How to change your registered agent in Texas

A Texas LLC replaces its registered agent with Form 401, not the consent form or the form used by an existing agent changing its own details. Obtain written or electronic consent first, authorize the change and file the statement with the Secretary of State.

Checked against primary sources · 2026-10-15

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Texas

Jurisdiction terminology: registered agent
Change filing: Form 401 — Statement of Change of Registered Office/Agent
Filing office: Texas Secretary of State, Business and Public Filings Division

Choose the right Texas filing

Texas separates three things that are easily confused: the new agent's consent, the entity's authorization of the change, and the state filing that changes the public record. Form 401 handles the last of those for a BOC-governed LLC. Form 401-A can evidence consent, but does not replace the change filing; Form 408 concerns an existing agent's own information. The September 2026 instructions also changed the practical submission checklist: evidence is emailed for SOSPortal filings, mailed for paper filings, and instruction pages, duplicate copies and personal identifying information must be kept out of the submission.

Procedure scope: Texas domestic LLCs and registered foreign LLCs subject to the Business Organizations Code; Form 401 also serves other Texas and foreign filing entities subject to that Code.
Form or online transaction: Form 401 — Statement of Change of Registered Office/Agent
Where to file: Texas Secretary of State, Business and Public Filings Division

Which route fits your registered agent change?

Only the agent or registered office changes: Use Form 401 when the only intended changes to the entity's certificate of formation or registration are the registered agent, registered office or both. It applies to Texas and foreign filing entities subject to the Business Organizations Code. A foreign LLC changes its Texas registration, not its agent appointment in every other jurisdiction. Source 1.
The same agent changes its own details: The consent instructions identify Form 408 for an existing registered agent changing its name or its address as the entity's registered office. Distinguish that agent-filed update from the represented LLC appointing a different agent through Form 401. A similar address change does not make the filers and transactions interchangeable. Source 3.
Another entity transaction or special entity: The instructions allow agent changes in certain amendments, restatements, merger plans or converted-entity formation documents. They also direct unincorporated nonprofit associations, Texas financial institutions and defense base development authorities to Form 707. Special-purpose nonprofits outside the BOC may have additional requirements; do not generalize this LLC route to them. Source 1.

Prepare for the change in Texas

Gather the required current identity: Collect the legal entity name, current registered agent and current registered-office address. The Secretary of State file number is recommended to facilitate processing, not stated as mandatory. Look it up when available, but do not tell a reader that lack of the number by itself makes the statutory statement impossible. Source 1.
Get written or electronic consent: Before naming the replacement, obtain consent in writing or electronically. The consent guidance recommends the represented entity name, express agreement to serve, agent name, signature and execution date. An individual agent signs personally; an organization accepts through someone authorized to act for it. Send the signed consent to the represented entity for retention. Source 3.
Confirm agent eligibility and a service location: Choose a Texas resident individual or an eligible domestic or Texas-registered foreign entity other than the represented entity itself. Confirm a Texas street address where the agent can be personally served during normal business hours. A principal office is not required, but a location consisting solely of a mailbox or answering service is insufficient. Source 1.
Authorize the change and choose timing: The statement recites entity authorization; generally governing persons or someone authorized on the entity's behalf adopt and approve it. The instructions do not import the certificate-of-formation amendment procedures. Decide whether effectiveness on filing meets the transition plan before selecting a delayed date or event condition that adds further requirements. Source 1.

Entity-type differences

Form 401 covers BOC-governed domestic and foreign filing entities, including LLCs and ordinary corporations. Special-purpose nonprofit corporations may have different statutory requirements. Unincorporated nonprofit associations, Texas financial institutions and defense base development authorities use Form 707 instead. Form 408 is for an existing agent's own name or address change, not the entity's appointment of a different agent.

Complete the Texas change filing

Copy the entity's legal name, current registered agent and current registered-office address into Form 401; include the Secretary of State file number if available, as the instructions recommend it but do not make it mandatory.
Obtain the new agent's written or electronic consent. Choose either an individual Texas resident or an eligible organization other than the represented entity itself.
Complete the applicable individual or organization option in item 4. If the office changes, complete section C with the Texas street address, which must be the agent's business address where service can be personally received during normal business hours.
Authorize the change on behalf of the entity and select the effective-filing option. Have a person authorized to act for the entity sign the statement and affirm the agent's consent.
File through the SOSPortal link in the instructions or submit the signed form by mail or in person as directed. Save the evidence of filing and retain the consent in the entity's records.

