What Does Requires An Agent To Register Mean

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, yous'll be required to engage a registered amanuensis who has a concrete address in the state of registration.

Not just anyone can fill this office, though. There are certain rules you need to follow when choosing one. Find out why you lot demand a registered amanuensis, who yous tin appoint and how to change agents.

Who needs a registered agent?

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

The following types of businesses need to appoint ane:

Corporations
Limited liability companies
Express partnerships
Limited liability partnerships
Limited liability express partnerships (not recognized in every country).

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

General partnerships and sole proprietorships don't need to designate i because these business types are not registered with the state. Of course, all businesses need to keep upward with business tax obligations and respond in a timely style to legal papers. However, the government doesn't keep registered agent information on file for sole proprietorships and general partnerships.

Why practice yous demand a registered agent?

States accept required businesses to appoint registered agents for decades. The main purpose is to ensure that there'due south a reliable mode for the public, the courts and the government to contact your visitor. In one case the state has your registered amanuensis information, it's a matter of public record. Anyone searching through a business concern entity database can discover out who serves this role for your company.

More than 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 accost to send service of process.
Government can contact you: The government knows how to contact a business that's delinquent on taxes or noncompliant with other laws.
Stay in compliance: Official papers notifying you of whatever action yous need to take go to one 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, frontwards the documents to your business accost and notify you of any deadlines or actions that you need to take. For urgent documents, such as find of a lawsuit, you'll likely be notified the very same twenty-four hour period.

Registered agent requirements

In general, registered agents must run into the following requirements:

Age: If you use an individual, they must exist at least eighteen years former.
Residency: If you utilize an individual, they must be a resident of the state of registration. If the registered amanuensis is a visitor, information technology tin be a domestic or foreign entity, as long equally it'southward authorized to exercise business in the land.
Physical accost: Must have a physical address in the state of registration. This location is usually called the "registered office." P.O. boxes don't count, so you tin can't use a UPS Shop, for example.
Availability: Must be available to receive mail and sign official documents during normal business organization hours, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.1000.

Different states accept slightly unlike regulations. For example, in Virginia, simply licensed attorneys or officers or members of the business can serve as registered agents. And Arizona doesn't mandate that registered agents need to be bachelor during normal business organisation hours. Your state'south business organization filing agency volition be able to tell you more about 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 amanuensis.

Keep in listen that if you're registered to practise business in multiple states, each land volition require you to name a registered amanuensis who has a physical address in that state.

Who can serve every bit your appointed amanuensis?

Every state gives you the choice to engage yourself, someone else within the company or a third party, as long as the appointed agent meets the requirements mentioned above (plus any additional state-specific requirements). The but caveat — you can't name your business organisation as its own registered agent. At that place needs to a separate, responsible political party, whether that's an individual or an outside agency.

Whatever of the following can serve:

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

Frequently, the quickest, least expensive fashion is to simply appoint yourself or some other person in the company as the registered agent. But business organisation owners often detect that this is besides 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. Just I've recently called my chaser to be my registered amanuensis. The primary reason is that my attorney also 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 business. It's adequately inexpensive for the service. I pay almost $100 per year for my attorney to be the registered agent for my business organization."

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 can be whatsoever person, and at that place is no requirement for them to be available during normal business 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 organisation look into the registered agent requirements for their specific states."

Ultimately, the state doesn't care and so much nigh who you choose, as long equally they're doing what's required of them, so make sure your choice is user-friendly 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 i 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 charge most $150 per year for registered agent services. You can find fifty-fifty less expensive services, simply the nice affair about sites like LegalZoom is that they also provide other kinds of legal assistance with business setup and maintenance.

As your registered agent, they will accept all legal and official correspondence on your company's behalf, forwards you the documents and requite you timely notifications about pending deadlines or actions that yous need to accept.

Saves you time

Nearly i-third of small-business owners work more than 50 hours per week. If yous're spending time sorting through official postal service, that adds to your already busy lifestyle.

By using a service, you're free to go on vacation or have time off without worrying that you're missing important mail. You likewise save time of going through junk mail. Since a registered agent'due south address is a affair of public record, y'all will receive a lot of junk mail if you engage yourself.

Privacy

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

Organization

If you have a fast-growing business organization, it can exist tough to keep all your important paperwork and deadlines straight. Having a registered agent 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 above) for your business organisation, noting important regime deadlines.

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

"Nosotros used LegalZoom to class our LLC, and then nosotros thought information technology was easiest to stick with them as our registered amanuensis as well… Whenever they receive documents from the state, they immediately snail-mail service u.s.a. copies. Inside the LegalZoom account portal, you lot can likewise just download PDF copies of the documents as well. In improver, there is besides a agenda within the LegalZoom account portal that shows you when important deadlines are budgeted."

Photograph credit: Texas Secretary of State

Changing your registered agent

No matter who yous select, you'll need to keep the information up to date. Having a registered amanuensis is an ongoing requirement, meaning that you demand one as long as your business concern is operating.

If you lot change your registered agent or their contact information changes, you lot'll need to inform your state'southward business organisation filing agency. In nigh states, there is a alter form (example from Texas shown to a higher place) that you tin download and fill out online. Some states allow electronic filing, while others require that you postal service in the course. The fee for changing your appointed amanuensis is usually pretty low, $25 to $fifty in most states.

It'south easy to forget almost updating your registered agent, simply make certain 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 tin revoke your certificate of good standing or fifty-fifty dissolve your company.

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