Every Virginia LLC must continuously keep a registered office and a registered agent in Virginia. An individual agent must be a Virginia resident who is a member or manager (or another listed insider) or a member of the Virginia State Bar, with a business office at the registered office. Otherwise the agent must be a business entity authorized in Virginia. Our entity agent service is $199 per year.
Code of Virginia § 13.1-1015Virginia State Corporation CommissionCode of Virginia Title 13.1 and SCC Clerk's Office fee and FAQ pages reviewed November 10, 2026. Confirm current fees with the State Corporation Commission before filing.
Heads up: we are an independent company that prepares and submits Virginia filings for owners. We are not the Virginia State Corporation Commission and we do not give legal advice. Every state charge passes through at the exact amount billed, shown separately from our service fee.
- Filed with the Virginia State Corporation Commission
- We track your $50 annual registration fee
- Cited to the Code of Virginia, Title 13.1
- Talk to a filer: (386) 465-3937
The forks in the road.
Individual agent
Virginia resident who is a member or manager, an officer or director of a corporate member or manager, a general partner of a partnership member, a trustee of a trust member, or a member of the Virginia State Bar (§ 13.1-1015(A)(2)(a)).
Code of Virginia § 13.1-1015Entity agent
A corporation, LLC or registered LLP authorized in Virginia, whose office is the registered office, that designates in a notarized writing the people there who accept service (§ 13.1-1015(A)(2)(b)).
Code of Virginia § 13.1-1015Officer-employee option
A Virginia resident officer (an employee designated in writing, not a member or manager) who is available during business hours at the registered office (§ 13.1-1015(A)(2)(c)).
Code of Virginia § 13.1-1015The agent's duty
To forward process, notices and demands to the company (§ 13.1-1015(B)), including the SCC's annual fee assessment.
Virginia State Corporation CommissionResignation risk
If the agent resigns and no statement of change is filed within 31 days, the SCC warns, then cancels an LLC that still has not cured by the last day of the second month (§ 13.1-1050.2(B)).
Code of Virginia § 13.1-1050.2What to have ready
- List every person who could legally serve
- Check that the person lives in Virginia
- Confirm their business office can be the registered office
- Decide whether a public address is acceptable
- Name the city or county of the office correctly
- Arrange forwarding for SCC assessments
Virginia Registered Agent Requirements Under § 13.1-1015
Reading the Virginia list carefully
Most states accept any adult resident as an individual agent. Virginia does not. The individual must be a Virginia resident and must also be one of the following: a member or manager of the LLC, a member or manager of an LLC that is itself a member or manager, an officer or director of a corporation that is a member or manager, a general partner of a partnership that is a member or manager, a trustee of a trust that is a member or manager, or a member of the Virginia State Bar (§ 13.1-1015(A)(2)(a)). Their business office must be the registered office.
For corporations the articles test is similar: a Virginia resident who is an initial director, or a Virginia State Bar member, or a qualifying entity (§ 13.1-619(A)(4)).
Source: law.lis.virginia.gov
The entity agent route
A corporation, LLC or registered LLP authorized to do business in Virginia may serve, as long as its business office is the registered office. It cannot be its own agent, and it must sign a notarized designation naming the natural persons at that office who may accept service, and keep at least one of them there (§ 13.1-1015(A)(2)(b)). When one of them accepts service, a copy of that designation is attached to the return.
This is the route almost every out-of-state owner uses, because no individual outside Virginia can qualify.
Source: law.lis.virginia.gov
Privacy and the public record
The registered office address appears on the SCC's public record, and so does the agent's name. Using your home as the registered office puts that address in every entity search. An entity agent's office keeps your home address off the record, although the principal office address on the articles is also public, so use a business address there too if privacy matters.
Source: law.lis.virginia.gov
What the agent must do and when it costs you
The agent's only statutory duty is to forward process, notices and demands (§ 13.1-1015(B)). In Virginia that duty carries real weight, because the SCC sends the annual registration fee assessment to the agent and nowhere else. A missed assessment leads to the $25 penalty and, three months later, automatic cancellation. If your agent resigns and you do nothing for 31 days, a separate cancellation track starts (§ 13.1-1050.2(B)).
Source: www.scc.virginia.gov
Virginia law and SCC rules behind this.
| Topic | Virginia rule | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Individual agent | Virginia resident who is a member or manager, an officer or director of a corporate member or manager, a general partner of a partnership member, a trustee of a trust member, or a member of the Virginia State Bar (§ 13.1-1015(A)(2)(a)). | Code of Virginia § 13.1-1015 |
| Entity agent | A corporation, LLC or registered LLP authorized in Virginia, whose office is the registered office, that designates in a notarized writing the people there who accept service (§ 13.1-1015(A)(2)(b)). | Code of Virginia § 13.1-1015 |
| Officer-employee option | A Virginia resident officer (an employee designated in writing, not a member or manager) who is available during business hours at the registered office (§ 13.1-1015(A)(2)(c)). | Code of Virginia § 13.1-1015 |
| The agent's duty | To forward process, notices and demands to the company (§ 13.1-1015(B)), including the SCC's annual fee assessment. | Virginia State Corporation Commission |
| Resignation risk | If the agent resigns and no statement of change is filed within 31 days, the SCC warns, then cancels an LLC that still has not cured by the last day of the second month (§ 13.1-1050.2(B)). | Code of Virginia § 13.1-1050.2 |
Related Virginia reading.
Heads up: we are an independent company that prepares and submits Virginia filings for owners. We are not the Virginia State Corporation Commission and we do not give legal advice. Every state charge passes through at the exact amount billed, shown separately from our service fee.
What Virginia owners ask us
Only if the accountant is also a member or manager, or is a member of the Virginia State Bar (accountants usually are not), or acts through a qualifying business entity.
Code of Virginia § 13.1-1015No. The registered office must be a physical office where service can be made during business hours.
Code of Virginia § 13.1-1015Yes. Registered foreign LLCs follow the same agent rules (§ 13.1-1015(A)).
Code of Virginia § 13.1-1015Yes. Corp USA prepares and submits your Virginia filing with the State Corporation Commission for you. The state fee is passed through at cost and our service fee is shown separately at checkout, so you never have to work through the state's filing system yourself.
Virginia State Corporation Commission