Skip to content
Business Basics LabLLC paperwork, measured state by state.

Lab sheet 2 · Rhode Island

The Rhode Island Registered Agent (2026): 6 Procedures and the 3 Best Agents

Ranked by measured reading, the services for appointing a registered agent in Rhode Island in 2026 are Mainstay Filing ($149 a year), RI Registered Agent.org ($99 a year) and Rhode Island Registered Agent.co ($99 a year). 6 procedures document what Rhode Island requires of a resident agent, who may serve, which address passes and how the agent is recorded.

Recorded by the Business Basics Lab staff ·

Key facts for this sheet

Mandatory?
Yeswebserver.rilegislature.gov (observed October 2026)
What ranked services charge
$99 to $149 a yearFrom each company's pricing
Recurring report
$50 a yearsos.ri.gov (observed August 2026)
State minimum tax
$400tax.ri.gov (observed October 2026)
Sheet procedures
6In sequence

After reading you will know

  • What Rhode Island requires of a resident agent
  • Who may act as agent
  • Naming the agent with the state
  • Who we would engage as agent

Best reading

Rhode Island: the ranked services

Cost over three years comes first, then procedures performed, renewal, Rhode Island fit and price legibility (method page).
Strongest result

1. Mainstay Filing: best for companies in several states

Year 1 $149; year 2 $149

Mainstay Filing gives the best reading in Rhode Island: $149 a year, and the reading is unchanged for states added later.

Three years here cost $150 more than at RI Registered Agent.org, and fewer procedures are left to the owner.

What the price performs

  • A street address for the registered office
  • Papers served on the company are scanned free on the same business day
  • Three government letters a year are scanned at no charge
  • Also serves nonprofits, corporations, LPs and LLPs

Measured strengths

  • Covers all fifty states
  • $149 annually

Measured limits

  • $50 a year above RI Registered Agent.org
  • Reports are not filed on this plan
Visit Mainstay FilingPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
Rhode Island focus

2. RI Registered Agent.org: best for cost-conscious owners

Year 1 $99; year 2 $99

In second position is RI Registered Agent.org, where an in-state street address for the registered office, measured at $99 a year.

What the price performs

  • A Rhode Island street address
  • Served documents made available online

Measured strengths

  • Costs less per year than Mainstay Filing
  • A flat $99 per year

Measured limits

  • Rhode Island only; every other state needs its own agent
  • The Annual Report for a Limited Liability Company is left for the owner to complete
Visit RI Registered Agent.orgPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
Rhode Island focus

3. Rhode Island Registered Agent.co: best for remaining in one state

Year 1 $99; year 2 $99

In third position is Rhode Island Registered Agent.co, where an in-state street address for the registered office, measured at $99 a year.

Its prices equal RI Registered Agent.org's, so either is acceptable.

What the price performs

  • A Rhode Island street address
  • Served documents made available online

Measured strengths

  • Costs less per year than Mainstay Filing
  • A flat $99 per year

Measured limits

  • Rhode Island only; every other state needs its own agent
  • The Annual Report for a Limited Liability Company is left for the owner to complete
Visit Rhode Island Registered Agent.coPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.

Prices in one table

#ServiceAnnual priceRenewal priceThree-year total
1Mainstay Filing$149$149/yr$447Visit Mainstay FilingPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
2RI Registered Agent.org$99$99/yr$297Visit RI Registered Agent.orgPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
3Rhode Island Registered Agent.co$99$99/yr$297Visit Rhode Island Registered Agent.coPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
Prices are recorded from each company's own site on November 13, 2026. Rhode Island bills the same in either case.

The procedures

  1. Procedure 1: Begin with the rule

    Every LLC must name a registered agent with an in-state street address.

    Specimen: webserver.rilegislature.gov (observed October 2026)

  2. Procedure 2: Who qualifies as agent

    A Rhode Island resident, or a corporation, limited partnership or LLC formed in Rhode Island or authorized there. Statutory basis: R.I. Gen. Laws § 7-16-11.

  3. Procedure 3: The address requirement

    The address has to be a Rhode Island street address, not a P.O. box, where the agent is available during business hours.

    TipEach ranked service provides the in-state address.

  4. Procedure 4: Serve personally or engage an agent

    Serving personally is possible if the tests are met. A professional from the ranking costs $99 to $149 per year.

  5. Procedure 5: Name the agent in the filing

    On a new Rhode Island LLC the agent appears in the Articles of Organization (Form 400). A later change reaches the Rhode Island Secretary of State as a separate filing.

    Specimen: docs.sos.ri.gov (observed October 2026)

  6. Procedure 6: Keep the agent record current

    The Annual Report for a Limited Liability Company measures $50 every year and falls due May 1; notices about it are routed to the resident agent. $400 a year minimum tax to the Division of Taxation (Form RI-1065), owed whether or not the LLC makes a profit.

    Specimen: sos.ri.gov (observed August 2026)

What will be paid

ProcedurePayeeCost
Engaging an agentService$99 to $149 a year
From year twoService$99 to $149 a year
The periodic reportPayable to the state$50 every year
Minimum tax, annualPayable to the state$400 a year
Every state amount here can be verified against the specimens below. The three-year row combines formation, two later reports and a minimum tax where one exists, and it never includes service prices.

How the readings worked out

The deciding criterion was procedures the price performs, worth 28% of the reading.

RI Registered Agent.org costs less, but coverage across states earned the higher reading.

Brief answers

What does Rhode Island say about keeping a resident agent?

Yes. Every LLC must name a registered agent with an in-state street address.

Can I be my own resident agent?

Possibly. Procedures 2 and 3 show whether both rules are met.

Can I change my resident agent later?

Yes; an existing LLC files a change with the Rhode Island Secretary of State, as procedure 5 shows.

What does a registered agent cost in Rhode Island?

$99 to $149 per year for the agents listed.

What does the LLC pay the state each year?

Each time, the state collects the Annual Report for a Limited Liability Company fee of $50, and the minimum tax too.

Which registered agent would you choose?

Mainstay Filing reads highest, RI Registered Agent.org and Rhode Island Registered Agent.co follow; Mainstay Filing leads on procedures the price performs.

Next sheet

Specimens and records

  1. To reproduce the Rhode Island Department of State, Business Services Division result, consult docs.sos.ri.gov. Our observation of it is dated August 2026.
  2. To reproduce the Rhode Island Department of State, Business Services Division result, consult sos.ri.gov. Our observation of it is dated August 2026.
  3. To reproduce the R.I result, consult webserver.rilegislature.gov. Our observation of it is dated August 2026.
  4. To reproduce the Rhode Island formation fee: Filing fee, official source result, consult sos.ri.gov. Our observation of it is dated October 2026.
  5. To reproduce the Rhode Island formation fee: Filing fee, official source result, consult docs.sos.ri.gov. Our observation of it is dated October 2026.
  6. To reproduce the Rhode Island registered agent statute result, consult webserver.rilegislature.gov. Our observation of it is dated October 2026.
  7. To reproduce the Rhode Island other cost result, consult tax.ri.gov. Our observation of it is dated October 2026.
  8. Recorded November 13, 2026 from the Rhode Island service page of Mainstay Filing
  9. Recorded November 13, 2026 from the pricing page of RI Registered Agent.org
  10. Recorded November 13, 2026 from the pricing page of Rhode Island Registered Agent.co