FAQs: LLC and PLLC Business Address

  • Forming an LLC or PLLC in Illinois requires selecting a business address for various purposes.
  • The Registered Agent address will receive government communications and court documents, and must be in Illinois.
  • The Principal Place of Business is where your business conducts services and keeps records, and does not have to be in Illinois.
  • The Manager’s Address will be used for your LLC to contact you.

We get a lot of questions about the kinds of business address involved with forming an LLC or PLLC. This article contains our answers for the most common ones. Of course, it doesn’t answer all the possible questions or address (pun intended) every business’s unique situation. As part of our formation services, we provide opportunities for you to pick our brain about these matters, and during that process we can tailor our answers to your business’s specific circumstances.

I don’t have an office, and I don’t want my home address publicly available. What should I do?

Once the Secretary of State approves your LLC or PLLC’s Articles of Organization, several of your addresses become publicly available on their website. However, someone can only find them by searching for your business’s name or file number. These addresses are:

  • Your Registered Agent’s address.
  • Your principal place of business.
  • The manager’s address.

You may use your home address for all of those addresses. If that prospect makes you uncomfortable (and understandably so!), read on for some alternative solutions.

Registered Agent: What business address should I use?

The address for your registered agent is where the Secretary of State sends any documents (like reminders about your annual report) and where your business could be served with court documents. Any adult individual residing in Illinois can act as a registered agent, including a member or manager of an LLC, as long as this individual is available during normal business hours and agrees to forward you any mail.

Your Registered Agent’s address could be the address of:

  • Another business (including a coworking space, as long as it meets the requirements listed above).
  • A designated individual.
  • A business that provides Registered Agent services (i.e. a third party appointed for the purpose of accepting legal notices, official correspondence, and served documents for your business during regular business hours). Possible options include URS Registered Agents, Illinois Registered Agents, or Northwest Registered Agents.
  • G & G Law also offers Registered Agent services. Some of our clients choose us for consistency in service, but we do realize that our rates are not in line with the Registered Agent industry, which specializes in these services and carries less liability than a law firm. And of course, we can’t beat the price of serving as your own (free). Let us know if you’d like us to send you a quote to serve as the Registered Agent for your business.

Principal Place of Business: What business address should I use?

Per Illinois’s LLC statute (805 ILCS 180), the principal place of business should be the location where business records are held and the company conducts business services. It does not need to be in Illinois. This could be:

  • A business address (including coworking space), or
  • A designated individual’s address.

The Secretary of State does not permit the usage of a P.O. Box for this address. Some business owners elect to use a UPS business address, which functionally serves as a P.O. Box but provides a “Suite” number instead. While UPS addresses don’t appear to be technically allowed under the LLC Act, the Secretary of State has historically accepted them – at least, as of the writing of this article. However, a few clients encountered issues getting a bank account using a virtual address and there may be other serious risks.

Why do I need a  Manager Address for my LLC?

The manager’s address primarily serves as a point of contact for the LLC to use in case it needs to notify you. You may use any valid address where you would like to be notified.

I’ll likely be moving in the near future. How do I change my LLC or PLLC business address?

Changing the addresses filed with the Secretary of State is pretty easy.

The address for your Registered Agent needs to be kept up to date at all times. You can change it online for an LLC (LLC Change of Registered Agent and/or Agent’s Office Address Change (ilsos.gov)), or alternatively by sending Articles of Amendment by mail for an LLC or PLLC (Illinois Limited Liability Company Act Articles of Amendment (ilsos.gov)).

You cannot change the other addresses online. You may either file Articles of Amendment by mail (Illinois Limited Liability Company Act Articles of Amendment (ilsos.gov)) or, if approaching the date of your annual report renewal, make the change by indicating the new address on the report.

Let us know if you need any further assistance with those changes! Our attorneys have years of experience helping set up businesses for success. You can reach out through our contact form. If you have more questions, we linked more awesome resources below.