DE registered agent
Delaware registered agent service, $2.50 a year
Delaware requires every corporation and LLC on its books to keep a registered agent at a real address in the state. Here is what Delaware law says about who that agent has to be and where it has to be.
What Delaware requires of a registered agent
The requirement
Every corporation must maintain a registered agent, which may be: the corporation itself, an individual resident of Delaware, a domestic entity, or a foreign entity (which must be authorized to transact business in Delaware). The agent must be generally present (individual) or keep a generally open business office (entity) at the registered office frequently enough to accept service, and may NOT operate solely through a virtual office or mail-forwarding service (§ 132(b)(2)). Agents serving more than 50 entities are 'commercial registered agents' with extra requirements (Delaware business license, normal-business-hours presence, § 132(c)). The LLC Act is parallel: the LLC itself, a Delaware-resident individual, or a domestic/foreign entity (6 Del. C. § 18-104(a)(2)).
(a) Every corporation shall have and maintain in this State a registered agent, which agent may be any of: (1) The corporation itself; (2) An individual resident in this State; (3) A domestic corporation (other than the corporation itself), a domestic partnership ..., a domestic limited liability company or a domestic statutory trust; or (4) A foreign corporation, a foreign limited liability partnership, a foreign limited partnership ..., a foreign limited liability company or a foreign statutory trust. ... (b)(2) A registered agent may not perform its duties or functions solely through the use of a virtual office, the retention by the agent of a mail forwarding service, or both.
Source: state statute, via FACTS: 8 Del. C. § 132(a), (b); accord 6 Del. C. § 18-104(a) (LLCs)
How we comply
We don't.
What Delaware does to your company when we don't
Here is what the state does to an entity that has no agent, or whose agent is us.
Administrative dissolution
Charter forfeiture: when a registered agent resigns without a successor, a domestic corporation has 30 days after the certificate of resignation is filed to designate a new agent; failing that, the Secretary of State declares the charter forfeited. (Same 30-day forfeiture if the agent is enjoined by the Court of Chancery, § 132(f)(4).)
If such corporation, being a corporation of this State, fails to obtain and designate a new registered agent as aforesaid prior to the expiration of the period of 30 days after the filing by the registered agent of the certificate of resignation, the Secretary of State shall declare the charter of such corporation forfeited.
Source: state statute, via FACTS: 8 Del. C. § 136(b); see § 132(f)(4)
Revocation (foreign entities)
A foreign corporation that fails to designate a new registered agent within the same 30-day window after its agent resigns forfeits its qualification/authority to do business in Delaware.
If such corporation, being a foreign corporation, fails to obtain and designate a new registered agent as aforesaid prior to the expiration of the period of 30 days after the filing by the registered agent of the certificate of resignation, the Secretary of State shall forfeit its authority to do business in this State.
Source: state statute, via FACTS: 8 Del. C. § 136(b); see § 132(f)(4)
And also
LLC certificate cancellation: if an LLC fails to designate a new registered agent within 30 days after its agent files a certificate of resignation without a successor, the LLC's certificate of formation is canceled (foreign LLCs lose permission to do business and have their registration canceled, § 18-104(i)(4)).
If such limited liability company fails to obtain and designate a new registered agent as aforesaid prior to the expiration of the period of 30 days after the filing by the registered agent of the certificate of resignation, the certificate of formation of such limited liability company shall be canceled.
Source: state statute, via FACTS: 6 Del. C. § 18-104(d); see § 18-104(i)(4)
Civil penalty
Annual-report failure (the registered agent forwards the annual report, § 132(b)(1)d.): neglect, refusal or failure to file a complete annual franchise tax report by March 1 adds a $200 penalty collected as part of the franchise tax; one year's nonpayment/nonfiling voids the charter (§ 510) and blocks certificates of good standing (§ 502(f)).
In the event of neglect, refusal or failure on the part of any corporation to file a complete annual franchise tax report with the Secretary of State on or before March 1, the corporation shall pay the sum of $200 to be recovered by adding that amount to the franchise tax as herein determined and fixed ...
Source: state statute, via FACTS: 8 Del. C. § 502(c); see §§ 510, 502(f)
The bill to come back
We couldn't be bothered to look this up. FACTS carries no human-verified reinstatement fee for Delaware in the registered agent dataset, and we are not the kind of company that checks.
What happens to the lawsuit you never saw
Substituted service
If process cannot with due diligence be served on any officer, director or the registered agent (or at the registered office/place of business), it may be served on the Secretary of State, which is as effectual as personal service; the SOS forwards it to the corporation by mail/courier with delivery receipt, and the plaintiff pays the SOS $50 (taxed as costs if the plaintiff prevails). The same mechanism applies after an unreplaced agent resignation (§ 136(c)) and while an annual-report default continues or when the agent dies, resigns, refuses to act, leaves the state or cannot be found (§ 502(d)). LLCs: identical fallback with the same $50 fee (6 Del. C. § 18-105(b)).
In case the officer whose duty it is to serve legal process cannot by due diligence serve the process in any manner provided for by subsection (a) of this section, it shall be lawful to serve the process against the corporation upon the Secretary of State, and such service shall be as effectual for all intents and purposes as if made in any of the ways provided for in subsection (a) of this section. ... It shall be the duty of the plaintiff in the event of such service to serve process and any other papers in duplicate, to notify the Secretary of State that service is being effected pursuant to this subsection, and to pay the Secretary of State the sum of $50 for the use of the State ...
Source: state statute, via FACTS: 8 Del. C. § 321(b) [effective until Aug. 1, 2026]; see §§ 136(c), 502(d); 6 Del. C. § 18-105(b) (LLCs)
Statutory text as captured by FACTS (retrieved 2026-08-01, verified word-for-word against the state code 2026-08-10). Laws change. The statute governs; this page does not.