Best Registered Agent Services in Tennessee

Tennessee publishes your agent's full name and physical address on the Secretary of State's business search. Anyone can look it up. Because the state has no anonymous LLC option, the agent address is one of the few fields you control.

Your annual report deadline follows your fiscal year, not the calendar. It lands on the first day of the fourth month after your year ends. For most owners that is April 1. Miss it, or let your agent lapse, and the state can dissolve the LLC on either ground. Reinstatement costs $70. It relates back to the dissolution date, so the company counts as never having stopped, but you will spend weeks proving good standing first.

Tennessee also wants your Articles of Organization recorded with the county Register of Deeds. That is the county holding your principal office. Tenn. Code Ann. 48-249-1007(e) sets that fee at $5, plus 50 cents a page past the first five. Call it a rounding error. Skipping it does not void your Articles, the statute says so outright, but a good agent reminds you anyway.

Swapping agents on an existing Tennessee LLC is the easy case. Northwest at $125 a year and Harbor Compliance at $99 both handle the paperwork. The state still charges $20 for the statement of change, so nobody files it free. Pick Northwest if privacy is the point. Pick Harbor if you run several states at once.

Forming a new LLC changes the math. Bizee and ZenBusiness include a free first year of agent service with a formation package. That reads well until year two, when the price becomes $149 and $199. Tennessee already charges $50 per member to form, with a $300 floor. The annual report repeats that same sum every year. A free first year matters less than it looks.

For a full comparison of formation packages and pricing, see our guide to the best LLC formation services in Tennessee.

• Tennessee's annual report fee is $50 per member, minimum $300, maximum $3,000. Six members or fewer pay $300. It has nothing to do with what your agent charges, and it comes back every year.
• County recording fee, $5 plus 50 cents a page past five. You file a copy of your Articles with the county Register of Deeds. Most agents leave this one to you.
• Franchise and excise taxes. Tennessee takes 0.25% of net worth with a $100 minimum, plus 6.5% of net earnings. Neither is optional. Neither is part of your annual report.
• Renewal price jumps. Bizee and ZenBusiness give away year one, then renew at $149 and $199. Northwest holds $125 from day one. That is why it wins the three year math below.

1. Record your Articles of Organization with the county Register of Deeds. Use the county holding your principal office. The fee is $5, plus 50 cents a page past five, and it belongs at formation time.
2. Apply for an EIN from the IRS. It is free. It takes about ten minutes online.
3. Open a business bank account with your EIN and filed Articles. Tennessee banks ask for both.
4. Register for franchise and excise taxes with the Tennessee Department of Revenue. The franchise minimum is $100 a year. Excise runs 6.5% of net earnings.
5. Set a reminder for the annual report. Calendar year LLCs file by April 1. You pay $50 per member, never less than $300. Check that your agent sends advance notice.
6. If you sell goods or taxable services, register for a sales tax permit. The state rate is 7%. Local rates stack on top.