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

Form fields and statement requirements

Items 1–3: existing entity and appointment: Enter the legal name and the current registered-agent and office information, with the recommended file number if available. These identify the record being changed. Do not put the replacement into a current-information field or use a trade name in place of the legal name. Source 1.
Item 4: organization A, individual B, office C: Use option A for a domestic or Texas-registered foreign organizational agent, or option B for an individual Texas resident. Complete section C if the registered office changes. The statement must recite that the registered-office street address is the same as the agent's business address; it need not be the LLC's operating headquarters. Source 1.
Approval statement and execution: Retain the statement that the change is authorized. A person authorized by the BOC to act for the entity signs, generally a governing person or managerial official. Notarization is not required. Naming the agent affirms consent, so the signer should verify the agreement rather than assume the provider will accept later. Source 1.
Effectiveness options: Option A is effective on filing. Option B delays effectiveness to a date no more than 90 days after signing. Option C uses a future event or fact other than passage of time, requires the manner of effectiveness and the 90th-day date, and requires a further event statement within 90 days of filing. These are different clocks; do not treat the event option as a simple future-date box. Source 1.

Submit the change to Texas Secretary of State, Business and Public Filings Division

SOSPortal: The September 2026 instructions link SOSPortal and say required information is entered through its filing screens. Evidence of filing is emailed to the submitter. Use the current official link and save the evidence when received; this guide does not claim to have inspected authenticated screens or require an uploaded paper form where the instructions describe entered information. Source 1.
Mail or in person: Mail to P.O. Box 13697, Austin, TX 78711-3697, or deliver to 400 W. 15th St., Austin, TX 78701, following current payment instructions. Evidence of filing is mailed to the submitter. Do not include instruction pages, duplicate copies or personal identifying information; the current instructions warn those additions may result in rejection. Source 1.

When the change takes effect

The statement normally becomes effective when filed. The instructions allow a delayed date no more than 90 days after signing, or an event-based option that requires the additional statement and deadlines described in the instructions.

Before you submit

Do not cancel the existing arrangement merely because a consent has been signed. Form 401-A does not amend the entity's state record; the entity must file the change and track its selected effective time.

Verify the change and finish the transition

Use the returned evidence: Watch for the email evidence for a portal filing or mailed evidence for a paper submission. On acceptance the statement amends the relevant formation or foreign-registration provision. A service agreement and a signed Form 401-A are consent or contract evidence, not evidence that Form 401 was accepted. Source 1.
Read the effective condition: For delayed documents, the Secretary's computer record shows filing and future effectiveness or an event condition. A filing appearing in history does not necessarily mean the selected future effective moment has arrived. For an event-based filing, track the required further statement instead of closing the matter after initial acceptance. Source 1.
Retain consent and finish the handoff: Keep the signed consent in the entity's records as the consent instructions direct. Separately agree who receives forwarded documents, ask the outgoing agent about pending items and review cancellation terms only against the confirmed effective transition. This operational reconciliation is not an extra state filing requirement. Source 3.

Avoid these Texas filing mistakes

Filing consent instead of the change: Form 401-A evidences acceptance and consent; the entity normally retains it. Obtain consent first, then file the entity's change through Form 401 or another specifically permitted transaction. A separately indexed consent is not a substitute for appointing the new agent in the entity's registered-agent filing. Source 3.
Treating 90 days as measured only from submission: A delayed-date option is limited by the signing date, whereas the event option also requires a further statement within 90 days of filing. Review both requirements if using delayed effectiveness rather than recycling an undated signed form. Source 1.
Sending an oversized paper packet: The current instructions expressly exclude instruction pages, duplicate copies and PII. Submit the completed filing document with required delivery materials, not an old checklist asking for duplicates or a bundle of confidential identity records. Consent need not accompany the ordinary statement. Source 1.

Questions about changing your registered agent in Texas

Is the Secretary of State file number mandatory on Form 401?

The current instructions recommend it to facilitate processing. They require the legal entity name and current agent and office information, but do not describe the file number as mandatory. Source 1.

Does Form 401 need notarization or the consent attached?

Notarization is not required. The new agent must consent in writing or electronically, but a copy need not accompany the statement. The consent instructions direct the signed acceptance to the represented entity for retention. Source 1.

Can my Texas LLC be its own registered agent?

The filing entity cannot act as its own agent. An eligible individual Texas resident or a qualifying organizational agent other than the represented entity may serve, with the required consent and Texas service address. Source 1.

How is filing evidence returned?

The September 2026 instructions say evidence is emailed to the submitter for SOSPortal filings and mailed to the submitter for mail or in-person filings. Preserve the evidence and check any delayed-effective-date or event condition before treating the transition as effective. 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.

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