Formation and Registration Forms Requiring Registered Agent Designation in Massachusetts
Current business-entity forms are organized on the Corporations Division filing-by-subject page. Filings are accepted online through Corporations Division: Online filing, by mail to Secretary of the Commonwealth, Corporations Division, 1 Ashburton Place, 17th Floor, Boston, MA 02108, in person at 1 Ashburton Place, 17th Floor, Boston, MA 02108, and by fax to 617-742-4538. Phone: 617-727-9640. Email: corpinfo@sec.state.ma.us.
LLCs
| Form | Description | Filing Fee |
| Limited Liability Company Certificate of Organization | The certificate states the resident agent and requires the resident agent’s consent on the certificate or as an attachment. | $500 |
| Professional Limited Liability Company Certificate of Organization | The certificate states the resident agent and requires the resident agent’s consent on the certificate or as an attachment. | $500 |
| Foreign Limited Liability Company Application for Registration | The application states the resident agent and requires the resident agent’s consent on the application or as an attachment. | $500 |
| Foreign Professional Limited Liability Company Application for Registration | The application states the resident agent and requires the resident agent’s consent on the application or as an attachment. | $500 |
Corporations
| Form | Description | Filing Fee |
| Statement of Appointment of Registered Agent | Domestic business and professional corporations use this filing to appoint a registered agent, and the registered agent’s written consent must be included. | $25 for paper or fax filings; no fee if filed electronically |
| Foreign Corporation Certificate of Registration | Foreign business and foreign professional corporations use this filing to register and must state the registered office and registered agent. | $400; $375 if filed by fax |
Nonprofit Corporations
| Form | Description | Filing Fee |
| Articles of Organization | The articles include the resident-agent designation if the corporation appoints a resident agent in the filing. | $35 |
Limited Partnerships
| Form | Description | Filing Fee |
| Limited Partnership Certificate | The certificate states the resident agent and requires the resident agent’s consent on the certificate or as an attachment. | $200 |
| Foreign Limited Partnership Application for Registration | The application states the resident agent and requires the resident agent’s consent on the application or as an attachment. | $200 |
Limited Liability Partnerships
| Form | Description | Filing Fee |
| Registration of Registered Limited Liability Partnership | This filing is submitted as a filer-prepared document through the Corporations Division rather than on a state-issued standard form, and the registration may state the name and street address of a registered agent. | $500 |
| Registration of Registered Professional Limited Liability Partnership | This filing is submitted as a filer-prepared document through the Corporations Division rather than on a state-issued standard form, and the registration may state the name and street address of a registered agent. | $500 |
| Registration of Foreign Registered Limited Liability Partnership | This filing is submitted as a filer-prepared document through the Corporations Division rather than on a state-issued standard form, and it must state the name and street address of the resident agent in the Commonwealth. | $500 |
Additional Entity-Specific Filings in Massachusetts
| Form | Description | Filing Fee |
| Declaration of Trust | This filing is submitted as a filer-prepared document through the Corporations Division rather than on a state-issued standard form, and it must include the name and address of a resident agent if none of the trustees has a Massachusetts address. | $200 |
Changing a Massachusetts Registered Agent or Registered Office (Filed by Entity)
Massachusetts uses separate entity-filed change filings for corporations, LLCs, limited partnerships, and nonprofit corporations, and the standardized corporation, LLC, and limited-partnership forms may be filed online in addition to the filing methods described above.
| Form | Description | Filing Fee |
| Statement of Change of Registered Agent/Registered Office | Domestic business corporations, professional corporations, and foreign corporations use this filing to change the registered agent, the registered office, or both, and a new registered agent’s written consent must be included. | $25 for paper or fax filings; no fee if filed electronically |
| Limited Liability Company Statement of Change of Resident Agent/Resident Office | Domestic and foreign LLCs use this filing to change the resident agent, the resident office, or both, and a new resident agent’s consent must be included. | $25 for paper or fax filings; no fee if filed electronically |
| Certificate of Appointment of Resident Agent | A nonprofit corporation uses this filing to appoint a resident agent. | $10 |
| Certificate of Revocation of Appointment of Resident Agent | A nonprofit corporation uses this filing to revoke the resident-agent appointment on record. | $10 |
| Limited Partnership Statement of Change of Resident Agent/Resident Office | Domestic and foreign limited partnerships use this filing to change the resident agent, the resident office, or both, and a new resident agent’s consent must be included. | $25 for paper or fax filings; no fee if filed electronically |
Changing a Massachusetts Registered Agent’s Own Name or Address (Filed by Agent)
Massachusetts also provides agent-filed address-change filings for corporations, LLCs, limited partnerships, and nonprofit corporations, and the standardized corporation, LLC, and limited-partnership forms may be filed online in addition to the filing methods described above.
