Change Registered Agent in Texas: Form 401

One form, one $15 fee, one agency. That is the entire mechanism for switching registered agents in Texas. The only way to get it wrong is sequencing: your entity should never sit uncovered between the old agent and the new one.

The Form: Statement of Change of Registered Office/Agent (Form 401)

• What: Form 401, the Statement of Change of Registered Office/Agent
• Filed with: Texas Secretary of State; the form lives on the SOS business forms index
• Fee: $15 for an LLC. A credit card payment carries the statutorily authorized 2.7% convenience fee on top
• Statutes: Tex. Bus. Orgs. Code § 5.201 (the agent and office requirement), § 5.202 (the statement of change), § 5.207 (agent consent)
• Consent: mandatory, written or electronic. Form 401-A is the state's consent document; we issue ours the moment you sign up
• Bulk changes: an agent updating many LLCs at once pays capped fees, $750 maximum per the SOS fee schedule

How to File the Texas Agent Change

1. Engage the replacement agent before touching any SOS paperwork. We hand over our name, Texas street address, and signed consent at signup.
2. Fill out Form 401 with the entity name, SOS file number, and the new agent and registered office details.
3. File it with the Secretary of State and pay the $15, online through SOSDirect or by mail.
4. Wait for the filing to process, then pull up the entity record and confirm the new agent is listed.
5. Release the outgoing agent only after that confirmation.

Why Entities Switch

• Price creep: renewal invoices that climb every year for a role with a fixed statutory job description
• Missed documents: an agent who sits on served papers converts lawsuits into default judgments
• Vanished agents: the person moved, quit, or the company folded, leaving the record pointing at nobody
• Resignations: Texas lets an agent resign through the SOS, which can leave an entity abruptly exposed
• Privacy: a home address doing agent duty in a database anyone can search

No Coverage Gaps

An entity between agents has no reliable delivery point for process servers and no working channel for state notices. Keep the sequence tight:

• New agent secured and consented first
• Form 401 filed promptly after
• Old agent cancelled last, once the SOS record shows the change
• Entity record spot-checked afterward on SOSDirect

One Thing the PIR Cannot Do

Texas entities file a yearly Public Information Report with the Comptroller, and it displays agent details, but that section is informational. Filing the PIR does not change your registered agent. Form 401 with the Secretary of State is the only mechanism that does. If May 15 is near, handle both, and handle Form 401 first if your old agent is already gone.

After the Switch: $99/Year, Flat

Once the SOS records us, every document served on your entity hits our Texas office, gets scanned the same business day, and lands in your secure portal. Deadline reminders included. No setup charge, no transfer charge.

Order Here Questions about switching? Contact us.