A registered agent will get them for you and then notify you of the deadline that you must meet according to the document. With a reliable person doing this for you, you can stay on top of these time-sensitive items. The second way is because your business image is important and needs to be protected. When you choose to register your business, you are choosing to legitimize it.
By doing this, you need to have a registered agent who can help you maintain your professional image even while you are running around taking care of the business.
This allows you to stay on top of legal matters and also provide better service to your customers at the same time. With a registered agent, you are able to do more and do it better for all of your customers and clients. Ready to Get Started? Create your business documents and use our registered agent service now.
The Ins and Outs of Registered Agents: What You Need to Know Whether you know what a registered agent is or not, it is possible that you have been told that you need one. There are five main reasons why you may not want to act as your own registered agent: You will need to have a physical address in the state — If you do not live in the state in which you do business or have a physical address there, you will not be qualified to be your own registered agent. Additionally, you will need more than a P.
Box or a private rented mailbox because that is not an acceptable address for registered agents. This only complicates things and does not make a lot of sense for your business. You will need a registered agent in every state in which you foreign register your business — If your business is incorporated in multiple states , then you will need to have a registered agent in each of those states unless you have a physical office there.
You cannot be in more than one place at one time, which means you will need to have more than one registered agent. This prevents you from being your own registered agent. You will have to maintain normal business hours — The registered agent in each state you do business will need to be available during normal business hours to accept important documents at the time they are delivered.
If you want to set your own hours, or simply do not want to be tied to an office all day long, then you should consider getting a third party to do this task for you since it is part of the requirement. Also, depending on your type of business, this may be a good idea in the state you are incorporated in , especially if you do not have someone who will be at an office all day long.
You will not be able to move easily — If your address is likely to change, this may pose a problem by adding a long and costly step to your moving process. No matter what, your current address has to remain updated at all times in the state records. When you do move, you will have to complete a formal state filing, and you usually have to pay a fee.
How much you will pay depends on the state, so you should check the fee schedule within each state you are doing business. By using a third-party service, you will not have to worry about this because their address is less likely to change even if yours does every year.
Your address will be public record — Any registered agent's address is part of the public record, which means that anyone can access it if they wish to do so. This may not sound like a big deal until you start getting mail from unwanted mailing lists, spammers, and even marketers. When you register your business with a state, one of the required bits of information is the name and address of your business's registered agent.
This information is important, so don't leave it out. You can put down your name and address as a registered agent, but it's much better to hire someone. This article explains why having a registered agent is a good idea for your business. Every U. A corporation files Articles of Incorporation. Everyone including businesses have a right to due process, with procedures to make sure that the legal process provides for fair procedures. That includes the right to be notified when legal action is taken against them.
The registered agent is the person who is designated to receive federal and state legal documents and service of process a summons or subpoena , for example. For example, it's not enough to just mail a summons to a defendant, because there's no way to be sure that the person received it. Someone must acknowledge receipt, and that's where the registered agent comes in. States want to be sure there is always someone who can sign for these documents.
A registered agent accepts legal paperwork on behalf of your business. This service must have a physical address not a post office box in the state and be open during normal business hours to receive legal notices. If your business is registered in more than one state, you will need a registered agent in each state. Some registered agent businesses can provide this service in every state. The registered agent receives the legal notice, signs for it, and emails a copy of the notice to the business client.
Some registered agents provide additional services for an additional cost, such as filing documents, notifying businesses of upcoming events like an annual filing or a franchise tax filing date.
Here's an example: Delaware has a list of registered agent s that have met the state's listing standards. These standards include:.
Of course, all businesses need to keep up with business tax obligations and respond in a timely way to legal papers. States have required businesses to appoint registered agents for decades. Anyone searching through a business entity database can find out who serves this role for your company. More specifically, here are the three main reasons why registered agents are important:. Receive legal process: People with legitimate legal complaints against a business have an address to send service of process.
Stay in compliance: Official papers notifying you of any action you 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, forward the documents to your business address and notify you of any deadlines or actions that you need to take.
In general, registered agents must meet the following requirements:. Age: If you use an individual, they must be at least 18 years old. Residency: If you use an individual, they must be a resident of the state of registration. Physical address: Must have a physical address in the state of registration. Availability: Must be available to receive mail and sign official documents during normal business hours, Monday to Friday, 9 a.
Different states have slightly different regulations. For example, in Virginia, only licensed attorneys or officers or members of the business can serve as registered agents. Every state gives you the choice to appoint 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.
A business partner, officer, manager or member of the business. A company that provides this specific service, such as LegalZoom or Rocket Lawyer. Often, the quickest, least expensive way is to just appoint yourself or another person in the company as the registered agent. But business owners often 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:. The main reason is that my attorney also has her own real estate business, so she understands the details of mine. One of my family members living in Arizona is the registered agent for Advancing Science Worldwide.
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