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Formation ClassClass is in session: LLC paperwork, state by state.

Class 2 · South Dakota

South Dakota Registered Agent Class (2026): 6 Assignments and the 3 Best Agents

Graded for 2026, the best help with getting a registered agent in South Dakota comes from SD Registered Agent.org ($99 a year), South Dakota Registered Agent.co ($99 a year) and Mainstay Filing ($149 a year), in that order. 6 short assignments take you from the law to a correct agent filing.

Taught by the Formation Class faculty

Class overview

Must you have one?Yessdlegislature.gov (page read October 2026)
What graded services charge$99 to $149 a yearRead from each company's price page
Annual report$55 a yearsdlegislature.gov (page read October 2026)
How many assignments6Listed below

What this class teaches

  • Why South Dakota wants an agent on file
  • Who is eligible and the address test
  • How an agent gets on record
  • Which agents we recommend and why

The South Dakota honor roll

The teacher's five criteria are on how we grade, and they decide the order.
Start with this one

1. SD Registered Agent.org: best for a small yearly agent fee

Year 1: $99. Year 2: $99

SD Registered Agent.org earns the top grade in South Dakota: $99 a year secures a South Dakota agent with an office inside the state.

Since Mainstay Filing costs more across three years, this service ends up on top.

Covered by the tuition

  • A physical address in South Dakota
  • Served documents appear online

Strengths

  • $99 per year
  • A smaller yearly bill than Mainstay Filing

Weak spots

  • Serves South Dakota alone
  • You finish the annual report on your own
One-state plan

2. South Dakota Registered Agent.co: best for a local backup

Year 1: $99. Year 2: $99

South Dakota Registered Agent.co makes a respectable second: $99 a year secures a South Dakota agent with an office inside the state.

Its prices match SD Registered Agent.org's, so either works.

Covered by the tuition

  • A physical address in South Dakota
  • Served documents appear online

Strengths

  • A smaller yearly bill than Mainstay Filing
  • $99 per year

Weak spots

  • Serves South Dakota alone
  • You finish the annual report on your own
Does most of the work

3. Mainstay Filing: best for companies working in several states

Year 1: $149. Year 2: $149

Grade number 3 belongs to Mainstay Filing, where an agent fee of $149 a year that holds across all fifty states.

Add up three years: it comes to $150 more than SD Registered Agent.org.

Covered by the tuition

  • An office address inside the state
  • Scans of papers served on the company, free and on the same business day
  • Three government letters a year are scanned free
  • Also serves nonprofits, corporations, LPs and LLPs

Strengths

  • $149 a year, same at renewal
  • The same provider anywhere

Weak spots

  • Costs $50 extra every year
  • This plan does not file your reports

All the tuition in one table

#ServiceAnnual priceRenewal priceThree-year total
1SD Registered Agent.org$99$99/yr$297Visit SD Registered Agent.orgPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
2South Dakota Registered Agent.co$99$99/yr$297Visit South Dakota Registered Agent.coPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
3Mainstay Filing$149$149/yr$447Visit Mainstay FilingPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
Company prices as listed on November 13, 2026. South Dakota charges the same either way.

The South Dakota agent, in order

  1. Assignment
    1

    Read what South Dakota requires

    Every LLC must name a registered agent with an in-state street address.

    Textbook page: sdlegislature.gov (page read October 2026)

  2. Assignment
    2

    Find out who is allowed to serve

    A commercial registered agent listed with the state, a noncommercial agent (an individual or entity with a South Dakota address), or the title of an office in the company. This is in SDCL 59-11-6.

  3. Assignment
    3

    Learn the registered office rule

    The address has to be an actual street address or rural route box number in South Dakota, plus a South Dakota mailing address if it differs.

    Paying a service keeps your home address out of public records.

  4. Assignment
    4

    Choose between acting alone and hiring

    If you pass the tests above, you can name yourself; hiring one of the graded agents costs $99 to $149 a year.

  5. Assignment
    5

    Get the agent listed publicly

    For a newly formed South Dakota LLC, the Articles of Organization is where the agent is named. Any later switch is filed separately at the South Dakota Secretary of State.

    Textbook page: sdlegislature.gov (page read October 2026)

  6. Assignment
    6

    Check the record every year

    Each year the annual report confirms the agent's details for $55, by due during the entity's anniversary month. A late filing costs $50.

    Textbook page: sdlegislature.gov (page read October 2026)

South Dakota agent costs

What forWho gets paidPrice
Hiring an agentThe service$99 to $149 a year
Agent renewalThe service$99 to $149 a year
Annual reportPaid to the state$55 every year
Anything paid to South Dakota is an official fee you can look up on the pages listed below. The three-year row combines the filing, two later reports and a minimum tax where there is one, and service prices are not part of it.

Why SD Registered Agent.org is first

What decided it was tuition across three years, which carries 30% of the grade.

Count three years and SD Registered Agent.org totals $297, $150 below Mainstay Filing.

What students ask

Will South Dakota insist that an LLC keep a registered agent?

Yes. Every LLC must name a registered agent with an in-state street address.

Can I be my own registered agent?

An owner can serve if eligible; the tests are in assignments 2 and 3.

Can I change my registered agent later?

Change whenever you like through the South Dakota Secretary of State, as assignment 5 describes.

What does a registered agent cost in South Dakota?

Plan on $99 to $149 a year.

What does the LLC pay the state each year?

$55 every year for the annual report.

Which registered agent would you choose?

SD Registered Agent.org gets the top grade and South Dakota Registered Agent.co and Mainstay Filing follow; SD Registered Agent.org wins on tuition across three years.

Keep learning

Textbook pages and extra reading

  1. The South Dakota Secretary of State, Business Services / lesson rests on sdsos.gov, read again in August 2026; check our work against it.
  2. The South Dakota Secretary of State, Business Services / lesson rests on sosenterprise.sd.gov, read again in August 2026; check our work against it.
  3. The South Dakota yearly filing: Annual report: fee and lesson rests on sdlegislature.gov, read again in October 2026; check our work against it.
  4. The South Dakota report due date lesson rests on sdlegislature.gov, read again in August 2026; check our work against it.
  5. The SDCL 47-34A-203 lesson rests on sdlegislature.gov, read again in August 2026; check our work against it.
  6. The South Dakota formation fee: Filing fee, official source lesson rests on sdsos.gov, read again in October 2026; check our work against it.
  7. The South Dakota formation fee: Filing fee, official source lesson rests on sdlegislature.gov, read again in October 2026; check our work against it.
  8. The South Dakota registered agent statute lesson rests on sdlegislature.gov, read again in October 2026; check our work against it.
  9. The pricing page at SD Registered Agent.org, November 13, 2026
  10. The pricing page at South Dakota Registered Agent.co, November 13, 2026
  11. The South Dakota service page at Mainstay Filing, November 13, 2026