O.C.G.A. § 14-11-603). You can reinstate within five years, but it's cheaper and cleaner to just file by April 1.

Can I pay for multiple years of Georgia annual registration at once?expand_more

Yes — Georgia lets you file and pay for one, two, or three years at a time through eCorp. It's a simple way to avoid forgetting the April 1 deadline, though you still pay each year's fee.

How do I change my registered agent in Georgia?expand_more

There's no standalone change form — you file an Amended Annual Registration (Form CD 920) through the eCorp system, which updates your registered agent and registered office. A small amendment fee applies; confirm the current amount on the SOS fee schedule.

Does a Georgia LLC pay franchise tax?expand_more

No — Georgia has no franchise tax. LLC owners pay Georgia's flat 4.99% personal income tax (2026) on their share of the profits. The separate corporate net-worth tax applies only to an LLC that elects to be taxed as a corporation.

Official Georgia sources

Comparing states?

Founders weighing Georgia usually shortlist these too — or see every state's fees side by side.

Florida →North Carolina →Alabama →

Keep reading

Northwest Registered Agent: full review → Best registered agent service → Can I be my own registered agent? →

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This page is for general informational purposes and is not legal, tax, or financial advice. Georgia fees and rules can change — confirm current details with the official Georgia source before filing.