What Is A Registered Agent For Business

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

Not simply anyone can fill this role, though. At that place are certain rules you need to follow when choosing one. Find out why you demand a registered agent, who you can appoint and how to change agents.

Who needs a registered agent?

Any business organisation that is registered with the state needs to engage a registered agent, as well called a statutory agent or resident amanuensis in some states.

The post-obit types of businesses need to engage one:

Corporations
Limited liability companies
Limited partnerships
Limited liability partnerships
Limited liability express 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 amanuensis on your articles of incorporation or articles of arrangement.

General partnerships and sole proprietorships don't need to designate one considering these concern types are non registered with the state. Of course, all businesses need to keep up with business tax obligations and respond in a timely style to legal papers. Nevertheless, the government doesn't keep registered agent information on file for sole proprietorships and full general partnerships.

Why practice you need a registered amanuensis?

States have required businesses to appoint registered agents for decades. The primary purpose is to ensure that at that place'due south a reliable fashion for the public, the courts and the regime to contact your company. Once the land has your registered amanuensis information, it'southward a matter of public record. Anyone searching through a business entity database can find out who serves this role for your company.

More specifically, hither are the three master 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 one address.

Nigh businesses hire a legal service or an attorney to serve as registered agent. Your registered agent volition receive legal, revenue enhancement and other official postal service for you, forward the documents to your business organisation accost and notify you of whatsoever deadlines or deportment that you lot need to take. For urgent documents, such as notice of a lawsuit, yous'll likely be notified the very same day.

Registered agent requirements

In full general, registered agents must run across the following requirements:

Historic period: If you lot utilize an individual, they must be at least eighteen years old.
Residency: If you use an individual, they must be a resident of the land of registration. If the registered amanuensis is a visitor, information technology can exist a domestic or foreign entity, as long as it'southward authorized to practise business in the state.
Physical address: Must accept a physical accost in the state of registration. This location is usually called the "registered role." P.O. boxes don't count, so you tin can't use a UPS Store, for example.
Availability: Must be available to receive mail and sign official documents during normal business hours, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Different states take slightly different regulations. For example, in Virginia, only licensed attorneys or officers or members of the business organisation can serve as registered agents. And Arizona doesn't mandate that registered agents need to exist bachelor during normal business concern hours. Your state's business concern filing agency will be able to tell you lot more than nearly state-specific requirements.

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

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

Who tin can serve as your appointed amanuensis?

Every state gives you the option to appoint yourself, someone else inside the company or a third political party, equally long equally the appointed agent meets the requirements mentioned in a higher place (plus any additional state-specific requirements). The only caveat — you can't name your concern as its own registered agent. There needs to a separate, responsible party, whether that'southward an private or an outside bureau.

Whatsoever of the post-obit can serve:

Yourself
A business partner, officer, managing 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 simply appoint yourself or another person in the company as the registered agent. But business concern owners oft find that this is too time-consuming or inconvenient and end up 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 way to start my LLC. Only I've recently called my attorney to exist my registered agent. The chief reason is that my chaser besides has her own real estate business, then she understands the details of mine. She can handle all necessary paperwork and be the 'legal face' of my concern. It's adequately inexpensive for the service. I pay about $100 per year for my chaser to be the registered amanuensis 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 amanuensis can be any person, and there is no requirement for them to exist available during normal business hours. One of my family members living in Arizona is the registered agent for Advancing Scientific discipline Worldwide. I would suggest that those looking to start a business organization look into the registered agent requirements for their specific states."

Ultimately, the land doesn't care so much about who you choose, as long equally they're doing what'south required of them, then brand sure your selection is convenient for you.

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 one of these services, as opposed to appointing yourself or someone else within 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 tin can discover fifty-fifty less expensive services, just the nice affair nigh sites like LegalZoom is that they also provide other kinds of legal assistance with business organisation setup and maintenance.

As your registered agent, they will accept all legal and official correspondence on your company'due south behalf, forward y'all the documents and give yous timely notifications well-nigh awaiting deadlines or actions that you need to have.

Saves you time

Well-nigh one-tertiary of minor-business owners 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 gratuitous to go on vacation or take fourth dimension off without worrying that you're missing important mail. Yous also save time of going through junk mail. Since a registered agent's address is a matter of public record, you will receive a lot of junk mail if y'all engage yourself.

Privacy

Having a registered agent means that their address is public record, non your own. This protects your business concern to some extent from spammers. In addition, when yous accept an appointed agent, you lot can avoid potentially embarrassing moments in front of customers. Imagine beingness served with a lawsuit while you're helping a customer. A service volition send y'all important documents via electronic mail and postal mail service.

Arrangement

If you lot have a fast-growing business, information technology can be tough to proceed all your of import paperwork and deadlines straight. Having a registered agent is 1 fashion to ensure that nothing gets lost in the shuffle. In improver to accepting official correspondence, LegalZoom and many other legal services will create a compliance agenda (similar the ane pictured above) for your business organization, noting important government deadlines.

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

"We used LegalZoom to grade our LLC, then we thought information technology was easiest to stick with them as our registered agent equally well… Whenever they receive documents from the state, they immediately snail-mail us copies. Within the LegalZoom account portal, you can also simply download PDF copies of the documents too. In add-on, there is also a calendar inside the LegalZoom account portal that shows you when of import deadlines are approaching."

Photo credit: Texas Secretary of Country

Changing your registered amanuensis

No matter who yous select, you lot'll demand to keep the information upwards to date. Having a registered agent is an ongoing requirement, significant that you demand one as long equally your business is operating.

If you change your registered amanuensis or their contact information changes, you lot'll need to inform your state's business filing agency. In nearly states, at that place is a change grade (example from Texas shown higher up) that you can download and fill out online. Some states allow electronic filing, while others require that you postal service in the class. The fee for changing your appointed agent is usually pretty low, $25 to $fifty in near states.

It'southward easy to forget almost updating your registered agent, but make sure you fill out the necessary papers. The fines for a lapse can be pretty hefty. And if you go too long without an appointed agent, the state can revoke your certificate of skilful standing or even dissolve your visitor.

A version of this article was get-go published on Fundera, a subsidiary of NerdWallet