Is A Registered Agent The Same As An Insurance Agent

A registered agent is an private or visitor that receives service of process, legal documents and official notices on your business'due south behalf. When registering a business entity, you'll exist required to engage a registered amanuensis who has a physical address in the state of registration.

Not but anyone tin can fill this role, though. At that place are certain rules you need to follow when choosing one. Discover out why you lot need a registered agent, who you can engage and how to change agents.

Who needs a registered agent?

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

The following types of businesses need to appoint 1:

Corporations
Limited liability companies
Limited partnerships
Limited liability partnerships
Limited liability limited partnerships (not recognized in every state).

If you have ane of these business concern types, you'll exist asked to name your registered agent during incorporation or business organization registration. There's typically a spot to designate your registered agent on your articles of incorporation or manufactures of organization.

General partnerships and sole proprietorships don't need to designate one because these business concern types are not registered with the state. Of course, all businesses demand to continue upwardly with business tax obligations and respond in a timely way to legal papers. Withal, the government doesn't continue registered agent information on file for sole proprietorships and full general partnerships.

Why exercise you need a registered agent?

States have required businesses to engage registered agents for decades. The main purpose is to ensure that in that location'south a reliable way for the public, the courts and the authorities to contact your company. Once the land has your registered agent data, it's a matter of public record. Anyone searching through a concern entity database can find out who serves this role for your company.

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

Receive legal process: People with legitimate legal complaints confronting a concern have an address to send service of procedure.
Government can contact you: The government knows how to contact a business that'southward delinquent on taxes or noncompliant with other laws.
Stay in compliance: Official papers notifying you of whatsoever activeness you lot need to have go to ane address.

Almost businesses hire a legal service or an attorney to serve as registered agent. Your registered amanuensis will receive legal, tax and other official mail for you, forward the documents to your business organisation address and notify you of any deadlines or actions that y'all need to take. For urgent documents, such equally notice of a lawsuit, you'll likely be notified the very same day.

Registered agent requirements

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

Age: If you apply an individual, they must be at least 18 years old.
Residency: If yous use an individual, they must be a resident of the state of registration. If the registered agent is a visitor, information technology can be a domestic or foreign entity, equally long equally information technology's authorized to do business organisation in the country.
Concrete accost: Must take a physical address in the state of registration. This location is usually chosen the "registered part." P.O. boxes don't count, so yous can't use a UPS Store, for example.
Availability: Must be available to receive mail service and sign official documents during normal business concern hours, Monday to Friday, nine a.thousand. to 5 p.m.

Different states take slightly unlike regulations. For instance, in Virginia, just 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 be available during normal business concern hours. Your state'southward business filing agency volition be able to tell yous more about land-specific requirements.

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

Keep in listen that if y'all're registered to do business organization in multiple states, each land volition crave you lot to proper name a registered agent who has a physical address in that state.

Who can serve every bit your appointed agent?

Every state gives yous the choice to appoint yourself, someone else within the company or a third party, as long as the appointed agent meets the requirements mentioned to a higher place (plus any boosted state-specific requirements). The only caveat — yous tin can't name your business as its own registered agent. There needs to a split, responsible political party, whether that'south an individual or an outside agency.

Any of the following can serve:

Yourself
A business organisation partner, officer, managing director or fellow member of the business organization
A business lawyer
A company that provides this specific service, such as LegalZoom or Rocket Lawyer.

Often, the quickest, to the lowest degree expensive way is to merely appoint yourself or some other person in the company as the registered agent. But business organisation owners often find 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 belongings buyer, says:

"I originally chose myself because it was the easiest way to kickoff my LLC. Only I've recently chosen my attorney to be my registered agent. The main reason is that my attorney also has her ain real manor business organization, so she understands the details of mine. She tin handle all necessary paperwork and be the 'legal face' of my business organization. Information technology'south fairly inexpensive for the service. I pay most $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 choice:

"In Arizona (where we are incorporated), a registered agent can be whatever person, and in that location 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 propose that those looking to start a business look into the registered agent requirements for their specific states."

Ultimately, the country doesn't intendance and so much nearly who you cull, equally long as they're doing what'due south required of them, so make certain your pick is convenient for you.

Reasons to utilise 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 ane of these services, equally opposed to appointing yourself or someone else inside the company.

These are the benefits of using a legal service:

Inexpensive

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

Equally your registered agent, they will take all legal and official correspondence on your visitor'south behalf, forward you the documents and give you timely notifications about pending deadlines or actions that you need to take.

Saves you time

Well-nigh one-third of pocket-sized-business owners work more 50 hours per week. If yous're spending time sorting through official mail service, that adds to your already busy lifestyle.

By using a service, you're complimentary to become on holiday or take time off without worrying that yous're missing of import mail. Yous as well save time of going through junk postal service. Since a registered agent's address is a matter of public record, you will receive a lot of junk mail if yous appoint yourself.

Privacy

Having a registered agent means that their accost is public record, not your ain. This protects your business to some extent from spammers. In improver, when you have an appointed agent, you lot tin avoid potentially embarrassing moments in front of customers. Imagine beingness served with a lawsuit while you're helping a customer. A service volition send you important documents via email and postal mail.

Organization

If you have a fast-growing business concern, it can exist tough to keep all your important paperwork and deadlines directly. Having a registered amanuensis is ane 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 one pictured above) for your business, noting important government deadlines.

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

"We used LegalZoom to grade our LLC, so we thought it was easiest to stick with them as our registered agent as well… Whenever they receive documents from the country, they immediately snail-mail united states of america copies. Within the LegalZoom account portal, you tin can likewise just download PDF copies of the documents as well. In addition, in that location is as well a calendar within the LegalZoom account portal that shows you when of import deadlines are approaching."

Photograph credit: Texas Secretary of State

Changing your registered agent

No matter who you select, you'll demand to keep the information upward to date. Having a registered amanuensis is an ongoing requirement, meaning that you need 1 as long as your business is operating.

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

It's easy to forget about updating your registered amanuensis, simply brand sure yous fill out the necessary papers. The fines for a lapse can be pretty hefty. And if you become besides long without an appointed agent, the country tin can revoke your certificate of good continuing or even dissolve your company.

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