CT Corporation bills its Essential Registered Agent Service for each entity in each jurisdiction where CT is appointed, creating a cost structure that scales as follows:
Wolters Kluwer's CT Corporation Description of Services defines the billing unit as "each jurisdiction in which such entity does business for which CT is appointed registered agent."
A fund LP formed in Delaware and qualified in New York is two units, not one.
If you run operations for a private equity firm or finance for a family office, that multiplication is the whole cost question.
A portfolio of 100 entities registered in 3 states each creates 300 billed units before any state filing fee, franchise tax, or add-on.
As of September 2026, CT Corporation publishes no enterprise rate card, so any portfolio discount comes out of a sales negotiation rather than a fee schedule.
What CT Corporation charges per entity, per state
Wolters Kluwer's official CT Corporation product pages use the same per-unit billing approach on the primary registered agent page and its California, Texas, Utah, Mississippi, and Illinois state pages. Discern separately publishes guides to California registered agent requirements, Utah registered agent requirements, and Mississippi registered agent requirements. None of the Wolters Kluwer pages carries an edition date; the footer reads "© 2026 Wolters Kluwer N.V. and/or its subsidiaries." An LLC, an LP, and a corporation use the same billing structure, and first-year pricing is not distinguished from renewal pricing.
Bundled fees and add-ons
Wolters Kluwer publishes two bundles on the CT Corporation registered agent services page:
Registered Agent plus Business Formation
Registered Agent plus Foreign Qualification
Service of process forwarding is included in the base service. Annual report filing, document retrieval, expedite fees, and multi-year prepayment discounts appear on official pages without an itemized fee. CT Corporation also states it "pays your state change of agent fees" when it is appointed; the pages do not say what applies when a client leaves. Third-party review sites report per-order charges for certificates of good standing, amendments, and foreign qualifications, but those figures do not appear on official Wolters Kluwer pricing pages.
Enterprise pricing for 50 to 250+ entities
CT Corporation does not publish enterprise or portfolio pricing; the official registered agent services page and entity management page contain no volume tiers and direct visitors to contact a specialist. The same applies to CT® hCue® Entity Management, which Wolters Kluwer describes as "a secure and centralized entity compliance management platform," and to CT® Entity Managed Services. No Wolters Kluwer source describes how invoices are structured for a multi-entity client, so you cannot model invoice volume for a 200-registration portfolio from public documents.
State filing fees when you appoint a new agent
Changing agents costs $5 to $50 per entity in state filing fees across Delaware, California, Texas, New York, Florida, and Illinois, a fraction of the annual provider fee but a line that multiplies across a portfolio. The figures in the table below are attributed to an official state fee schedule, statute, or form for the six jurisdictions reviewed.
State | LLC | Corporation (for-profit) | LP | Official source and edition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Delaware | No official figure published; verify with the state | $50 ($5 exempt corporation) | No official figure published; verify with the state | Delaware fee schedule, revised August 1, 2024 |
California | $20 via Statement of Information (Form LLC-12) | Not retrieved | $30 via Amendment to Certificate of Limited Partnership | California fee schedule, June 2018; Form LP-2, rev. 12/2024 |
Texas | $15 | $15 ($5 nonprofit) | $15 | Texas fee schedule; Tex. BOC § 4.152(6); Tex. BOC § 4.155(4) (LP) |
New York | No official figure published; verify with the state | $30 entity-filed Certificate of Change, BCL § 804-A(a) | $30, Rev. LP Act § 121-202-A(a) | |
Florida | $25 | $35 | No official figure published; verify with the state | LLC filing fee, Fla. Stat. § 605.0213(7); corporation filing fee, Fla. Stat. § 607.0122(4) |
Illinois | $25, 805 ILCS 180/50-10 | $25 routine; $75 with 24-hour expedite, 805 ILCS 5/15.10(h) | No official figure published; verify with the state |
New York charges only $5 for an agent-initiated address change under BCL § 805-A(b); the $30 applies when the entity itself files the change. Texas caps simultaneous filings by one registered agent for multiple limited partnerships at $750 under the bulk agent change cap, Tex. BOC § 4.155(5), with a parallel cap for corporations at § 4.152(7), and adds a 2.7% convenience fee on credit card payments. Florida LLCs and corporations pay no separate change-of-agent fee when the change is made through the annual report process described in Discern's guide to the Florida online annual report.
Portfolio arithmetic on state fees
Filed simultaneously, a bulk migration of 100 LPs costs $750 under the Texas cap instead of $1,500 in separate $15 filings.
The Delaware annual tax that arrives through the agent
As summarized in Discern's Delaware annual tax increase overview, Delaware raised the LLC, LP, and GP annual tax from $300 to $400 per entity, retroactive to January 1, 2026, according to the Division of Corporations' annual tax instructions. Payment is generally due June 1, but confirm the deadline against current Delaware instructions each year. Late payment adds a $200.00 penalty plus 1.5% interest per month on tax and penalty. For a manager with 100 Delaware LLCs and LPs, the $100 increase is $10,000 more per year on a single deadline. Delaware domestic corporations file an annual report with a $50 filing fee plus Delaware franchise tax information (minimum $175), generally due March 1; confirm against current Delaware instructions each year. Delaware franchise tax notifications are mailed to the corporation's registered agent, which puts a dollar value on how reliably that agent forwards mail.
What a lapsed agent relationship costs
An agent resignation with no successor on file leads to charter forfeiture for a Delaware corporation or cancellation for a Delaware LLC or LP if the entity does not designate a replacement within 30 days of the filing. Texas permits involuntary termination of an entity 91 days after state notice, with reinstatement fees of $75 to $600 depending on state and entity type.
