Change Your Michigan Resident Agent or Registered Office
Moved, switched agents, or found out your LARA record is wrong? One certificate fixes it — and keeps lawsuits and state notices from going to an address nobody checks.
Important: Clear Path Document Services is a non-attorney document preparation service and cannot provide legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created. Read full disclaimer
Quick Answer
To change the resident agent or registered office of a Michigan LLC or corporation, you file a Certificate of Change of Registered Office and/or Change of Resident Agent — form CSCL/CD-520 — with the LARA Corporations Division. The form is used by both domestic and foreign corporations and LLCs. The new registered office must be a physical Michigan street address, not a P.O. box. LARA charges its own filing fee. Until the change is on file, official notices and legal papers keep going to the old address, which is how businesses end up with default judgments they never saw coming. Clear Path prepares and submits the change at your direction.
Who qualifies for this service?
This document preparation service is a fit for Michigan residents who match the criteria below. If your situation is different, contact us and we'll tell you whether we can help or whether you should speak with an attorney.
- Businesses that moved and still show the old address with LARA
- Owners leaving a registered agent company and taking the role themselves
- Owners switching from their home address to a business address
- Companies whose named agent resigned, moved away, or passed away
- Partnerships and businesses that changed hands and need the record updated
- Foreign LLCs and corporations qualified in Michigan updating their Michigan agent
How the process works
Clear, predictable steps from intake to court-ready paperwork.
Send us the details
Entity name, LARA entity ID, and the new agent name and Michigan street address.
We check the record
We confirm what LARA currently shows and what needs to change.
Written quote
Flat preparation fee, with LARA's filing fee listed separately. Nothing is purchased online.
Certificate prepared
Form CSCL/CD-520 prepared with the exact entity name and authorized signer.
Filed with LARA
Submitted at your direction; we confirm the change posted to the public record.
Compliance follow-up
We flag anything else out of date, including a missed annual statement.
Paperwork we organize for you
Document preparation only. We do not represent you in court.
Documents and information you'll need
- Exact legal entity name as shown on LARA's record
- Michigan entity ID number
- Name of the new resident agent
- New registered office street address in Michigan
- Name and title of the person authorized to sign
- Mailing address for confirmation
Common mistakes to avoid
Small errors can cost you weeks. Here's what we see most often.
- Changing the address on the annual statement and assuming it updated the registered office — it's a separate filing.
- Listing a P.O. box, which Michigan will not accept as a registered office.
- Naming an agent who has not actually agreed to the role.
- Letting the old agent resign without filing a replacement, leaving a gap in the record.
- Getting the entity name slightly wrong so it doesn't match LARA's record.
- Having the form signed by someone who isn't authorized to sign for the entity.
Local Michigan considerations
Michigan's change certificate is form CSCL/CD-520, used by domestic and foreign corporations and LLCs alike, and it goes to the LARA Corporations Division. The registered office has to be a physical Michigan street address. A common trap: business owners update their mailing address on the annual statement and believe the registered office changed with it. It did not — the registered office is what controls where lawsuits and official notices are delivered, and it takes its own filing. If your entity is also a motor carrier, remember the federal BOC-3 process agent is a separate designation that does not change when your Michigan resident agent does.
Key Terms
- CSCL/CD-520
- Michigan's Certificate of Change of Registered Office and/or Change of Resident Agent, filed with the LARA Corporations Division.
- Resident agent
- The person or company designated to receive legal papers and official notices for a Michigan business entity.
- Registered office
- The physical Michigan street address on file where the resident agent can be reached.
- Entity ID
- The identification number LARA assigns to a Michigan business entity, used on every subsequent filing.
People Also Ask
Reviewed and updated by the Clear Path document team. Informational only — not legal advice.
Ready to get your paperwork started?
Start the guided intake, or call or text us — we review every matter before quoting a price, and nothing is purchased online.