What Do Registered Agents Do?

A registered amanuensis is an private or company that receives service of process, legal documents and official notices on your concern's behalf. When registering a concern entity, you'll be required to appoint a registered agent who has a physical address in the state of registration.

Not just anyone tin can fill this role, though. In that location are certain rules you lot need to follow when choosing one. Observe out why yous demand a registered agent, who you tin can engage and how to alter agents.

Who needs a registered agent?

Any business organization that is registered with the state needs to engage a registered agent, likewise chosen a statutory agent or resident agent in some states.

The following types of businesses need to appoint one:

Corporations
Limited liability companies
Limited partnerships
Limited liability partnerships
Limited liability limited partnerships (non recognized in every state).

If you have one of these business organisation types, you'll be asked to name your registered agent during incorporation or business registration. There's typically a spot to designate your registered agent on your articles of incorporation or manufactures of arrangement.

Full general partnerships and sole proprietorships don't need to designate one considering these business concern types are not registered with the state. Of form, all businesses need to keep upwards with business tax obligations and answer in a timely mode to legal papers. However, the government doesn't keep registered agent data on file for sole proprietorships and full general partnerships.

Why exercise you lot need a registered agent?

States accept required businesses to appoint registered agents for decades. The main purpose is to ensure that there's a reliable way for the public, the courts and the government to contact your company. One time the state has your registered agent information, information technology's a matter of public tape. Anyone searching through a business organization entity database tin can discover out who serves this role for your company.

More specifically, here are the three main reasons why registered agents are of import:

Receive legal process: People with legitimate legal complaints against a business have an address to send service of process.
Government can contact you: The government knows how to contact a business organization that'southward delinquent on taxes or noncompliant with other laws.
Stay in compliance: Official papers notifying you of any action you need to take become to ane address.

Almost businesses rent a legal service or an attorney to serve as registered agent. Your registered agent will receive legal, tax and other official mail for you, frontwards the documents to your business concern accost and notify you of any deadlines or actions that you need to take. For urgent documents, such as notice of a lawsuit, you'll probable be notified the very aforementioned day.

Registered amanuensis requirements

In full general, registered agents must meet the post-obit requirements:

Age: If yous apply an private, they must be at least xviii years former.
Residency: If you use an individual, they must be a resident of the state of registration. If the registered agent is a company, it can be a domestic or foreign entity, as long as it's authorized to exercise business organization in the state.
Physical accost: Must have a physical accost in the state of registration. This location is unremarkably chosen the "registered role." P.O. boxes don't count, so you lot tin can't use a UPS Store, for example.
Availability: Must be available to receive mail service and sign official documents during normal business hours, Monday to Friday, 9 a.k. to five p.m.

Different states have slightly different regulations. For example, in Virginia, but licensed attorneys or officers or members of the business concern tin can serve as registered agents. And Arizona doesn't mandate that registered agents need to exist available during normal business organization hours. Your country's business filing bureau will exist able to tell you lot more than most state-specific requirements.

In some states, the registered amanuensis must submit a consent course indicating that they've agreed to be your company's registered agent.

Keep in mind that if you're registered to do business in multiple states, each state will require you to proper noun a registered agent who has a physical address in that land.

Who can serve as your appointed agent?

Every state gives you the choice to appoint yourself, someone else within the company or a third political party, as long as the appointed agent meets the requirements mentioned higher up (plus any additional state-specific requirements). The but caveat — you tin't proper noun your business as its own registered amanuensis. There needs to a separate, responsible party, whether that'due south an individual or an outside agency.

Any of the post-obit can serve:

Yourself
A business partner, officer, manager or member of the business
A business lawyer
A company that provides this specific service, such as LegalZoom or Rocket Lawyer.

Oft, the quickest, least expensive way is to just appoint yourself or another person in the company as the registered agent. But business owners often detect that this is besides time-consuming or inconvenient and end upwardly appointing either a lawyer or a service.