| Form | Description | Filing Fee |
| Statement of Change of Registered Office Address by Registered Agent | A corporation’s registered agent uses this filing to change the registered-office street address. | $25 for paper or fax filings; no fee if filed electronically |
| Limited Liability Company Statement of Change of Resident Office Address by Resident Agent | An LLC resident agent uses this filing to change the resident-office street address. | $25 for paper or fax filings; no fee if filed electronically |
| Certificate of Change of Address of Resident Agent | A nonprofit corporation’s resident agent uses this filing to change the resident agent’s address. | $10 |
| Limited Partnership Statement of Change of Resident Agent Office Address by Resident Agent | A limited partnership resident agent uses this filing to change the resident-office street address. | $25 for paper or fax filings; no fee if filed electronically |
Note: The LLC and limited-partnership agent-filed address forms require written notice to each represented entity, and the nonprofit resident-agent address filing must be submitted within 5 days after the address change.
Registered Agent Resignation and Rejection Forms in Massachusetts
Massachusetts provides resignation filings for corporations, LLCs, limited partnerships, and nonprofit corporations, and it does not publish a separate rejection-of-appointment form on the Corporations Division pages used for these filings.
| Form | Description | Filed By | Filing Fee |
| Statement of Resignation of Registered Agent | The filing resigns the registered agent for domestic business corporations, professional corporations, and foreign corporations. | Registered agent | $25 for paper or fax filings; no fee if filed electronically |
| Limited Liability Company Statement of Resignation of Resident Agent | The filing resigns the resident agent for domestic and foreign LLCs. | Resident agent | $25 for paper or fax filings; no fee if filed electronically |
| Certificate of Resignation of Resident Agent | The filing resigns the resident agent for a nonprofit corporation. | Resident agent | $10 |
| Limited Partnership Statement of Resignation of Resident Agent | The filing resigns the resident agent for domestic and foreign limited partnerships. | Resident agent | $25 for paper or fax filings; no fee if filed electronically |
Note: For corporations, LLCs, and limited partnerships, a copy of the resignation must be furnished to the represented entity, and the resignation becomes effective on the 31st day after filing unless the form provides for a later effective date allowed by the form. For nonprofit corporations, a copy must be mailed to the corporation, and the effective date may not be earlier than 30 days after filing.
Reinstatement Forms Requiring Registered Agent Information in Massachusetts
Massachusetts revival and reinstatement filings for corporations, LLCs, and limited partnerships require current registered-agent or resident-agent information in the filing itself, and filing methods are the same as described above.
| Form | Description | Filing Fee |
| Application for Revival | Domestic business and professional corporations use this filing, which requires the registered-office address and the name of the registered agent at that office. | $100 |
| Application For Reinstatement Following Administrative Dissolution | Domestic business and professional corporations use this filing, which requires the registered-office address and the name of the registered agent at that office. | $100 |
| Application for Reinstatement of Authority to Transact Business | Foreign business and foreign professional corporations use this filing, which requires the registered-office address and the name of the registered agent at that office. | $100 |
| Application for Revival | A nonprofit corporation uses this filing, which requires current resident-agent information if a resident agent is on record. | $40 |
| Limited Liability Company Application For Reinstatement Following Administrative Dissolution | The filing requires the resident-agent office address and the name of the resident agent at that office. | $100 |
| Foreign Limited Liability Company Application For Reinstatement Following Administrative Revocation | The filing requires the resident-agent office address and the name of the resident agent at that office. | $100 |
| Limited Partnership Application For Reinstatement Following Administrative Dissolution | The filing requires the resident-agent office address and the name of the resident agent at that office. | $100 |
| Foreign Limited Partnership Application for Reinstatement of Authority to Transact Business | The filing requires the resident-agent office address and the name of the resident agent at that office. | $100 |
FAQ
Where can I find all current Massachusetts Secretary of State business forms?
Massachusetts business-entity forms are organized on the Corporations Division filing-by-subject page.
That page separates filings by profit corporations, nonprofit corporations, professional corporations, foreign entities, LLCs, foreign LLCs, limited partnerships, foreign limited partnerships, LLPs, and trusts. Fees are listed on the Corporations Division Filing Fees page.
Many standardized filings are also available through the online filing portal. LLP and trust registrations are described on their subject pages because those filings are submitted as filer-prepared documents rather than on state-issued standard forms.
Is the registered agent consent form required to be filed with the Massachusetts Secretary of State?
Massachusetts does not use one universal standalone consent form for all entity types.
For LLCs and limited partnerships, the resident agent’s consent is placed on the formation, registration, or change filing itself, or it may be attached to that filing. For foreign LLCs and foreign limited partnerships, the same embedded-or-attached consent rule applies.
