(1) Each limited liability company shall continuously maintain in this state:

     (a) A registered office, which may but need not be a place of its business in this state. The registered office shall be at a specific geographic location in this state, and be identified by number, if any, and street, or building address or rural route, or, if a commonly known street or rural route address does not exist, by legal description. A registered office may not be identified by post office box number or other nongeographic address. For purposes of communicating by mail, the secretary of state may permit the use of a post office address in conjunction with the registered office address if the limited liability company also maintains on file the specific geographic address of the registered office where personal service of process may be made;

     (b) A registered agent for service of process on the limited liability company, which agent may be either an individual resident of this state whose business office is identical with the limited liability company's registered office, or a domestic corporation, limited partnership, or limited liability company, or a government, governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or a separate legal entity comprised of two or more of these entities, or a foreign corporation, limited partnership, or limited liability company authorized to do business in this state having a business office identical with such registered office; and

     (c) A registered agent who shall not be appointed without having given prior written consent to the appointment. The written consent shall be filed with the secretary of state in such form as the secretary may prescribe. The written consent shall be filed with or as a part of the document first appointing a registered agent.

     (2) A limited liability company may change its registered office or registered agent by delivering to the secretary of state for filing a statement of change that sets forth:

     (a) The name of the limited liability company;

     (b) If the current registered office is to be changed, the street address of the new registered office in accord with subsection (1) of this section;

     (c) If the current registered agent is to be changed, the name of the new registered agent and the new agent's written consent, either on the statement or attached to it, to the appointment; and

     (d) That after the change or changes are made, the street addresses of its registered office and the business office of its registered agent will be identical.

     (3) If a registered agent changes the street address of the agent's business office, the registered agent may change the street address of the registered office of any limited liability company for which the agent is the registered agent by notifying the limited liability company in writing of the change and signing, either manually or in facsimile, and delivering to the secretary of state for filing a statement that complies with the requirements of subsection (2) of this section and recites that the limited liability company has been notified of the change.

     (4) A registered agent may resign as agent by signing and delivering to the secretary of state for filing a statement that the registered office is also discontinued. After filing the statement the secretary of state shall mail a copy of the statement to the limited liability company at its principal office. The agency appointment is terminated, and the registered office discontinued is so provided, on the thirty-first day after the date on which the statement was filed.

[2009 c 202 § 5; 2002 c 74 § 16; 1996 c 231 § 6; 1994 c 211 § 104.]

NOTES:

     Captions not law -- 2002 c 74: See note following RCW 19.09.020.