How to Change Your Registered Agent in Iowa: Form, Fee, and Steps

Iowa makes switching agents about as painless as a state filing gets. There's one official form, the Statement of Change of Registered Office and/or Registered Agent (Form 635_0119), it goes to the Iowa Secretary of State's Business Services Division, and for an LLC the fee is $0. Iowa Code § 489.116 authorizes the change, and § 489.122(1)(g) is the line that makes it free.

One note on citations before we dig in: chapter 489 was renumbered effective January 1, 2024, so older articles pointing to § 489.114 for agent changes are out of date. The current statute is § 489.116.

The Form: Statement of Change (Form 635_0119)

You can download Form 635_0119 from the Secretary of State's business entity forms and fees page. It's short: your entity name, the new registered agent, and the new registered office address.

Two details trip people up:

The two addresses must match. The form asks for the registered office street address and the agent's business office street address, and Iowa requires them to be identical.

The fee depends on your entity type. For an LLC there's no fee at all; the form's own instructions note that partnerships pay $5 on the same filing.

Steps to Change Your Registered Agent in Iowa

1. Pick your new registered agent first. Iowa Code § 489.115 lets any person serve, an individual or a company, as long as they have a place of business in Iowa, and your filing affirms the agent has consented. The registered office must be a street address, never a PO box.
2. Complete Form 635_0119 with your entity name, the new agent's name, and the matching street addresses.
3. Submit the form to the Iowa Secretary of State, Business Services Division. For an LLC there's no payment to include; the fee is $0.
4. Confirm the update. After processing, search for your company in the state's business records and make sure the new agent appears. We suggest checking within a couple of weeks of filing.

Why Businesses Change Their Registered Agent

Privacy: If your home address has been serving as the registered office, it's sitting in Iowa's public records right now. Moving to a professional service takes your personal address off future filings.

Reliability: An agent who forwards documents slowly, or not at all, puts you at real risk when a lawsuit or a state notice arrives.

Price: Plenty of national services charge $125 to $436 a year. Ours is $99, and Iowa charges nothing to make the switch.

A move: If you or your current agent no longer has a place of business in Iowa, the state requires a replacement.

Biennial report season: Iowa LLCs file in odd-numbered years between January 1 and April 1, and the report lists your agent (a newly named agent must consent). Many owners switch right before filing so the report reflects the change.

How We Make the Switch Simple

When you sign up, we give you our exact name and Iowa address for Form 635_0119, plus plain-English instructions for filing it. You submit the form (remember, no state fee), and the moment the change processes we start accepting documents at our Iowa office and scanning them to you the same day.

If you've been acting as your own agent, the transition is even easier, since you control both ends of it.

Get Started for $99/Year

Ready for a reliable Iowa registered agent at a flat $99 a year? Your subscription includes:

• Registered office address in Iowa
• Court documents imaged for Iowa
• Compliance reminders and alerts
• Online document portal
• Privacy protection—our address on public filings

And since Iowa's change filing is free, the state charges you nothing when you switch.

Order Here

Questions about Form 635_0119 or how the handoff works? Check out our FAQ page or contact us directly. We'll make sure nothing falls through the cracks.