Tennessee Registered Agent Requirements

Every Tennessee LLC must have a registered agent under the Tennessee Revised LLC Act. Tennessee has a unique provision: the LLC can serve as its own registered agent (most states prohibit this). For the formation process, see our main guide. For compliance, see our after-formation guide.

Tennessee Requirements

For individuals:

• Must be a Tennessee resident
• Must maintain a street address in Tennessee (no PO boxes)
• Must be available during business hours

For entities:

• Must be authorized to do business in Tennessee
• Must maintain a Tennessee office address

Unique Tennessee provision: The LLC itself can serve as its own registered agent, provided it maintains a "registered office" (physical address in Tennessee where service can be accepted during business hours). This is uncommon — most states prohibit this.

Self-Service as Agent: Pros and Cons

If your LLC serves as its own agent (Tennessee allows this):

• Pro: No separate agent fee
• Pro: Simplified structure
• Con: Your business address is the service address (public record)
• Con: Someone must be physically present at that address during business hours
• Con: Being served at your place of business can be disruptive

If you use a professional service:

• Privacy (professional address on public records)
• Reliability (always available during business hours)
• Document management and forwarding
• Compliance reminders for Annual Report (April 1) and F&E tax

Our service: $99 the first year, then $119/year at renewal (billed annually, separate from formation).