A registered agent is a person or business entity appointed to accept legal documents and official mail on behalf of a limited liability company (LLC), corporation, limited partnership (LP), limited liability partnership (LLP), or nonprofit.
A registered agent is also known as a statutory agent, resident agent, or agent for service of process.
Nearly every state requires an LLC, LLP, or corporation to designate a registered agent. Pennsylvania is the main exception: it requires a registered office address instead, which can be your own address or a commercial registered office provider (CROP).
When starting an LLC, you’ll file articles of organization (called a certificate of formation in some states) with the secretary of state, at which point you need to appoint a registered agent.
By appointing a registered agent for your LLC, you’ll ensure you never miss legal correspondence, such as service of process, or a pending lawsuit against your business.
And there are other benefits too, all of which I’ll cover in this post.
What’s the Purpose of a Registered Agent?
Registered agents act as the point of contact between your business and the state.
A registered agent keeps a reliable line of communication open with your state’s office and is available during business hours to accept service of process and official notices, then forward them to you. Many registered agent services also send annual report reminders, although that’s an added service rather than a legal duty.
Having a registered agent enables you to take appropriate action and resolve potential issues in a timely manner.
Whether you run a small LLC or a large corporation, your designated registered agent will receive the following on your behalf:
- Legal documents
- Tax notices from the state
- Official government correspondence, such as annual report notices
- Service of process – notice of a lawsuit
Who can be a registered agent?
Every state has its own regulations and rules regarding the qualifications pertaining to serving as a registered agent. One such is whether your agent must be a registered business or if an individual can fill the role.
If an individual serves as your registered agent, 3 requirements apply throughout the U.S.:
- They must be 18 years or older.
- They must have a physical street address in the state of formation. A P.O. box doesn’t qualify.
- They must be available in person at that address during regular business hours.
A commercial registered agent is a business rather than a person, so the age rule doesn’t apply. It still needs a physical address in the state and must be open during regular business hours.
Can I be my own registered agent?
Yes, you can appoint yourself as a registered agent, and in some states, you can even select your business.
While designating yourself might sound like the simplest solution, it’s not advisable for several reasons. None more so than privacy, since a registered agent’s name and address go on the public record.
Can my business address be my registered agent?
If you act as your own registered agent, your business address can serve as your registered office, as long as it’s a physical street address in the state. It doesn’t work the other way around: most registered agent services won’t let you use their address as your business or mailing address unless you buy a separate virtual business address service.
Keep in mind that a registered agent’s job is to receive service of process and official state notices, not your everyday mail.
If you use your business address, make sure you own or control it and can reliably receive mail there during business hours. If you miss a lawsuit notice, a court can enter a default judgment against your business. And if you miss official state notices, your LLC can lose its good standing or even be administratively dissolved. Learn more about the penalties for not having a registered agent.
Should I use a registered agent service instead?
Making anything foolproof is a difficult task, and when it comes to your business’s response to legal notification or compliance, you need a water-tight solution. Because if you miss something important, saying, “I didn’t receive it in the mail” holds no water where your state, financial institution, or a court is concerned.
Simply put, the best way to ensure your business never misses a compliance obligation and avoids costly results is to use a registered agent service.
But a registered agent provides more than an inbound postal service. They can help you in a variety of ways, such as:
- Compliance with the law
- Privacy
- Flexibility
- Reduce your paperwork
All of which are worth learning more about, so we’ll look at those next.
5 Benefits of Using a Registered Agent Service
Designating a professional 3rd party to serve as a registered agent for your business has real benefits.
Such as never missing a deadline or necessary paperwork. Providing you with the geographical freedom to operate in several states without needing your own physical address in each one. And if you have a physical place of business and should need to move, you’ll avoid the process of filing change of address paperwork for your registered office.
And your registered agent knows who to contact within your business to make updates and verify information when required.
1. Peace of mind to deal with your small business
Registered agents provide peace of mind to business owners at a relatively affordable cost. Freeing up your time and energy to attend to your business while ensuring you never miss a legal beat.
But more importantly, they buy you time to do the following:
Make growing your business your priority – All legal and tax documents for your company will be received, logged, and stored safely, giving you more time to run your daily business activities.
Separate work from personal life – Your personal and business mail will remain independent, ensuring your home doesn’t become an office.
2. Compliance with the state law
Complying with state law is both labor and time-intensive due to the unavoidable requirements of completing long and often confusing government forms, many of which require additional information from numerous sources.
By employing a registered agent, you’ll stay up-to-date and avoid unnecessary state late filing penalty fees, helping your business stay in good standing with your state.
Most registered agent services also send regular reminders, and many can file your annual report for you as an add-on service.
And if you lose official documents to a natural disaster, fire, or theft at your place of business, a provider that scans your documents into an online account will still have copies, helping you maintain compliance.
3. Privacy
A registered agent’s address is a matter of public record, meaning anyone can access it. And if you’re a home-based business owner, you could have safety and privacy concerns about using your home address.
Listing a registered agent’s address instead of your own keeps your address out of those public records, which also cuts down on the junk mail and solicitations that come with being listed. Keep in mind that many states still publish the names of an LLC’s owners or organizers, so a registered agent protects your address rather than your identity.
