Can You Be Your Own Registered Agent in New York? You May Not Need One

The New York rule

Who can serve: If one is designated: a person who lives in New York or has a business address there, an LLC formed or authorized in New York, or a corporation formed or authorized in New York.

The address: New York has no registered-office requirement. The Secretary of State is the agent for service of process for every New York LLC and mails a copy of any papers served to the address the company has on file. A designated registered agent's street address goes on the filing.

Whether the LLC itself can be named is not settled by our sheet; check with the New York Secretary of State. Changing agents in New York costs $30. Source: N.Y. LLC Law §§ 301 and 302, checked October 20, 2026.

The trade-offs

• Your New York address goes on the public filing.
• Papers are handed to you at that address, so you need to be there when the state’s rule says.
• If you move, you file a change of agent ($30 in New York).

If you would rather not

Mainstay Filing is $149 a year for registered agent service in New York, the same at renewal. Service of process is scanned and uploaded the same business day at no fee.