Oklahoma Foreign Registration › Registered agent
Registered agent rules for an Oklahoma foreign LLC
Item 4 of SOS Form 0081 names the Oklahoma agent of the foreign LLC, who can be an Oklahoma resident, or a domestic or qualified foreign entity, at a physical address that is not a post office box. Changing the agent costs $25, and if the Secretary of State has to act as agent it charges $40 each July 1.
The rules at a glance
- Who qualifies
- an Oklahoma resident, or a domestic or qualified foreign entity
- Address
- Physical street address; no post office box
- Office
- Business office at the registered office, open during regular business hours
- Change of agent or office
- $25
- Resignation
- $25, with the LLC told 30 or more days ahead
- Secretary of State as agent
- $40 a year, only if no agent is named
Who can serve
The agent is an Oklahoma resident, or a domestic or qualified foreign entity. The statute names the types of entity that qualify, so a business you hire as agent should be one of them.
The registered office
Each registered agent maintains a business office that is identical with the registered office. The office is open during regular business hours to accept service of process and to perform the other functions of a registered agent. The address must be physical. The form states that a post office address is not acceptable.
The Secretary of State as backup
Form 0081 makes the Secretary of State the fallback recipient of process if no agent has been named, if the agent's authority has been withdrawn or if the agent cannot be located and served despite honest effort. If an additional agent is designated, service goes to that agent rather than to the Secretary of State.
The July fee
A foreign LLC for which the Secretary of State acts as registered agent pays $40 each July 1. That fee is not due when an additional registered agent is appointed. Failing to pay it by the due date brings the same consequences as missing the annual certificate. Serving the Secretary of State with a notice, demand or process costs the plaintiff $25, which can be recovered as taxable costs.
Changing the agent
A registered foreign LLC records any change in its principal office, registered agent or the agent's address by filing a statement of change and paying $25. If the agent resigns instead, the agent files a signed and acknowledged copy of the resignation stating that the LLC was warned 30 or more days before the filing, for $25.
What a lapse means
With no agent, the Secretary of State is the backup. The risk is practical: process is served on the Secretary of State rather than on someone you chose, so the company may see it late. If the Secretary of State is acting and the fee goes unpaid, the annual certificate consequences follow.
Corporations
A foreign corporation may name an additional registered agent, who can be an individual resident of Oklahoma or a domestic or qualified foreign business entity with a business office at the registered office.
Choosing between an individual and an entity
An individual agent must live in Oklahoma and keep a business office at the registered address, open during regular hours. An entity agent must be domestic or authorized in Oklahoma and have the same kind of office. The practical difference is continuity: an individual who moves or retires forces a change filing, which costs $25 each time.
Questions to ask a prospective agent
Does the agent keep the office open during regular business hours, and does it have a street address? Will it tell you when papers arrive, and how fast? Who at the agent signs for deliveries? What happens to the Oklahoma address if the agent changes its own? Each answer should be specific, because the agent is where lawsuits against the company are delivered.
Our role
Our firm can serve as your Oklahoma registered agent, and you are equally free to name another. Should you pick us, our name and street address go on item 4 of Form 0081. Whichever you pick, the agent named on the form must have agreed to act.
Agent questions answered
May I be the agent myself?
Yes, if you live in Oklahoma and keep a physical business address there.
Can the agent use a P.O. box?
No. The address must be physical.
What is the price of an agent change?
$25.
What if I name no agent?
The Secretary of State acts, and charges $40 each July 1.
Our fee and the state's
Register in Oklahoma
- The application completed from your answers
- Your home certificate, dated within Oklahoma's age limit
- An Oklahoma registered agent from us, or the one you pick
- The certificate of registration returned to you
- Renewal: after the first year, the agent service renews at $149 a year
$199
+ $300 Oklahoma fee
Register in OklahomaOklahoma's fee is $300, listed separately from our own. $199 plus the state fee, including your first year of registered agent service; after that the agent service renews at $149 a year.
Sources
- Oklahoma Secretary of State, filing fees
- SOS Form 0083, procedures for registering a foreign LLC
- Oklahoma Statutes Title 18, fees of the Secretary of State for LLCs
- SOS Form 0081, application for registration of a foreign LLC
- Oklahoma LLC annual certificate form
- Oklahoma Statutes Title 18, annual certificate of an LLC
- SOS Form 0012, certificate of qualification of a foreign corporation
- Oklahoma Statutes Title 18, filing and other service fees
- Oklahoma Secretary of State, business forms
- Oklahoma Statutes Title 18, foreign LLC registration procedure
- Oklahoma Statutes Title 18, foreign LLC correction certificate and changes
- Oklahoma Statutes Title 18, failure to pay registered agent fees
- Oklahoma Statutes Title 18, foreign corporations, qualification
Ready to register in Oklahoma?
Start the order and the certificate date is planned before anything is sent.