How to change your registered agent in North Carolina

File BE-06 with the Secretary of State, including the incoming agent's signature on the form or a signed written consent attached to it. The form requires both the current record and the changed information, including the registered office's county.

Checked against primary sources · 2026-10-15

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North Carolina

Jurisdiction terminology: registered agent
Change filing: BE-06 — Statement of Change of Registered Office and/or Registered Agent
Filing office: North Carolina Secretary of State, Business Registration Division

Choose the right North Carolina filing

North Carolina's BE-06 has two signatures with different functions when an agent is replaced. The incoming agent consents in item 3 or in an attached signed consent, while the business executes the statement through an appropriate representative at the end. The form also records both the old information and the intended new office, including county and any different mailing address. Preparing those categories separately is the easiest way to avoid an agent-name change that leaves the new agent tied to the outgoing provider's office.

Procedure scope: North Carolina domestic LLCs and other entities using the common registered-office and registered-agent change filing under G.S. 55D-31.
Form or online transaction: BE-06 — Statement of Change of Registered Office and/or Registered Agent
Where to file: North Carolina Secretary of State, Business Registration Division

Which route fits your registered agent change?

Replace the agent and, if necessary, the office: Use item 3 for the replacement agent and its consent. If the office also changes, complete items 1 and 2 as applicable. Item 4 states that the registered office and agent's business office will be identical after the changes; review the combined name and address rather than each blank in isolation. Source 2.
Keep the same agent and update the office: Items 1 and 2 are completed only when the registered office changes. Item 3 is completed only when the agent name changes. An office-only transaction therefore does not require pretending a new legal agent is being appointed. The current-information block still needs the information presently on file. Source 2.
Use the North Carolina registration, including foreign entities: BE-06 is a common business-entity statement under G.S. 55D-31, not a domestic-LLC formation form. Match the entity's North Carolina name and recorded appointment. The incoming agent must qualify in North Carolina; the form excludes the represented entity itself from the eligible organizational-agent choices. Source 2.

Prepare for the change in North Carolina

Collect the complete current-information block: Copy the entity name, registered-office street address and county, any different mailing address, and current agent name from the Secretary of State's record. Include county even if you know the ZIP code. The instructions require the information as currently recorded, not merely your preferred corrected address. Source 2.
Confirm the replacement's eligible category: The instructions allow a North Carolina resident, an existing domestic business or nonprofit corporation or LLC, or an authorized foreign business or nonprofit corporation or LLC, other than the entity represented. Verify an organizational agent's identity and authorization rather than choosing any company with a North Carolina mailing address. Source 2.
Arrange filed consent: Have the new agent sign item 3, including a title when the agent is an entity, or obtain its separate signed written consent and attach it. The form expressly permits either approach. A consent kept only in an internal folder does not follow the attachment alternative described in BE-06. Source 2.
Identify the business signer: The instructions call for an officer, manager or general partner to sign, with the entity name, printed name and title and execution date. Arrange that signature separately from the incoming agent's consent. An organizational agent representative may need a title in the consent block without being the LLC's execution signer. Source 2.
Decide whether timing needs special treatment: BE-06 defaults to effectiveness on filing but permits a delayed date or time. Coordinate any requested delay with the incoming and outgoing agents before using it. The instructions allow a delayed date through the ninetieth day after filing; they do not turn a requested future date into immediate replacement. Source 2.

Entity-type differences

BE-06 is a common business-entity filing rather than a domestic-LLC-only form. Select a qualified North Carolina resident or an authorized eligible entity other than the entity being represented. Foreign LLCs and corporations should match the North Carolina registration record, not simply copy the agent from their home jurisdiction.

Complete the North Carolina change filing

Copy the entity name, current registered agent, registered-office street address and county, and any different mailing address from the state record.
Complete the changed office fields with a North Carolina street address and county; enter a separate mailing address only if different.
Enter the incoming agent's name and have it sign item 3, or attach its separate signed written consent to appointment.
Confirm that the registered office and the agent's business office will be identical, and complete any permitted delayed effective date or time only if needed.
Have an officer, manager or general partner sign and identify their title, then deliver BE-06 and any consent attachment to the Business Registration Division. Retain the filed statement.

