Registered Agent Service
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Free South Carolina Registered Agent Service
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If you have an existing or are forming a new South Carolina Corporation, Limited-Liability Company, Limited Partnership, Foreign Filing or any other corporate entity, almost every jurisdiction requires by law that you must have a registered agent located in that jurisdiction.
South Carolina Registered Agent service alone can cost you up to $320 per year with some companies. FreeRegisteredAgent.com, through an affiliation with InCorp Services, Inc., will provide your first year of registered agent service with us for FREE and $129 per year thereafter!
Included in the service is full access to InCorp's industry leading client website where you may check the status of your entities in multiple jurisdictions on the same page, check compliance events, download or view FREE copies of your filed documents at any time from anywhere, make payments to your account and even check for mail that's been forwarded to you!
There is no catch whatsoever except that the corporate entity requiring service can't currently be represented by InCorp Services already. After the first year, if you choose to stay with InCorp Services, Inc., you will pay just $129 per year for the same great services!
South Carolina registered agent facts
| Registered agent statute | S.C. Code Ann. § 33-5-101 |
|---|---|
| LLC filing fee | $110 (Articles of Organization) |
| Corporation filing fee | $135 (Articles of Incorporation $110 plus the $25 CL-1 Initial Report); note a licensed SC attorney must sign the Articles (S.C. Code § 33-2-102), an added professional cost |
| Annual report fee | LLCs: none. Corporations: no separate Secretary of State annual report fee - corporate annual reports are filed with the SC Department of Revenue as part of the corporate tax return |
| Annual report due | LLCs file no annual report. Corporations file the CL-1 initial report at incorporation, then report annually to the SC Department of Revenue with the corporate income tax return |
| Typical processing time | Online filings through Business Entities Online are typically reviewed within about 24 hours; mailed paper filings take longer |
Registered agent requirements in South Carolina
South Carolina requires every corporation to continuously maintain a registered office and a registered agent in the state under S.C. Code Ann. § 33-5-101, and every LLC to maintain the equivalent designated office and agent for service of process under § 33-44-108 of the state’s Uniform Limited Liability Company Act. The agent may be an individual South Carolina resident whose business office is identical with the registered office, or a domestic or authorized foreign company with a business office at that address. The registered office must be a physical street address in South Carolina - a mail drop or P.O. box will not qualify.
Formation documents are filed with the South Carolina Secretary of State, most efficiently through the Business Entities Online portal at businessfilings.sc.gov. An LLC’s Articles of Organization cost $110. A business corporation pays $135, which bundles the $110 Articles of Incorporation with the $25 CL-1 Initial Report of Corporations that state law requires at incorporation.
South Carolina’s compliance calendar is lighter than most states, and that is one of its genuine quirks. LLCs file no annual report with the Secretary of State at all. Corporations do not file a recurring Secretary of State annual report either - after the one-time CL-1, corporate annual reporting is folded into the corporate income tax return filed with the South Carolina Department of Revenue. The practical effect is that your registered agent designation, not an annual report, is the compliance thread that keeps a South Carolina entity reachable. If a corporation fails to maintain a registered agent for 60 days without notifying the Secretary of State of a replacement, that failure is a statutory ground for administrative dissolution under the dissolution provisions of Title 33, Chapter 14, and service of process can then be perfected on the Secretary of State instead of the company.
Because there is no annual report to jog your memory each year, a lapsed or unreachable agent in South Carolina tends to go unnoticed until a lawsuit or tax notice slips through. A professional agent with a staffed Columbia-area street address keeps service of process, Department of Revenue correspondence, and Secretary of State notices flowing to you reliably. FreeRegisteredAgent.com provides the first year of South Carolina registered agent service free through InCorp, then $129 per year after that.
South Carolina registered agent FAQ
- Who can be a registered agent in South Carolina?
- An individual who resides in South Carolina and whose business office is identical with the registered office, or a domestic or authorized foreign corporation with a business office at the registered office. A P.O. box alone does not satisfy the street-address requirement.
- Does a South Carolina LLC have to file an annual report?
- No. South Carolina LLCs (unless taxed as corporations) file no annual report with the Secretary of State, which makes maintaining a compliant registered agent the main ongoing state requirement.
- What is the CL-1 form?
- The CL-1 Initial Report of Corporations is a one-time report filed with the Articles of Incorporation. Its $25 fee is collected with the $135 incorporation payment, and subsequent corporate annual reports ride with the Department of Revenue tax return.
- How much does a South Carolina registered agent cost?
- Through FreeRegisteredAgent.com, your first year of South Carolina registered agent service is free via InCorp, then $129 per year afterward.
Further information about South Carolina corporations, corporate law and South Carolina Registered Agent Service:
South Carolina Secretary of state's website | South Carolina Registered Agent Statutes | Compare South Carolina Registered Agents