How to change your registered agent in Illinois
Illinois offers an LLC-specific electronic agent change and Form LLC-1.36/1.37. Prepare the before-and-after agent and registered-office details; this filing is not a change to the LLC's principal office.
Checked against primary sources ·
Illinois- Jurisdiction terminology
- registered agent
- Filing office
- Illinois Secretary of State, Department of Business Services
Choose the right Illinois filing
Illinois uses an LLC-specific registered-agent/registered-office statement, LLC-1.36/1.37, and an electronic LLC change service. This transaction is not a principal-office amendment. Direct access to the current Secretary of State page and PDF was blocked during this review; the current service's indexed guidance was available, and an older government-hosted filed statement was visually inspected. The historical example is clearly identified below: it is useful evidence of the before/after fields and alternative signing roles, not a current mailing packet or a basis for copying another company's details.
- Procedure scope
- Registered agent or registered office changes for Illinois domestic LLCs and foreign LLCs registered in Illinois; the electronic route requires good standing.
- Form or online transaction
- Statement of Change of Registered Agent and/or Registered Office (LLC-1.36/1.37)
Which route fits your registered agent change?
- The LLC appoints a new registered agent
Use the LLC registered-agent change service or obtain the current LLC-1.36/1.37. The current service is for domestic and foreign LLCs in good standing and changes the agent, office address or both. Confirm good standing before choosing electronic filing; do not assume every inactive or delinquent record can use the same online transaction. Source 1.
- The current agent changes its office address
The historical filed form has a separate authorization choice for action by the registered agent and a separate agent-of-record signature block for an office-only change. This is not the same as company authorization to replace the agent. Confirm the corresponding current form instructions before using that alternative. Source 3.
- Only the LLC's principal office changes
The current electronic service says it does not change the principal office. Choose the appropriate separate company-address transaction rather than replacing a registered-agent address to make the principal-office record look different. The registered office may serve a different purpose and location. Source 1.
Prepare for the change in Illinois
- Confirm the existing Illinois LLC record
Prepare the LLC's exact name and current registered-agent and registered-office information and check the standing required for the electronic route. A foreign LLC uses its existing Illinois registration, not a new domestic formation. Select the LLC service rather than a corporation agent-change page. Source 1.
- Collect a complete Illinois street address and county
The visually inspected historical statement asks for street number, street, suite, city, ZIP code and county for both old and new registered offices. It says a PO box alone is unacceptable and the registered-office address and agent business-office address must be identical. Confirm these fields on the current form before filing. Source 3.
- Arrange the company-authorized signature
The historical company-execution block contains a perjury affirmation of signing authority and accurate, complete information, with date, signature, printed name and title. It also asks for the entity name and member/manager relationship when an entity signs in that role. Use the current form's execution requirements rather than assuming a provider's private order is sufficient. Source 3.
- Keep the authorization choice consistent with the change
The historical statement distinguishes a members/managers resolution from action by the registered agent. Prepare the authority relevant to the actual transaction. An agent-of-record office-address update is not authority for that agent to sign a company's replacement appointment under the wrong block. Source 3.
- Get the provider's approved designation
Practical guidance. Confirm the incoming agent's exact legal name, service location and forwarding contacts in writing before drafting. Save the approval with the proposed filing. This is practical transition work and is not a claim that an uninspected current Illinois form contains a separate incoming-agent acceptance attachment.
Consent and acceptance
Arrange the new agent's agreement before filing. Use the current form or online filing's execution instructions for the LLC's authorized signature; do not substitute a private service order for the state change statement.
Entity-type differences
The electronic LLC service covers domestic and foreign LLCs in good standing. Corporations have their own agent-change service and corporation form; do not submit LLC-1.36/1.37 for a corporation.
Complete the Illinois change filing
Confirm the LLC's name and current agent information, and check good standing before choosing the Secretary of State's electronic LLC change service.
Arrange the replacement agent and an Illinois registered-office street address that is the agent's business office. A PO box alone is not acceptable.
Use the LLC electronic change service or obtain the current Form LLC-1.36/1.37 from the Secretary of State's LLC forms list.
Enter the current and replacement registered agent and office details, including the Illinois county requested, and have the LLC's authorized signer complete the filing.
Submit through the selected route with the required payment and retain the filed statement. Review the resulting record for the intended agent and office.
Open the official filing instructions or transaction. Read the primary sources below alongside these steps.
Form fields and statement requirements
- Item 1 in the historical example: LLC identity
The inspected example begins with the limited liability company name and a state-use file-number area. Use your company's current identity, not information from the example's completed filing. Obtain the current blank form because the example is an old filing and includes another company's entries and an historical officeholder. Source 3.
