Georgia Registered Agent Resignation: A How-To Guide

Notifying the Georgia LLC

Because registered agents handle such important responsibilities, your LLC will appreciate some advance notice of your resignation. Not only is giving early notice courteous, but it’s also mandated by the state. You must send a copy of your Statement of Resignation to the company prior to filing it with the Secretary of State (see Georgia Code § 14-2-503).

By reaching out in advance, you give your LLC time to come up with a transition plan for changing their registered agent. This way, they won’t get hit with fines and penalties for failing to maintain an agent.

Submitting Your Resignation

The official form you’ll need to send to your LLC and the Secretary of State’s office is the “Statement of Resignation.” Download it from the Corporations Division Forms page.

The form won’t take you too long; it only requires the following information:

• Your name
• The street address and county of registered office on file
• Your email address
• The LLC name, type, and Entity Control Number (find this using the Business Search)
• Whether the registered office will be the same or discontinued
• Your signature

By signing the Statement of Resignation, you’re also confirming that you sent a copy to your LLC before submitting it to the state.

That wasn’t so bad. And what’s even better is that there’s no filing fee, so put your checkbook away – you won’t need it. Once you’ve completed the form, mail it off to:

Office of Secretary of State

Corporations Division

2 Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. SE

Suite 313 West Tower

Atlanta, GA 30334

You also have the option to resign online using the Georgia Secretary of State eCorp website. You’ll still need to send a notification to your LLC beforehand, so don’t forget that step.

Even after you resign, you’ll stay on record as the designated registered agent for 31 days, unless your LLC appoints your replacement sooner. Just remember that you may still receive documents and service of process in the month after you officially resign.

Handing off Your Responsibilities

When you put down your registered agent responsibilities, someone else has to pick them up, or your LLC will lose its good standing with the state. Help your LLC keep its momentum by carefully planning your transition.

This starts with finding a successor who’s ready to take over right away. Even a small gap in registered agent coverage can result in severe penalties. If your LLC takes more than 60 days to change their registered agent after you resign, they can be administratively dissolved by the state. This is why it’s important to establish a transition plan before you take off.

Once you’ve nominated a replacement, confirm that they meet Georgia’s registered agent requirements. They must:

• Be an individual or business entity that resides in Georgia
• Have a physical mailing address in the state (P.O. boxes are not allowed)
• Be available at the registered address during typical business hours
• Be authorized to transact business in Georgia, if a foreign entity.

One of the LLC’s members or managers may serve as the registered agent, but the LLC itself may not. However, sometimes it’s best for a company to hire a professional agent instead.

We recommend using a registered agent service, which can take over registered agent duties, freeing up more time for the LLC’s managers to focus on running the business.

Finishing Up

You do a lot for your Georgia LLC. You’re essentially the shield that protects it from fines, the filter that catches important documents, the conductor that keeps it on track with compliance.

Because you play such an important role, it’s crucial that you follow the resignation procedures exactly — and potentially provide a replacement agent for the business. Otherwise, you might find yourself and your LLC in hot water.

Follow this guide and you’ll be totally fine. Soon, you’ll be on to your next project, whether that’s starting a new business in Georgia or something completely different.

If you need a fresh start and would like to form a brand new LLC, there are plenty of services that can take care of this for you. ZenBusiness and Northwest are two very popular options.