How to Change Your Registered Agent in South Dakota (2026)

Published by Jon Morgan | Co-Founder & Chief Editor

Last updated: August 22, 2026

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South Dakota lets you swap in a new registered agent by filing one form. The Secretary of State handles the paperwork from there. Filing online costs $10. Printing the form and mailing it in costs $25.

You can file this Statement of Change through South Dakota's Business Services Online portal. Or print the completed form and mail it in with a check.

This guide walks through both filing paths, who can serve as your new agent, and how a commercial agent differs from a noncommercial one in South Dakota.

Quick Summary

How to Change Your South Dakota Registered Agent

You change a South Dakota registered agent with one form, the Statement of Change of Registered Office or Registered Agent or Both. Send it to the South Dakota Secretary of State [1].

The filing names your entity. It also lists the registered agent information you want on file. The change is on file as soon as the Secretary of State gets your paperwork. Your LLC's members or governors don't need to approve it first.

When you name a new agent on this form, South Dakota treats that as proof they already said yes [2]. You don't file a separate signed consent.

But get the agreement before you file. An agent who never agreed to serve can simply decline to accept documents on your behalf.

South Dakota also lets you list either a commercial or noncommercial agent on this form. The difference between the two, and what each one means for your paperwork, is covered below.

The choice changes only how the state tracks the agent's address. It doesn't change what the agent has to do for you.

1. Changing Your Registered Agent Using a Professional Service

Hiring a registered agent service to handle the paperwork makes sense in two cases. You'd rather not deal with the state's portal yourself. Or you run your LLC from out of state. You still need a South Dakota street address on file.

Here's the process:

• Choose a service: Pick a registered agent service that operates in South Dakota. Have your current agent's name and address ready.
• Provide your company details: Sign up and give them your Secretary of State Business ID. Add the old and new agent information.
• Pay the fees: You'll pay the provider's own service fee plus the state's $10 online filing fee.
• Wait for confirmation: The service files the Statement of Change. It lets you know once the Secretary of State has it on record.

Our best registered agent services in South Dakota ranking compares pricing and coverage. It helps if you're picking a provider for the first time. If your business operates in other states too, see our national registered agent service roundup instead.

Skip the service fee and file the registered agent change yourself instead. The DIY steps for filing online or by mail are below, and neither one needs a provider.

2. Filing Online or by Mail Yourself

You can file the Statement of Change yourself through South Dakota Business Services Online. It's the Secretary of State's own portal. You won't pay anyone a service fee.

To file online:

• Look up your Secretary of State Business ID. Or search for it inside the portal.
• Enter your new registered agent's name and address. If you're using a listed provider, use their commercial registered agent number instead.
• Pay the filing fee by card. Your new agent takes effect right away.

If you'd rather file on paper, the same online tool lets you print the completed Statement of Change. Do that once you finish the form, then mail it with a check to the South Dakota Secretary of State, 500 E Capitol Ave, Pierre, SD 57501.

Write the check for $25. That covers the $10 base fee plus a $15 paper-processing charge the portal's own instructions spell out.

3. Changing Your Agent Through an Amendment

You can technically also update your registered agent by amending your Articles of Organization. But this route costs more than the dedicated Statement of Change. It only makes sense if you're changing other details at the same time.

• File Amended or Restated Domestic Articles with the Secretary of State. Update the registered agent section along with whatever else is changing.
• Pay the $60 filing fee.

Skip this path if the registered agent is the only thing changing. File the Statement of Change instead and save yourself $50.

Who Can Be a South Dakota Registered Agent

Any individual or business entity can serve as a South Dakota registered agent. They just need a physical address in the state. Someone has to be there to accept documents. South Dakota law doesn't set an age requirement for a registered agent.

South Dakota recognizes two kinds of registered agent: commercial and noncommercial [3]. A commercial registered agent already appears on the state's public list [4]. A noncommercial registered agent, including a member who files for their own LLC, doesn't appear there. So your Statement of Change carries their full street address instead.

Whichever type you choose, the agent's statutory duties stay narrow. They forward any process, notice, or demand served on them to your business, and they keep their own filing information current with the state [5].

Many South Dakota LLCs still hire a professional service instead of naming an owner. It keeps the registered address separate from a home or private office.

FAQs

References:

1. https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/59-11-11
2. https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/59-11-6
3. https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/59-11-2
4. https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/59-11-7
5. https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/59-11-20