- Item 2: before-change designation
The historical field asks for the name and address of the agent and registered office as they appear in Secretary of State records before change. Prepare that existing information, including county. Do not put the replacement in both the old and new sections merely because the transition has already begun privately. Source 3.
- Items 3 and 4: resulting office and address match
The historical form asks for the name and office after all reported changes and states that the resulting registered-office and registered-agent business-office addresses will be identical. Prepare the resulting designation as a complete set rather than treating the street location as a company mailing-address preference. Source 3.
- Items 5 and 6: authority and applicable signature
The historical example has an authorization selection followed on its reverse by company-authorized execution and a separate registered-agent office-change signature alternative. Follow the current form's selection and execution instructions. This guide does not claim those old line numbers or the paper layout are the current online screen sequence. Source 3.
Submit the change to Illinois Secretary of State, Department of Business Services
- Use the official electronic LLC route when eligible
Start from the Secretary of State's LLC Change of Registered Agent and/or Agent's Office Address service and confirm current eligibility, information, execution and payment requirements there. Direct page access was blocked at review, so no authenticated button sequence or guaranteed processing period is asserted here. Source 1.
- Obtain the current blank paper statement
The official LLC-1.36/1.37 PDF is linked in the sources. Direct PDF retrieval was blocked, including the migrated official document location. Confirm its present instructions for copies, signatures, payment and delivery before sending paper. Do not use the old filed example's office address or administrative instructions as current requirements. Source 2.
Before you submit
This change is not a principal-office update. Current Secretary of State page and PDF access were blocked during direct review; the government-hosted filed example was visually inspected but is historical. Current execution and delivery instructions must be confirmed rather than copied from that example.
Verify the change and finish the transition
- Retain actual filing evidence
Practical guidance. Keep the accepted statement or state confirmation with the exact submission. An online payment or an executed paper form alone should not be treated as proof of the resulting registered-agent record. If the office requests a correction, preserve that correspondence and resolve it before declaring the handoff complete.
- Compare the public designation and county
Review the agent name, street, suite, city, ZIP code and county against the provider's approved information. Check the principal office separately because the electronic service is not a principal-office update. A correct registered office does not demonstrate that a separate company-address change was made. Source 1.
- Close the private transition carefully
Practical guidance. Confirm the incoming agent knows the forwarding recipient, obtain any pending documents from the old agent and decide on contract termination after reconciling the filing result. List other states and agencies requiring separate review instead of assuming one Illinois statement changes the whole company portfolio.
Avoid these Illinois filing mistakes
- Using the office-only agent signature to appoint a replacement
The historical example's registered-agent signature is specifically for an office change by the agent of record. A replacement appointment should follow the company's applicable authorization and execution. Check the current form's distinction rather than copying the example's checked box. Source 3.
- Changing the wrong address category
The current electronic route does not change the principal office. Keep the registered-agent office and company's principal address distinct, and choose another appropriate filing if the actual objective is a principal-office update. Source 1.
- Treating a historical accepted filing as a current template
The government-hosted example is an actual old filed statement, not the current blank packet. Use it to understand the before/after distinction, but obtain today's official form and instructions before signing, choosing copy counts or addressing the submission. Source 3.
Questions about changing your registered agent in Illinois
Does the Illinois electronic service update my LLC's principal office?
No. The service changes the registered agent and/or registered-office address, not the principal office. Review the appropriate separate route when the business's principal address needs updating. Source 1.
Can a foreign LLC use the electronic LLC agent-change service?
The current service is for domestic and foreign LLCs in good standing. Use the company's existing Illinois registration and verify current eligibility instead of filing a new domestic LLC or using a corporation form. Source 1.
Why does the example have two signature alternatives?
The inspected historical form distinguishes a company-authorized agent/office change from an office-address change made by the registered agent of record. The actual change determines which authority and execution apply; confirm the current form before using either. Source 3.
Were the current Illinois form and portal directly inspected?
No. Current Secretary of State URLs returned access denials, while indexed official service guidance and a government-hosted historical filing were available. The historical form was visually read, and its fields are labeled as historical rather than represented as today's authenticated filing interface. Source 2.
Which primary sources support this procedure?
Checked . The filing office’s current instructions govern the submission.
- Illinois Secretary of State — LLC electronic agent-change instructions
- Illinois Secretary of State — current LLC-1.36/1.37
- Illinois Commerce Commission — government-hosted filed example of LLC-1.36/1.37
Procedural guidance, not legal advice. Confirm the correct filing for your entity and its current record.
Need help with your Illinois change?
Tell us the entity name, its jurisdiction and what needs to change. State fees are confirmed with you before anything is filed.