How you change your business address in Texas depends on which address you mean. Every Texas filing entity keeps two on state records: a registered office, held by the Secretary of State, and a principal office, which lives in different places depending on your entity type. Each has its own form, its own agency, and its own fee. Filing the wrong one leaves the address that actually matters untouched.
Registered Office and Principal Office Are Not the Same
Your registered office is the physical Texas address where your registered agent accepts service of process during business hours. Every domestic and foreign filing entity has to maintain one, and it can’t be a P.O. box unless the commercial mail service at that address is itself the registered agent.1Texas Secretary of State. Registered Agents A person has to be physically present there during business hours to receive lawsuits and official mail.2State of Texas. Texas Business Organizations Code Chapter 5 Changes to the registered agent or registered office always go through the Secretary of State. The Comptroller can’t process them.3Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Texas Franchise Tax Public Information Report (PIR) and Ownership Information Report (OIR) Filing Requirements
Your principal office is where you actually run the business. For Texas corporations and LLCs, that address lives in the Comptroller’s records, not with the Secretary of State. Limited partnerships, LLPs, and foreign entities keep it in different filings still. That split is the piece that trips people up.
Changing Your Registered Agent or Registered Office
File Form 401, Statement of Change of Registered Office/Agent, with the Texas Secretary of State. This is the correct form for most domestic and foreign filing entities, including corporations, LLCs, limited partnerships, and LLPs.4Texas Secretary of State. Amendments and Corrections FAQs
To fill it out, you’ll need your entity’s exact legal name as shown in Secretary of State records, your SOS file number, the new registered office street address, and the new registered agent’s name if that’s also changing. You can set the effective date up to 90 days out if you don’t want the change to take hold immediately.5Texas Secretary of State. Form 401 – Statement of Change of Registered Office/Agent
The filing fee is $15 for most entities. Nonprofit corporations and cooperative associations pay $5. Credit card payments add a 2.7% convenience fee.6Office of the Texas Secretary of State. Form 401 – Instructions for Change of Registered Agent/Office
Changing Your Principal Office Address
The procedure depends on your entity type.
Corporations and LLCs
Texas for-profit corporations, professional corporations, LLCs, and PLLCs update the principal office through the franchise tax Public Information Report (PIR) filed with the Comptroller. Report the new address on your next annual PIR through the Comptroller’s Webfile system.3Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Texas Franchise Tax Public Information Report (PIR) and Ownership Information Report (OIR) Filing Requirements
If you need it changed before the next annual filing, submit an amended PIR with a cover letter explaining the urgent need. Mark “Amended” at the top and mail it to P.O. Box 149348, Austin, TX 78714-9348. Time-sensitive requests can be faxed to (512) 475-0433 with an “urgent” notation.3Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Texas Franchise Tax Public Information Report (PIR) and Ownership Information Report (OIR) Filing Requirements
Limited Partnerships
LPs store the address where records are maintained in their certificate of formation. To change it, an LP can file a voluntary periodic report (Form 804) or amend the certificate of formation (Form 424). Form 804 goes to the Secretary of State’s Reports Unit, P.O. Box 12028, Austin, TX 78711-2028.4Texas Secretary of State. Amendments and Corrections FAQs A certificate of amendment carries a $150 filing fee.7Texas Secretary of State. Business Filings and Trademarks Fee Schedule
Limited Liability Partnerships
LLPs list the principal office in their registration with the Secretary of State. To change it, file an amendment to the registration using Form 722.4Texas Secretary of State. Amendments and Corrections FAQs
Foreign Entities
Foreign filing entities registered to do business in Texas list the principal office in their application for registration. To update it, amend that registration using Form 406, 407, or 412, depending on entity type.4Texas Secretary of State. Amendments and Corrections FAQs
How to Submit a Filing to the Secretary of State
For anything routed through the Secretary of State (Form 401, LP or LLP amendments, foreign entity amendments), you have several options.
The fastest is SOSDirect at direct.sos.state.tx.us. Create an account, fund it, and file online. Simple changes like a Form 401 are often processed within a few business days.
By mail, send forms to P.O. Box 13697, Austin, TX 78711-3697. The fax number is (512) 463-5709; if you’re paying by credit card via fax, include Form 807.6Office of the Texas Secretary of State. Form 401 – Instructions for Change of Registered Agent/Office Walk-in filings are now handled at 400 W. 15th Street in Austin.8Texas Secretary of State. Welcome to the Texas Secretary of State
For mail or in-person submissions, expect at least one business day before the document shows a “Received” status, and longer for full processing.9Texas Secretary of State. Business Filings – Status You can check status through SOSDirect or by calling the Corporations Section at (512) 463-5555.
Expedited Processing (New Tiers as of October 2025)
The Secretary of State overhauled its expedited program effective October 1, 2025. The old $25 expedite fee is gone. The current tiers, added on top of the filing fee, are:
- Same-Day Service, $750 per document — filings received by noon are processed by close of business that day.
- Next-Day Service, $500 per document — filings received by noon are processed by close of business the next business day.
- Standard Expedited, $50 per document — processed before regular submissions, typically within two to three business days.
Business days exclude weekends and state holidays.10Texas Secretary of State. Introducing Texas Express Expedited Business Filings For a $15 registered agent change, $750 for same-day rarely makes sense. For an amendment tied to a closing or a court deadline, the option is there.
Update the IRS and SAM.gov Separately
Changing your address with Texas doesn’t notify the IRS. If your business has an EIN, file IRS Form 8822-B to report a change to your business mailing address, business location, or responsible party. Responsible-party changes must be reported within 60 days.11Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8822-B, Change of Address or Responsible Party – Business Texas businesses mail Form 8822-B to the Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service Center, Ogden, UT 84201. It cannot currently be filed electronically.12Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Form 8822-B
If your business is registered in SAM.gov for federal contracting, update the address there too. Registrations must be renewed every 365 days, and address changes can be made anytime through the Entity Workspace.13SAM.gov. Entity Registration
What Happens If You Don’t Update
Letting a registered office or agent go stale creates real legal exposure.
If the Secretary of State determines your entity has failed to maintain a registered agent or registered office, the state can mail a notice and start the clock on involuntary termination. You get 90 days from the date of that notice to fix it. Miss the window and the Secretary of State can terminate the entity’s existence.14State of Texas. Texas Business Organizations Code Chapter 11 – Winding Up and Termination of Domestic Entity A terminated entity loses legal standing and can only wind up its affairs. Reinstatement is possible, but it takes additional filings and fees.
The more immediate risk is a default judgment. If someone sues your business and serves process at the old registered office, you won’t know about it. Courts can enter default judgments in that situation, and setting one aside is expensive and uncertain, particularly where the breakdown was the company’s own fault for not keeping the agent information current.
The Secretary of State also sends official correspondence to your registered office, including franchise tax notices and the termination warnings above. An outdated address means those notices vanish, and by the time you spot the problem, cure deadlines may already be gone.