Address Confidentiality Programs by State — Explainer

Matrix explainer. Coverage: program existence + enrollment type. Source matrix: address-confidentiality-programs-by-state. 50 states. Not legal advice.

Short answer

Address Confidentiality Programs (ACPs) are state-administered programs that let eligible participants — typically survivors of domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault, or human trafficking — use a state-issued substitute mailing address in place of their residential address on public records. ACPs are safety-risk regimes, NOT general-purpose business-privacy tools. Enrollment is eligibility-gated; founders without a qualifying circumstance cannot use an ACP.

The 50-state matrix tracks two questions per jurisdiction: (1) does the state have an enacted ACP program, and (2) can an enrolled participant use the substitute address on LLC or corporate business filings? As of the matrix: 20 states explicitly allow it, 8 states allow it with limitations, 20 states have enacted ACPs where business-filing applicability is not specified in statute, 1 state (GA) explicitly excludes business filings, and 6 states have no enacted ACP.

What an ACP program is and what it does not do

An ACP issues an enrolled participant a state-assigned substitute address — typically a state agency P.O. box — used in place of their residential address on covered public filings. Mail sent to the substitute address is forwarded by the administering agency.

ACPs do NOT:

• Remove prior public records. Enrollment is forward-looking; pre-enrollment filings that list a participant's residential address typically remain public.
• Stop data brokers from retaining historical data. Brokers may hold prior addresses already harvested from public records before enrollment. Separate deletion requests under state deletion statutes are required for that layer.
• Apply to all record types. Coverage varies by state. Federal records, tax records, and court filings are commonly excluded even in states with broad ACP statutes.
• Open enrollment to non-qualifying individuals. A founder who does not meet eligibility criteria cannot use an ACP regardless of which state they are in.

States with LLC-accessible ACP programs

The load-bearing question for founders: can an enrolled participant use the substitute address on state business filings (LLC formation documents, annual reports)?

Business filings explicitly covered — 20 states

AZ, CA, CT, DC, MD, ME, MO, NE, NV, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WI — the state statute or administering-agency guidance explicitly authorizes substitute-address use on business filings for enrolled participants. OK is statute-confirmed via 22 O.S. §60.17 (public agencies shall accept the substitute address for all public purposes); the SoS portal carries a typed_unknown snapshot status but the statutory authority is established.

Business filings covered with limitations — 8 states

CO, DE, MA, MN, NC, NM, NY, WA — substitute-address use on business filings is permitted in some circumstances but not universally. See per-state cells in the matrix for the specific limitation details.

ACP enacted; business-filing applicability not specified — 20 states

AL, AR, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MI, MS, MT, NH, NJ, SC, SD, WV — these states have enacted ACP programs, but their statutes do not explicitly address LLC or corporate filing applicability (Georgia's new general Safe At Home program, SB 324/2024, New Hampshire's RSA 7:43 program, Illinois's 750 ILCS 61 program, Montana's DOJ-run program, and Hawaii's HRS ch. 801G program all joined this bucket on July 2026 re-verification). Whether an enrolled participant can use the substitute address on business filings in these states requires direct inquiry to the administering agency.

States with no ACP or closed enrollment

No enacted ACP (3 states): AK, ND, WY (NH, HI, IL, and MT were all removed from this list on July 2026 re-verification — each state's program is now recorded in its matrix row). No active ACP statute was found for these three states on re-verification. Founders in these states seeking address privacy must rely on other mechanisms such as registered agent services or commercial mail forwarding, and on LLC member-name visibility rules for formation-document privacy.

Not confirmed — 1 state: AL — ACP status for Alabama could not be confirmed from available primary sources at verification time.

What the matrix does not prove

• Does not determine whether any specific individual qualifies for any state's ACP — eligibility decisions are made by the administering agency.
• Does not enumerate application procedures, processing timelines, or fees.
• Does not measure mail-forwarding mechanics or substitute-address operations.
• Does not address retroactivity — ACP enrollment does not retroactively remove a residential address from pre-enrollment public records.
• Does not confirm portal observation for OK — OK ACP data is statute-confirmed (22 O.S. §60.17) but the SoS portal carries typed_unknown snapshot status. Does not confirm ACP status for AL (not confirmed at verification time).
• Does not substitute for legal counsel — the matrix surfaces what statutes say; whether a participant's specific use case is covered requires advice from an attorney familiar with the administering agency's practices.

See also: Address Confidentiality Programs by State (matrix) · Registered Agent Visibility by State · Member Name Visibility by State