Plate Nº 47 of 51 — VA
Virginia
Virginia keeps the national pattern with its own hand on the chart: the role here is called the registered agent, and the filings live with the State Corporation Commission — Clerk's Office.
The requirement in Virginia
Every LLC, corporation, and — in most cases — limited partnership or registered nonprofit formed in Virginia must continuously maintain a registered agent and a registered office in Virginia, from the day the formation is filed until the day the entity is dissolved. The duty also attaches to out-of-state companies that qualify to do business in Virginia: foreign qualification and the appointment of a registered agent are filed together, and neither works without the other.
The registered office must be a physical street address in Virginia where the agent can be found during normal business hours. It is published in the state's business record — which is why whose address it is becomes a privacy decision as much as a legal one.
Who may serve in Virginia
Virginia recognizes more than the national pattern: an individual resident of Virginia who is an officer or director of the entity, a member of the Virginia State Bar, or a business entity authorized to do business in Virginia. The Bar route is why so many Virginia entities list their lawyer.
Changing course in Virginia
Agents are changed by filing a change of registered agent / registered office with the State Corporation Commission — Clerk's Office — the office publishes the current form and any fee on its own schedule. The safe sequence never changes: the new appointment takes effect first, the old agent's resignation follows, and you confirm the change in the public record before you consider it done.
An agent may also resign on their own initiative. How a resignation takes effect, and how long you then have to name a successor, are set by Virginia law and differ from state to state — what does not differ is that the seat cannot sit empty on paper while the company trades. Treat a resignation letter as a deadline, and file the change immediately.
Reports and the agent in Virginia
Virginia corporations file an annual report with the State Corporation Commission; Virginia LLCs pay an annual registration fee instead. Either way, the agent of record is confirmed yearly.
Verify the agent of record
Do not take any plate's word for your own record — check it. Search your entity by name in the State Corporation Commission — Clerk's Office's official business database — reached from the office's own website — and read the agent and address exactly as filed. If what is filed is not who would actually be standing there on a Tuesday, file the change before anything else on your list.
Plate verified against the State Corporation Commission — Clerk's Office's published rules — October 2026.
Before you appoint anyone in Virginia
- Price the renewal year, not the advertised year.
- Decide whose address goes on the public record — the DIY ledger is honest about the trade.
- Run your facts through the Navigator, set to Virginia.