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

Form fields and statement requirements

Information Currently On File: Complete the existing name and addresses before New Information. The form separately asks for the street address and county, mailing address if different, and current registered agent. Do not omit the baseline because the new agent has already prepared its own acceptance document. Source 2.
Items 1 and 2: office and mailing address: Item 1 requires the new street address and county when the office changes. Item 2 is for a different mailing address. A postal destination in item 2 does not replace the street-address information in item 1, and leaving out the county does not satisfy the complete office entry. Source 2.
Items 3 and 4: agent consent and identical office: Enter the new legal agent name and obtain its signature and applicable title, or attach its signed consent. Item 4 states that the registered office and agent's business office will be identical. Verify that the address belongs to the new appointment, not only the former agent. Source 2.
Item 5 and execution: Leave the default filing effectiveness in place unless a deliberate date or time is needed. A delayed date with no time takes effect at 11:59:59 p.m. on that date under the instructions. Finish the separate entity execution and date; the incoming agent's signature alone does not complete those lines. Source 2.

Submit the change to North Carolina Secretary of State, Business Registration Division

Deliver BE-06 with any consent attachment: The form directs filing with the Secretary of State's Business Registration Division and supplies its mailing address. Assemble the completed, executed statement and separate consent if using that alternative. The reviewed PDF supports this packet route; it does not establish authenticated online screen names. Source 2.
Preserve one complete submission copy: Practical guidance. Keep the statement and consent together in the same internal filing record. A consent sent separately to another team can be lost between preparation and delivery. Give the submitting person a final packet rather than a set of attachments whose relationship must be reconstructed.

When the change takes effect

BE-06 is effective on filing unless a permitted delayed date or effective time is specified. Its instructions allow a delayed effective date through the 90th day after filing; a delayed date without a time takes effect at the end of that specified day.

Before you submit

A mailing address may differ, but it does not replace the physical registered office. Include the incoming agent's filed consent whenever the agent changes.

Verify the change and finish the transition

Establish the effective filing: Read the filed result together with item 5. The instructions distinguish filing-date effectiveness from a delayed date or time. Do not use the execution date at the bottom of the form as the change date without checking the actual filing and any selected delay. Source 2.
Check county, street and mailing data: Practical guidance. Compare the recorded agent name, street address, county and any different mailing address. A correct name alone is not a complete transition check. Keep the filed statement and filed consent evidence available so a later administrator can determine exactly what was requested.
Coordinate the forwarding handoff: Practical guidance. Send the incoming agent your internal forwarding contact and identify pending documents with the outgoing provider. If you selected future effectiveness, explain that date to both sides. Review tax, licensing and bank correspondence addresses independently rather than assuming BE-06 reconciles those records.

Avoid these North Carolina filing mistakes

Filing no consent because the agent agreed privately: Put the consent on item 3 or attach the agent's separate signed written consent. Those are BE-06's published alternatives. Internal evidence of agreement can be useful, but it does not replace the filed consent method specified by the form. Source 2.
Omitting the physical office's county: Obtain and enter the county for the new office along with the complete street address. BE-06 asks for county separately from city and ZIP. Do not substitute a different mailing address for missing registered-office details. Source 2.
Assuming a date without a time starts at midnight: The instructions specify 11:59:59 p.m. for a delayed date without a time. If transition timing matters, complete item 5 deliberately and reconcile its result with the filed record rather than assuming beginning-of-day effectiveness. Source 2.

Questions about changing your registered agent in North Carolina

Does the agent have to sign BE-06 itself?

The new agent may sign item 3, or sign a separate written consent attached to the statement. When the agent is an entity, include the signer's title as instructed. Consent is part of the filing under either alternative. Source 2.

Can the LLC appoint itself as agent?

BE-06's instructions exclude the represented entity from the eligible organizational agents. A qualifying North Carolina resident or another eligible domestic or authorized foreign organization may serve under the listed categories. Source 2.

Can the mailing address differ from the street address?

Yes. Item 2 provides for a different mailing address, while item 1 records the street address and county when the office changes. The registered office and agent's business office must still be identical under item 4. Source 2.

How far ahead can the effective date be?

The instructions permit a delayed effective date through the ninetieth day after filing. A delayed date without a time takes effect at 11:59:59 p.m. on the specified date; a date with a time uses the specified date and time. Source 2.

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 North Carolina 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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