What Does It Mean To Be A Registered Agent

A registered agent is an private or company that receives service of procedure, legal documents and official notices on your business concern'south behalf. When registering a business organisation entity, you'll be required to engage a registered agent who has a concrete address in the land of registration.

Non just anyone can fill up this office, though. There are certain rules you need to follow when choosing i. Find out why you lot need a registered agent, who y'all can engage and how to modify agents.

Who needs a registered amanuensis?

Any business that is registered with the state needs to appoint a registered agent, besides called a statutory agent or resident amanuensis in some states.

The following types of businesses demand to appoint 1:

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

If you lot have i of these business types, you'll be asked to proper noun your registered agent during incorporation or business registration. In that location'southward typically a spot to designate your registered amanuensis on your articles of incorporation or articles of system.

Full general partnerships and sole proprietorships don't need to designate 1 because these business types are non registered with the state. Of course, all businesses demand to keep up with business tax obligations and respond in a timely way to legal papers. However, the government doesn't keep registered agent information on file for sole proprietorships and general partnerships.

Why do y'all demand a registered amanuensis?

States have required businesses to engage registered agents for decades. The main purpose is to ensure that at that place's a reliable way for the public, the courts and the government to contact your company. Once the state has your registered agent information, information technology's a matter of public record. Anyone searching through a business entity database tin can detect out who serves this part for your company.

More than specifically, here are the three main reasons why registered agents are important:

Receive legal procedure: People with legitimate legal complaints against a business organisation have an address to send service of process.
Regime can contact you: The authorities knows how to contact a business organisation that'due south delinquent on taxes or noncompliant with other laws.
Stay in compliance: Official papers notifying you of any action y'all need to take get to i address.

Most businesses hire a legal service or an attorney to serve as registered agent. Your registered agent will receive legal, tax and other official mail for you, forward the documents to your business address and notify you lot of any deadlines or actions that yous demand to take. For urgent documents, such as notice of a lawsuit, you'll likely be notified the very aforementioned twenty-four hours.

Registered agent requirements

In general, registered agents must meet the following requirements:

Age: If y'all use an individual, they must exist at least 18 years onetime.
Residency: If you lot utilise an individual, they must be a resident of the country of registration. If the registered agent is a visitor, it can exist a domestic or foreign entity, as long as information technology'south authorized to do business organization in the state.
Physical address: Must accept a physical accost in the state of registration. This location is usually called the "registered office." P.O. boxes don't count, so you can't use a UPS Store, for case.
Availability: Must be bachelor to receive postal service and sign official documents during normal business hours, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Different states have slightly different regulations. For instance, in Virginia, only licensed attorneys or officers or members of the business can serve every bit registered agents. And Arizona doesn't mandate that registered agents demand to exist available during normal business hours. Your state'due south business filing agency will be able to tell you more most state-specific requirements.

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

Go on in mind that if you lot're registered to do business in multiple states, each state will require you lot to proper name a registered agent who has a physical accost in that state.

Who can serve as your appointed agent?

Every country gives you the choice to appoint yourself, someone else within the visitor or a third party, every bit long as the appointed agent meets the requirements mentioned above (plus any additional state-specific requirements). The only caveat — you tin't proper name your business concern equally its own registered agent. There needs to a separate, responsible party, whether that's an private or an outside bureau.

Any of the following can serve:

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

Often, the quickest, least expensive way is to merely appoint yourself or another person in the visitor as the registered agent. But business owners often find that this is besides time-consuming or inconvenient and cease upward 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 information technology was the easiest manner to start my LLC. Only I've recently chosen my chaser to exist my registered agent. The main reason is that my attorney likewise has her own real estate business concern, so she understands the details of mine. She tin handle all necessary paperwork and exist the 'legal face' of my business organisation. Information technology's adequately inexpensive for the service. I pay about $100 per twelvemonth for my attorney to exist the registered agent for my business."

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

"In Arizona (where we are incorporated), a registered agent tin can be whatsoever person, and at that place is no requirement for them to exist available during normal business hours. I of my family unit members living in Arizona is the registered agent for Advancing Scientific discipline Worldwide. I would suggest that those looking to start a business wait into the registered agent requirements for their specific states."

Ultimately, the state doesn't intendance so much about who you lot choose, every bit long as they're doing what's required of them, so make sure your selection is convenient for you.

Reasons to apply 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 one of these services, as opposed to appointing yourself or someone else within the visitor.

These are the benefits of using a legal service:

Cheap

LegalZoom, Rocket Lawyer and IncFile accuse virtually $150 per year for registered amanuensis services. You can find fifty-fifty less expensive services, but the dainty thing most sites like LegalZoom is that they also provide other kinds of legal assist with business setup and maintenance.

As your registered agent, they will accept all legal and official correspondence on your company's behalf, frontward y'all the documents and give you timely notifications about pending deadlines or actions that you lot demand to take.

Saves you lot time

Almost 1-tertiary of pocket-size-business owners work more than l hours per week. If you're spending time sorting through official post, that adds to your already decorated lifestyle.

By using a service, you're gratuitous to go along vacation or accept time off without worrying that you're missing important post. You also salvage time of going through junk postal service. Since a registered amanuensis's address is a matter of public record, you lot volition receive a lot of junk mail if you appoint yourself.

Privacy

Having a registered amanuensis means that their accost is public tape, not your own. This protects your business concern to some extent from spammers. In addition, when yous have an appointed agent, you can avert potentially embarrassing moments in forepart of customers. Imagine being served with a lawsuit while you lot're helping a customer. A service will send you important documents via email and postal mail.

Organization

If yous accept a fast-growing business, it tin can be tough to keep all your important paperwork and deadlines straight. Having a registered agent is one mode to ensure that zero gets lost in the shuffle. In improver to accepting official correspondence, LegalZoom and many other legal services will create a compliance agenda (like the one pictured above) for your business, noting important government deadlines.

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

"We used LegalZoom to form our LLC, so nosotros thought it was easiest to stick with them as our registered agent equally well… Whenever they receive documents from the state, they immediately snail-mail united states copies. Within the LegalZoom account portal, yous can also simply download PDF copies of the documents as well. In addition, in that location is also a calendar inside the LegalZoom account portal that shows you when important deadlines are budgeted."

Photo credit: Texas Secretary of Country

Irresolute your registered agent

No affair who yous select, yous'll need to keep the information upwards to date. Having a registered agent is an ongoing requirement, meaning that you need ane every bit long as your business organisation is operating.

If y'all change your registered agent or their contact information changes, you'll need to inform your state'south business filing agency. In virtually states, there is a modify form (example from Texas shown above) that you can download and fill out online. Some states allow electronic filing, while others crave that you lot mail in the grade. The fee for changing your appointed amanuensis is unremarkably pretty depression, $25 to $l in most states.

It'south easy to forget most updating your registered agent, only make sure you make full out the necessary papers. The fines for a lapse can be pretty hefty. And if you go too long without an appointed amanuensis, the state can revoke your certificate of good continuing or even dissolve your visitor.

A version of this article was first published on Fundera, a subsidiary of NerdWallet