Georgia Annual Registration Principal Office Address: What the Field Asks For

What the Georgia Code says about each address

We read the Code sections below in the FindLaw compilation marked current as of March 28, 2024. For an LLC, the rule is O.C.G.A. 14-11-1103(a). That section says each LLC, and each foreign LLC authorized to do business in Georgia, must file an annual registration. The registration must set forth four things:

1. 1“The name of the limited liability company or the foreign limited liability company and the jurisdiction under whose law it is organized”
2. 2“The street address and county of its registered office and the name of its registered agent at that office in this state”
3. 3“The mailing address of its principal place of business”
4. 4“Any additional information that is necessary to enable the Secretary of State to carry out the provisions of this chapter”

Item 2 says “street address.” Item 3 says “mailing address.” The two lines use different words in the same sentence. The articles of organization use the same pair. O.C.G.A. 14-11-203(a)(3) asks for “The mailing address of the limited liability company's principal place of business.”

For a corporation, the rule is O.C.G.A. 14-2-1622(a). It also asks for “The street address and county of its registered office.” Its third item is “The mailing address of its principal office.” A corporation also lists the names and addresses of its chief executive officer, chief financial officer, and secretary. The Secretary of State’s FAQ says Georgia LLC law “requires only the listing of the registered agent,” so LLC members and managers are not listed.

One more rule applies to every line. Section 14-11-1103(b) says “Information in the annual registration must be current as of the date the annual registration is executed.” Section 14-2-1622(b) says the same for corporations.

Principal office mailing address vs registered office: a field map

The table puts the two Georgia address lines side by side for an LLC. Each cell comes from the Georgia Code, a Secretary of State rule, or a Secretary of State page. Where the sources we read say nothing, the cell says so.

Florida takes a different approach. For an LLC, Section 605.0212(1)(b) of the Florida Statutes requires the annual report to set forth “The street address of its principal office and its mailing address.” Sunbiz accepts a P.O. Box only in the mailing field. Our guide to the Sunbiz principal address and mailing address covers that rule. In the Georgia sources we read, the principal office has one line, and that line is the mailing address of the principal place of business.

Can the principal office be outside Georgia?

For corporations, the Georgia Code answers this directly. O.C.G.A. 14-2-140(22) says the principal office “means the office in or out of this state so designated in the annual registration where the principal executive offices of a domestic or foreign corporation are located.”

For LLCs, the address line in 14-11-1103(a)(3) does not say “in this state.” The same section applies to foreign LLCs authorized to do business in Georgia, which are formed in other states. The definitions section of the LLC chapter, O.C.G.A. 14-11-101, does not define “principal place of business” in the version we read. So for LLCs, the Code we read does not say directly whether the principal place of business may be outside Georgia.

The registered office is the line that must be in Georgia. For LLCs, Section 14-11-209(a) requires a registered office and a registered agent in Georgia. The registered office “may, but need not, be a place of its business in this state.” The agent’s business office address must be the same as the registered office address. For corporations, Section 14-2-501 says each corporation “must continuously maintain in this state” a registered office and agent.

Can you use a P.O. Box or a virtual address as the principal office address?

The Georgia Code, Secretary of State rules and Secretary of State pages we read do not answer this question directly. They do not mention P.O. Boxes or virtual offices for the principal office line. What they say is that the line is the mailing address of the principal place of business, or of the principal office for a corporation.

The Code’s words are “the mailing address of its principal place of business.” The sources we read do not say whether an address that receives and forwards your mail counts as that address. In the sources we read, we did not find a rule for the principal office line that approves or rejects any specific kind of mailing address.

A separate, practical question is whether mail sent to that address reaches the people who run the company. The Secretary of State sends notices to the principal office address or the registered agent. Its FAQ names the Notice of Administrative Dissolution as one of those notices. Rule 590-7-22-.05(3) says the Secretary of State will not send annual registration notices to some LLCs. Its words are that the notices “will not be forwarded to those active limited liability companies that failed to maintain a valid mailing address on file with the Secretary of State.” The same rule says those notices may be sent by mail or by email.

If the eCorp form will not accept an address, you need a different address for that filing. A form that accepts an address is not a ruling that the address meets the Code.

The registered office is a different case. For LLCs, Rule 590-7-19-.11(1) says the registered office “must be a street address in Georgia where service of process may be served on the registered agent.” The Secretary of State’s FAQ says “A post office box or ‘mail drop’ may not be used as the registered agent address.” For LLCs, the same rule allows a post office box only when it is also accompanied by a physical address of the exact location where the agent can be personally served. save office does not offer registered agent service.

Before you file, our free address checker shows the USPS classification of a street address as Commercial, Residential or Unknown, and whether USPS data flags it as a commercial mail receiving agency (CMRA). The checker does not test for P.O. Boxes. Our guide on how to tell if an address is a PO Box covers that question.

Our Silicon Valley and Los Angeles pages describe the business addresses save office offers.

Will your principal office address be public?

The Secretary of State says the annual registration “provides a current record of an entity’s management structure, correct mailing address, and registered agent’s name and address.” Its FAQ points to the eCorp Business Search, where an entity can be found by business name or control number.

eCorp Business Search blocked our automated reader with a security check on October 15, 2026 (about 05:08 to 05:21 UTC). So we could not confirm which address fields a record page shows. Plan as if the address you file can be seen by anyone who looks up your company. Our guide on whether LLC ownership becomes public record explains what state records usually show.

How to change the principal office address in Georgia, and what it costs

The Secretary of State says “Annual registration is also the means for changing officers, registered agents, or address information.” If this year’s annual registration is already filed, its FAQ says an address “may be changed by filing an amended annual registration.” For LLCs, Rule 590-7-22-.10(4) says that when the principal office address, registered agent or registered office changes before the next annual registration is due, “an amended annual registration shall be filed.”

The guide also offers a multi-year option. An entity may file its annual registrations in advance for up to three calendar years. If you file ahead, remember the Code rule that the information must be current on the date you sign.

Deadlines depend on the entity type. LLCs file the first annual registration between January 1 and April 1 of the year after formation. A Georgia corporation files its first one within 90 days after its articles are delivered for filing, under 14-2-1622(d). If those articles are delivered after October 1, the first one is due between January 1 and April 1 of the next year. If an entity does not file on time, the Secretary of State may dissolve it. The FAQ says an entity can avoid this by filing within 60 days of the Notice of Administrative Dissolution.