For domestic and foreign corporations, the registered agent’s written consent must be included with the appointment or change filing. Nonprofit corporations use resident-agent appointment, revocation, address-change, and resignation filings instead of a separate statewide consent form.
If a filing that requires consent is submitted without the required consent, the filing is incomplete.
What form is used to change a registered agent in Massachusetts?
Domestic business corporations, professional corporations, and foreign corporations use the Statement of Change of Registered Agent/Registered Office. The fee is $25 for paper or fax filings and $0 if filed electronically.
Domestic and foreign LLCs use the Limited Liability Company Statement of Change of Resident Agent/Resident Office. The fee is $25 for paper or fax filings and $0 if filed electronically.
Domestic and foreign limited partnerships use the Limited Partnership Statement of Change of Resident Agent/Resident Office. The fee is $25 for paper or fax filings and $0 if filed electronically.
A nonprofit corporation changes resident-agent status by filing the Certificate of Revocation of Appointment of Resident Agent and, if needed, the Certificate of Appointment of Resident Agent. The fee for each nonprofit filing is $10.
Filings may be made online through Corporations Division: Online filing, by mail to Secretary of the Commonwealth, Corporations Division, 1 Ashburton Place, 17th Floor, Boston, MA 02108, in person at 1 Ashburton Place, 17th Floor, Boston, MA 02108, or by fax to 617-742-4538. Phone: 617-727-9640. Email: corpinfo@sec.state.ma.us.
What is the difference between the entity-filed change form and the agent-filed change form in Massachusetts?
The entity-filed change form is signed by the entity and is used when the entity changes the registered agent, the resident agent, the registered office, the resident office, or a combination of those items.
The agent-filed change form is signed by the agent and is limited to the office-address change that the agent is making for the represented entities. The LLC and limited-partnership agent forms require written notice to each represented entity, and the nonprofit resident-agent address filing must be submitted within 5 days after the address change.
Massachusetts does not publish a separate preprinted LLP agent-change form. LLP resident-agent changes are handled as filer-prepared submissions under the LLP filing rules rather than on a downloadable standardized form.
Is there a fee to form a nonprofit corporation in Massachusetts?
Yes. A nonprofit corporation pays $35 to file Articles of Organization.
For comparison, a domestic business corporation pays $275 minimum for Articles of Organization, and a domestic LLC pays $500. Those amounts appear on the Corporations Division Filing Fees page.
Massachusetts also applies expedited charges to fax and electronic filings based on the filing subtotal. The fee page does not list a separate flat convenience fee for nonprofit formation.
What forms are used to register an out-of-state LLC in Massachusetts?
A foreign LLC files the Foreign Limited Liability Company Application for Registration. A foreign professional LLC files the Foreign Professional Limited Liability Company Application for Registration.
Each filing fee is $500. Each filing must state the Massachusetts resident agent and include the resident agent’s consent on the application or as an attachment.
The foreign LLC filing page states that the registration must be submitted within 10 days after the company commences doing business in the Commonwealth. No separate quantified late penalty is published on that page.
What forms are used to form or register a partnership in Massachusetts?
A domestic limited partnership files the Limited Partnership Certificate, which creates the entity and requires the resident agent’s consent. The filing fee is $200.
A foreign limited partnership files the Foreign Limited Partnership Application for Registration, which registers the out-of-state entity to do business in Massachusetts and requires the resident agent’s consent. The filing fee is $200.
A registered LLP, a registered professional LLP, and a registered foreign LLP use filer-prepared registrations described on the LLP page rather than preprinted state-issued forms. The filing fee for each LLP registration category is $500, and an LLP registration registers limited-liability status for a partnership rather than creating a corporation or LLC.
The foreign LLP filing must state the name and street address of its resident agent in the Commonwealth. The partnership pages used for these filings do not provide a separate standardized LLLP registration form or a general-partnership statement-of-authority form.
Can I file Massachusetts SOS forms online?
Yes. The Corporations Division: Online filing portal supports many standardized filings, including new-entity filings, annual reports, and many agent appointment, change, and resignation filings.
Existing entities sign in with a CID and PIN. New entities use the portal’s new-filing entry point, and CID or PIN questions are directed to corpcid@sec.state.ma.us while general filing questions are directed to corpinfo@sec.state.ma.us.
Massachusetts also accepts many filings by fax. The fee schedule sets expedited charges by order subtotal as follows: $3 for $0.01–$14.99, $3.50 for $15.00–$24.99, $6 for $25.00–$84.99, $10 for $85.00–$149.99, $15 for $150.00–$499.00, $20 for $500.00, and 4.5% of the subtotal for orders over $500.00.