How to change your registered agent in Iowa

File a Statement of Change identifying the existing record and the replacement agent. The published paper form expressly asks the incoming agent to sign or supply written consent.

Checked against primary sources · 2026-10-15

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Iowa

Jurisdiction terminology: registered agent
Change filing: Statement of Change of Registered Office and/or Registered Agent, 635_0119
Filing office: Iowa Secretary of State, Business Services Division

Choose the right Iowa filing

Iowa's shared change statement is unusually useful as a preparation checklist because it distinguishes current and replacement office details, the incoming agent's consent, an agent's own address-change notice, and the entity's authorization signature. For an LLC, do not collapse those functions into one signature. The paper form and LLC statute also express consent differently: the practical filing instruction is to complete the paper consent section when that is the document being submitted.

Procedure scope: Entity-filed registered-agent change for an Iowa domestic LLC; the Secretary of State's shared paper statement also identifies other covered entity types.
Form or online transaction: Statement of Change of Registered Office and/or Registered Agent, 635_0119
Where to file: Iowa Secretary of State, Business Services Division

Which route fits your registered agent change?

Replace the registered agent: Use the Statement of Change of Registered Office and/or Registered Agent. Identify the current agent in item 4 and the new agent in item 5. When more than one agent is registered, the form specifically asks you to indicate which one is being replaced. Source 1.
Change the office without a replacement: The statement also handles office changes. Item 7 has a distinct signature when the registered agent changes its business-office street address: the agent signs to indicate that notice was given to the business entity. Do not mistake this notice certification for the incoming-agent consent in item 6. Source 1.
Apply the correct entity's execution rule: The shared form includes LLCs, corporations, partnerships and listed cooperatives, but the signers differ. An LLC uses an authorized person; corporations generally use the chairperson, president or another officer. A shared form does not make a corporate title mandatory for an LLC signer. Source 1.

Prepare for the change in Iowa

Copy both current address categories: Retrieve the registered office's current street address and current mailing address from the existing record. Item 2 requests both. Starting with only the replacement address makes it easy to leave the before-change section incomplete or accidentally describe the new office as the old one. Source 1.
Ask the new agent for its filing identity: Prepare the new agent's full name and email address, which are requested together in item 5. If the agent is an entity, arrange for an individual representing that entity to sign the consent section rather than entering the representative as the appointed agent. Source 1.
Coordinate street and mailing addresses: After the change, the statement says the registered office's street and mailing addresses and the agent's business-office addresses will be identical. Review both categories with the incoming agent. A correct street address does not cure a conflicting mailing address elsewhere in the statement. Source 1.
Arrange two signing responsibilities: For a replacement on the paper form, prepare the incoming agent's signature or separate written consent and the LLC authorized person's execution. Item 9 also asks for date, printed name, capacity and telephone number. Decide who supplies each part before circulating the packet. Source 1.

Entity-type differences

Iowa Code 489.116 covers domestic and registered foreign LLCs. The shared paper form also covers profit, nonprofit and professional corporations, but their signing officers differ from an LLC's authorized person. Limited partnerships have a separate chapter-specific statement.

Complete the Iowa change filing

Retrieve the entity's exact legal name and the current registered-office and agent information from the state record.
Complete the statement with the current and new office addresses and the new agent's name and email address.
Have the incoming agent sign the consent section or attach the agent's written consent, as the published form instructs.
Check the form's statement that the registered-office and agent-business-office addresses will be identical, and have an authorized person sign for the LLC.
Deliver the completed statement to the Secretary of State using the form's filing instructions and retain the filed copy.

Open the official filing instructions or transaction. Read the primary sources below alongside these steps.

Form fields and statement requirements

Item 1: complete business name: Use the full entity name, including its suffix and proper punctuation. The instructions expressly stress those details because different business types share the statement. A trade name or a shortened name used on invoices is not the complete legal identification requested here. Source 1.
Items 2 and 3: before and after offices: Item 2 records the current street and mailing addresses; item 3 records the new street and mailing addresses. Compare each line against the intended result instead of pasting one address throughout. These are registered-office fields, not a request to change every business address. Source 1.
Items 4 through 6: agent replacement and consent: State the current agent, then the new agent's name and email. Item 6 says the new agent, or an individual representing an agent entity, must sign consenting to appointment or attach written consent. Do not leave that section unsupported because the LLC signed item 9. Source 1.
Items 7 and 8: notice and address reconciliation: Item 7 applies when the agent changes its business-office street address and certifies notice to the entity. Item 8 needs no entry, but its required statement should be used to verify the final office-and-agent address match. Read certifications even when no blank follows them. Source 1.
Item 9: LLC authorized-person signature: An authorized person signs for an LLC and supplies the signing date, printed name and capacity. The instructions separately address a receiver, trustee or other court-appointed fiduciary when the entity is in that person's hands. Do not assign authority merely from possession of the download. Source 1.