Joe Horan, the owner of Wrightwood Homes, an Indianapolis-based property buyer, says:

"I originally chose myself because it was the easiest mode to get-go my LLC. But I've recently chosen my attorney to be my registered agent. The principal reason is that my attorney besides has her own real estate business, so she understands the details of mine. She can handle all necessary paperwork and be the 'legal face' of my concern. It's fairly cheap for the service. I pay nigh $100 per year for my attorney to be the registered agent for my business."

Rithvik Musuku, the president and CEO of Advancing Scientific discipline Worldwide, went with an even less expensive option:

"In Arizona (where nosotros are incorporated), a registered agent can be whatsoever person, and there is no requirement for them to be available during normal business organization hours. One of my family members living in Arizona is the registered agent for Advancing Science Worldwide. I would suggest that those looking to start a business look into the registered agent requirements for their specific states."

Ultimately, the state doesn't care so much nearly who you cull, as long as they're doing what's required of them, so make sure your choice is convenient for y'all.

Reasons to use a legal service

Dozens of legal service websites, including LegalZoom, Rocket Lawyer and IncFile, offer registered agent services for a fee. There are multiple benefits to using i of these services, as opposed to appointing yourself or someone else inside the company.

These are the benefits of using a legal service:

Cheap

LegalZoom, Rocket Lawyer and IncFile charge about $150 per year for registered amanuensis services. You lot can find fifty-fifty less expensive services, only the nice matter about sites like LegalZoom is that they also provide other kinds of legal aid with business setup and maintenance.

As your registered amanuensis, they volition take all legal and official correspondence on your company'due south behalf, forwards you lot the documents and give you timely notifications well-nigh pending deadlines or actions that you demand to take.

Saves you fourth dimension

Nearly one-third of small-business organisation owners piece of work more than fifty hours per week. If you're spending time sorting through official mail, that adds to your already busy lifestyle.

By using a service, you're free to keep vacation or accept time off without worrying that you're missing important post. You also salvage fourth dimension of going through junk mail. Since a registered amanuensis's accost is a matter of public tape, y'all volition receive a lot of junk mail if you appoint yourself.

Privacy

Having a registered agent ways that their accost is public record, not your own. This protects your business to some extent from spammers. In addition, when you have an appointed agent, you tin avoid potentially embarrassing moments in front of customers. Imagine beingness served with a lawsuit while you're helping a client. A service will ship you important documents via e-mail and postal mail.

Organisation

If you lot have a fast-growing business, information technology can exist tough to keep all your of import paperwork and deadlines straight. Having a registered amanuensis is one way to ensure that nothing gets lost in the shuffle. In addition to accepting official correspondence, LegalZoom and many other legal services will create a compliance calendar (like the 1 pictured higher up) for your business organisation, noting important regime deadlines.

Matt Ross, co-owner of RIZKNOWS and The Slumber Yard, which operate multiple internet backdrop, chose LegalZoom after using the website for LLC setup.

"We used LegalZoom to form our LLC, and so we thought it was easiest to stick with them equally our registered agent as well… Whenever they receive documents from the state, they immediately snail-mail u.s. copies. Within the LegalZoom account portal, y'all can also only download PDF copies of the documents likewise. In addition, there is also a agenda within the LegalZoom account portal that shows you lot when of import deadlines are budgeted."

Photograph credit: Texas Secretarial assistant of State

Changing your registered agent

No matter who y'all select, yous'll need to keep the information up to date. Having a registered amanuensis is an ongoing requirement, pregnant that you lot need ane every bit long equally your business is operating.

If you alter your registered agent or their contact information changes, you'll need to inform your state's business organization filing bureau. In almost states, there is a modify form (example from Texas shown above) that you tin can download and fill out online. Some states let electronic filing, while others crave that you mail in the form. The fee for changing your appointed agent is usually pretty low, $25 to $50 in most states.

It's like shooting fish in a barrel to forget nearly updating your registered agent, simply make certain y'all fill out the necessary papers. The fines for a lapse can be pretty hefty. And if you get besides long without an appointed agent, the state tin revoke your certificate of good standing or even dissolve your company.

A version of this commodity was start published on Fundera, a subsidiary of NerdWallet