In case of a lawsuit, having a registered agent makes it far less likely you’ll be served in person. No one wants to receive a summons, let alone in front of employees, customers, or worse, family. (If someone sues you personally rather than your business, they can still serve you directly.)
4. Flexibility
Flexibility concerning remote working, pliable working hours, geographical freedom, and multi-state trading have become necessary for many modern-day business owners. And registered agents facilitate that flexibility.
You don’t maintain regular business hours
A registered agent’s address must be open during regular business hours to receive official mail and other essential documents. By designating a registered agent, you’re free to choose your working hours 365 days a year.
Your company does business in several states
If your business operates in other states, for example by having an office or employees there, you’ll usually need to register in each one. This is called foreign qualification, and you’ll need a registered agent in every state where you register.
When you appoint a national registered agent service, all your entity requirements are met and payable with one vendor, streamlining your accounting process.
You travel frequently or do not have a permanent worksite
Business owners who trade without a permanent work address have grown in popularity due to e-commerce and the gig economy.
And travel flexibility is also vital to a long list of traditional services, such as professional tradespeople, real estate agents, and salespeople who often work out of the office.
Meaning a registered agent’s service is equally valuable to both new and old business models.
5. Reduce your paperwork
Registered agents safeguard your business’s compliance by maintaining official paperwork, but they’re also seasoned professionals whose experience and service ensure every correspondence is handled correctly.
And managing your annual report filings can fall into that category—especially if you’re doing business in multiple states.
Many registered agent services offer annual report management as an add-on, which typically includes:
- A yearly filing reminder
- A check that your required information is accurate
- Updates to relevant details on state forms
- Filing your annual report with the state
- Confirmation once the filing is complete
The Disadvantages of a Registered Agent Service
One of the only disadvantages to designating a registered agent is the cost (isn’t it always?).
If you’re a small business owner on a tight budget, open during regular business hours, and have the knowledge required to maintain and update business compliance obligations, you could save yourself the cost of designating a 3rd party registered agent.
However, using a registered agent service could help you avoid late filing fees or legal trouble caused by missing or misplacing a critical notice or document. And as registered agent fees are often cost-effective and usually tax-deductible as a business expense, employing one could save you time and money in the long run.
Annual/monthly fee
Registered agent fees vary from company to company and according to your needs, but generally, costs range from about $50 to $300 a year. Some providers include the first year free when you form your business with them.
When sourcing a registered agent, look for one offering a lower introductory fee for the first year and possible cost-reducing bundles, such as business formation, annual filing, and other services.
If you need to change your registered agent for any reason, be aware that some states charge a fee to file and update your paperwork, while others provide this service free of charge.
You Can Do It Yourself
As I’ve mentioned a few times already, you can act as your own registered agent if you:
- Have formed a corporation, LLC, limited partnership, or limited liability partnership
- Have a physical street address in the state of registration
- Are available at that address during regular business hours
- Are at least 18 years old
Most states don’t allow a business entity to serve as its own registered agent. A few do, such as Delaware, as long as the business has a physical address in the state. Our guide on being your own registered agent covers the requirements and risks in more detail.
Sole proprietorships and general partnerships don’t need to designate a registered agent as these business types are not obliged to register with their state.
How to Choose a Registered Agent
In addition to having a legitimate address and office in your state of business, you should choose a registered agent that provides the following services:
Document management – An online business account where you can access your official legal documents whenever you need them.
Compliance management – A reminder service for filing important deadlines and annual reports.
Thorough coverage – If you do business in more than one state, choose a provider that can act as your registered agent in every state where you’re registered. National providers keep an address in all 50 states.
Availability – Ensure your agent provides a reliable customer service team that’s available to answer questions regarding your business.
And it’s advisable to check an agent’s reviews online and on its Google Business Profile before choosing one.
Some states also publish a list of registered commercial agents. Pennsylvania, for example, keeps a list of commercial registered office providers you can use to confirm a provider is registered with the state.
Tailor Brands offers a registered agent service in all 50 states, so you can handle formation and compliance in one place.
FAQ
Yes. Nearly every state requires LLCs, LLPs and corporations to name a registered agent when they file formation documents with the secretary of state. Pennsylvania requires a registered office address instead, which can be a commercial registered office provider. Sole proprietorships and general partnerships don’t need one, because they aren’t required to register with the state.
Most registered agent services charge between $50 and $300 a year. The price depends on the provider and on what’s included. Many offer a discounted first year or bundle the service with formation and annual report filing. The fee is usually tax-deductible as a business expense.
Your business could fall out of good standing with the state, face penalties, or eventually be administratively dissolved. You could also miss a service of process notice. If you do, a court can rule against your business without hearing your side.
Yes. To switch, you file a change of registered agent form with the secretary of state in each state where your business is registered. Some states charge a filing fee for this and others don’t.
Yes. If you register your business to operate in other states (called foreign qualification), you need a registered agent with a physical address in each of those states. A national registered agent service can cover all of them under one account.