Submit the change to Iowa Secretary of State, Business Services Division

Published paper submission: The instructions say one copy is to be delivered or faxed to the Secretary of State for filing. Use the destination and fax details printed on the current statement. Keep a complete signed packet, including a separately attached consent, rather than retaining only the first page without its attachments. Source 1.
Understand the source's limits: The inspected source is the published paper statement, revised February 2022. It does not establish a current authenticated online workflow or processing promise. If using an electronic transaction instead, follow its own execution instructions rather than assuming the paper's signature placement describes portal controls. Source 1.

Before you submit

The shared paper instructions and the LLC statute express consent differently. Use the consent section on the actual filing being submitted and do not copy corporate signature requirements onto an LLC.

Verify the change and finish the transition

Check the result at the field level: Practical guidance. Compare the filed statement and resulting record with the new agent's name, email, street address and mailing address. If multiple agents existed, confirm that the intended appointment was replaced. A successful transmission is not sufficient practical evidence that every requested field was recorded as intended.
Keep the consent with the statement: Practical guidance. Where consent was provided separately, store it with the executed change and filing evidence. This avoids a future administrator finding a statement with an empty consent line and no explanation of the attachment used. Preserve the entity signer's capacity and date as well.
Limit the handoff to confirmed records: Practical guidance. Tell the incoming agent which Iowa entity was changed and preserve any open notices with the outgoing agent. Review other contact addresses independently before cancelling old arrangements. This is a practical reconciliation step, not a representation that this registered-office statement updates tax or licensing records.

Avoid these Iowa filing mistakes

Using statutory affirmation to omit paper consent: The LLC statute describes designation as an affirmation of consent, while the published paper statement expressly requires the new agent's signature or attached written consent. Complete the actual form being submitted rather than using the statutory formulation to erase a visible paper requirement. Source 1.
Signing the wrong agent line: The consent line and address-change notice line serve different purposes. A new appointment needs item 6 handled; an agent's business-office address change can require item 7. Read the triggering language rather than treating either signature as a general substitute for the other. Source 1.
Ignoring the mailing-address match: The final required statement refers to street and mailing addresses. Resolve an old mailing address that remains in the new-office section before signing. Use item 8 as the instructions intend: a final cross-check, not an irrelevant printed sentence below the editable fields. Source 1.

Questions about changing your registered agent in Iowa

Can a business entity be Iowa's incoming registered agent on this statement?

The paper form expressly contemplates an incoming agent that is an entity. An individual representing that agent entity signs the consent, or written consent is attached. Keep the appointed entity's full name in the agent-name field and the representative's signature in the execution section. Source 1.

Does the Iowa LLC signer need to be the president?

No. The shared form's instructions specify an authorized person for a limited liability company. President and other corporate-office language belongs to the corporate instructions. The signer still states their name, capacity and signing date, rather than leaving authority unexplained. Source 1.

What if the company has more than one registered agent?

Item 4 directs the filer to identify which current agent is being replaced when more than one is registered. Retrieve the existing record and make that identification explicit; do not assume a replacement name alone tells the filing office which appointment to change. Source 1.

Will the information in the Iowa change statement be private?

No. The statement's instructions say the information provided will be open to public inspection under Iowa Code chapter 22.11. Review the required name, address, email and contact entries before submission and avoid adding unrelated sensitive information to explain the business decision. Source 1.

Which primary sources support this procedure?

Checked 2026-10-15. The filing office’s current instructions govern the submission.

Procedural guidance, not legal advice. Confirm the correct filing for your entity and its current record.

Need help with your Iowa change?

Tell us the entity name, its jurisdiction and what needs to change. State fees are confirmed with you before anything is filed.

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