IA registered agent
Iowa registered agent service, $3.50 a year
Iowa requires every corporation and LLC on its books to keep a registered agent at a real address in the state. Here is what Iowa law says about who that agent has to be and where it has to be.
What Iowa requires of a registered agent
The requirement
For corporations, the agent must be an Iowa-resident individual whose business office is identical with the registered office, or a domestic or foreign corporation or eligible entity with an identical business office (foreign entities must be registered in Iowa). The LLC Act is looser: the agent need only 'have a place of business in this state' (Iowa Code § 489.115(2)).
A registered agent, which may be any of the following: (1) An individual who resides in this state and whose business office is identical with the registered office. (2) A domestic or foreign corporation or eligible entity whose business office is identical with the registered office and, in the case of a foreign corporation or foreign eligible entity, is registered to do business in this state.
Source: state statute, via incFACTS: Iowa Code § 490.501(1)(b)
How we comply
We don't.
What Iowa does to your company when we don't
Here is what the state does to an entity that has no agent, or whose agent is us.
Administrative dissolution
A corporation without a registered agent or registered office for 60 days or more, or that fails to notify the Secretary of State of an agent change, resignation, or office discontinuance within 60 days, may be administratively dissolved (60-day cure window after notice under Iowa Code § 490.1421).
The secretary of state may commence a proceeding under section 490.1421 to dissolve a corporation administratively, if any of the following apply: ... 3. The corporation is without a registered agent or registered office in this state for sixty days or more. 4. The secretary of state has not been notified within sixty days that the corporation's registered agent or registered office has been changed, that its registered agent has resigned, or that its registered office has been discontinued.
Source: state statute, via incFACTS: Iowa Code § 490.1420
Administrative dissolution
The LLC Act carries the same grounds: an LLC without a registered agent (or whose agent has no Iowa place of business) for 60 days or more, or that fails to give 60-day notice of agent changes, may be administratively dissolved.
The secretary of state may commence a proceeding under section 489.709 to dissolve a limited liability company administratively, if any of the following apply: ... 3. The limited liability company is without a registered agent or the registered agent does not have a place of business in this state for sixty days or more. 4. The secretary of state has not been notified within sixty days that the limited liability company's registered agent or place of business of the registered agent has been changed, or that its registered agent has resigned, or that the address of the registered agent has been discontinued.
Source: state statute, via incFACTS: Iowa Code § 489.708
Revocation (foreign entities)
A registered foreign corporation's registration may be administratively terminated for being without a registered agent or registered office for 60 days or more, or for failing to give 60-day notice of agent changes; the LLC parallel is Iowa Code § 489.911(1)(c)-(d).
The secretary of state may terminate the registration of a registered foreign corporation in the manner provided in subsections 2 and 3, if any of the following applies: ... c. The foreign corporation is without a registered agent or registered office in this state for sixty days or more. d. The secretary of state has not been notified within sixty days that the foreign corporation's registered agent or registered office has been changed, that its registered agent has resigned, or that its registered office has been discontinued.
Source: state statute, via incFACTS: Iowa Code § 490.1511(1)
No access to the courts
A foreign corporation doing business in Iowa cannot maintain a proceeding in any Iowa court until registered - the downstream consequence once registration is terminated for registered agent failure. The LLC parallel is Iowa Code § 489.902(2).
A foreign corporation doing business in this state shall not maintain a proceeding in any court of this state until it is registered to do business in this state.
Source: state statute, via incFACTS: Iowa Code § 490.1502(2)
The bill to come back
Reinstatement fee
Reinstatement may be sought at any time after administrative dissolution for a $5 application fee (corporation and LLC alike); a name change is required if more than 5 years have passed and the old name is no longer available.
s. Application for reinstatement following administrative dissolution ..................................................... $ 5
Source: state statute, via incFACTS: Iowa Code § 490.122(1)(s)
What happens to the lawsuit you never saw
Substituted service
If a corporation has no registered agent or the agent cannot with reasonable diligence be served, service is by registered or certified mail addressed to the secretary at the corporation's principal office; if service still cannot be perfected (or the foreign registration was withdrawn or terminated), the Secretary of State becomes the corporation's agent for service, with a $5 fee (Iowa Code § 490.122(2)). The LLC Act (Iowa Code § 489.119(2)-(3)) uses mail to the principal office and then hand delivery to the individual in charge of a regular place of business, with no SOS-as-agent step.
2. If a corporation has no registered agent, or the agent cannot with reasonable diligence be served, the corporation may be served by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, addressed to the secretary at the corporation's principal office. ... 3. a. The secretary of state shall be an agent of the corporation upon whom process, notice, or demand may be served, if any of the following applies: (1) The process, notice, or demand cannot be served on a corporation pursuant to subsection 1 or 2. (2) The process, notice, or demand is to be served on a registered foreign corporation that has withdrawn its registration pursuant to section 490.1507 or 490.1509, or the registration of which has been terminated pursuant to section 490.1511.
Source: state statute, via incFACTS: Iowa Code § 490.504
Statutory text as captured by incFACTS (retrieved 2026-08-01, verified word-for-word against the state code 2026-08-10). Laws change. The statute governs; this page does not.