Delaware: 30 days, then forfeiture or cancellation
Under DGCL § 136, a resignation takes effect 30 days after filing, and the agent gives the corporation written notice at least 30 days before filing. The corporation has 30 days to designate a new agent; if it does not, "the Secretary of State shall declare the charter of such corporation forfeited," and service of process falls on the Secretary of State under § 321. LLC Act § 18-104(d) runs the same clock for LLCs, with the certificate of formation canceled rather than a charter forfeited, and LP Act § 17-104(d) runs the same 30-day clock for LPs. Notice precedes filing by 30 days and the effective date follows it by 30 days, so you get a 60-day window at minimum when switching providers to land new appointments ahead of each resignation.
A Certificate of Renewal and Revival of Charter carries a renewal and revival fee of $169.00 plus $9.00 per additional page, and DGCL § 510 separately voids a corporate charter after 1 year of unpaid franchise tax or an unfiled annual report, with notice from the Secretary of State by November 30 and a March 1 cure date. Confirm those dates against current Delaware instructions each year.
Texas, New York, and Florida
Outside Delaware, the resignation clocks and reinstatement prices differ by state:
Texas: § 11.251 permits involuntary termination if an entity has no agent 91 days after the Secretary of State mails notice; Form 402 carries no filing fee, reinstatement costs $75 plus $25 for 24-hour or $50 for same-day expedite, and § 11.253 restores existence retroactively only if filed before the third anniversary of termination.
New York: a Certificate of Resignation costs $60 for a domestic or foreign business corporation and takes effect thirty days after the Department of State files it, under BCL § 305(d).
Florida: under the LLC resignation statute, Fla. Stat. § 605.0115, an LLC agent's resignation becomes effective on the 31st day after filing; resignation from an active corporation costs $87.50, and reinstating an administratively dissolved profit corporation costs $600.00 plus each year's annual report fee, per the Sunbiz fee pages.
Why per-entity billing lands on the fund's expense statement
Registered agent fees are fund expenses under the ILPA model terms and in sponsors' own SEC filings, so per-unit billing with an undisclosed invoice structure becomes an LP-facing allocation problem alongside the accounts payable work.
Where the fee sits in the LPA
The ILPA Model LPA (July 2020) lists among General Partner Expenses "(5) fees and expenses of the Fund's and General Partner's registered agent and for maintaining the Fund's and General Partner's registered office." ILPA's 2026 Organizational Expense Guidance states that organizational expenses borne solely by LPs "should be capped at the lower of 5 basis points of a fund's target AUM or $10 million in total" and observes that "LPs typically bear the expenses, despite GPs largely directing the key decisions that drive the costs." Vista Equity's SEC filing lists "the Fund's, the General Partner's and the Ultimate General Partner's registered office fees and filings in the State of Delaware" as fund expenses.
Disclosure and staffing pressure
The text of the SEC's Private Fund Advisers rule calls for "a detailed accounting of the private fund's fees and expenses" presented "in the format of a table with separate line items for each category of fee, expense, or compensation." A study covered by Legal Dive found that "roughly two-thirds of organizations said their legal entity management teams consist of one to three individuals," the same teams reconciling a separate agent invoice line for every entity in every state.
Consolidate registered agent spend across your fund entities with Discern
The costs reviewed above generally land on you per entity, per jurisdiction; Discern publishes one price for registered agent service: $350 per state registration per year, which includes registered agent service, annual report filing, active standing and status monitoring, franchise tax alerting, unlimited users, automated payments, and Delaware franchise tax filing. According to Discern's published service offering, change of agent filings are free and registered agent coverage spans all 51 jurisdictions.
For fund operations teams, Discern's multi-entity payment system supports multiple bank accounts per entity and segregated fund management, so each fund vehicle's registered agent cost is charged to the right account for LP reporting. One provider handles state registrations across those jurisdictions at one published price, and customers with 200+ registrations spend 5 to 10 minutes annually on compliance. For multi-entity companies, consolidating registered-agent relationships can simplify annual-report coordination.
Book a demo with Discern to price your entity portfolio per state and see where the invoices consolidate.
This article provides general compliance information and does not constitute legal advice. Consult qualified legal counsel for guidance specific to your situation.
Frequently asked questions about registered agent fees
These answers summarize the billing, filing-fee, and portfolio-management points covered above.
How does CT Corporation bill for registered agent service?
CT Corporation bills each entity in each jurisdiction where it is appointed registered agent. One entity registered in three states therefore creates three billed units.
Does CT Corporation include service of process forwarding in its base service?
Yes. Service of process forwarding is included in the base service, while annual report filing, document retrieval, and expedite services may be separate add-ons without publicly itemized fees.
Does CT Corporation publish enterprise pricing for large portfolios?
No enterprise or portfolio rate card is publicly available as of September 2026. Multi-entity clients must contact a specialist to discuss pricing and any portfolio discount.
Do states charge a fee to change registered agents?
State filing fees vary by jurisdiction and entity type. Across the six jurisdictions reviewed above, published fees vary by filing method, entity type, and current state fee schedule, with identified fees including $5, $20, $25, and $50 per entity in the provisions reviewed.
What can happen if a registered agent resigns without a successor?
The consequences depend on the state and entity type. Delaware can forfeit a corporation's charter or cancel an LLC's or LP's formation certificate after the applicable statutory period, while Texas permits involuntary termination 91 days after the Secretary of State mails notice.
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