Do You Have To Have A Registered Agent To Form An Llc

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

Not just anyone can fill this function, though. There are sure rules y'all need to follow when choosing one. Find out why you need a registered amanuensis, who you can 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, besides called a statutory agent or resident agent in some states.

The following types of businesses need to appoint ane:

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

If you have ane of these business types, you'll exist asked to name your registered agent during incorporation or business concern registration. In that location'south typically a spot to designate your registered agent on your articles of incorporation or articles of arrangement.

General partnerships and sole proprietorships don't need to designate one considering these business types are non registered with the land. Of class, all businesses need to keep up with business tax obligations and respond in a timely way to legal papers. However, the authorities doesn't keep registered agent data on file for sole proprietorships and general partnerships.

Why practise you need a registered agent?

States have required businesses to appoint registered agents for decades. The main purpose is to ensure that at that place's a reliable way for the public, the courts and the authorities to contact your company. One time the state has your registered agent information, it's a matter of public record. 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 procedure: People with legitimate legal complaints against a business have an accost to transport service of process.
Government can contact you: The regime knows how to contact a business organization that's runaway on taxes or noncompliant with other laws.
Stay in compliance: Official papers notifying y'all of whatsoever activeness you need to take go to one address.

Well-nigh businesses rent a legal service or an attorney to serve as registered amanuensis. 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 have. For urgent documents, such every bit notice of a lawsuit, you'll likely be notified the very same day.

Registered agent requirements

In general, registered agents must meet the following requirements:

Age: If you use an individual, they must exist at to the lowest degree 18 years quondam.
Residency: If you use an individual, they must be a resident of the land of registration. If the registered amanuensis is a company, it tin can be a domestic or strange entity, as long as it'southward authorized to do business organisation in the country.
Physical address: Must take a concrete address in the state of registration. This location is commonly called the "registered office." P.O. boxes don't count, so you can't utilise a UPS Store, for example.
Availability: Must be available to receive postal service and sign official documents during normal concern hours, Mon to Fri, nine a.1000. to 5 p.chiliad.

Different states have slightly different regulations. For example, in Virginia, but licensed attorneys or officers or members of the business can serve every bit registered agents. And Arizona doesn't mandate that registered agents need to be bachelor during normal business hours. Your state's business filing agency volition exist able to tell you more about state-specific requirements.

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

Go on in mind that if you're registered to do business in multiple states, each state will require yous to name a registered agent who has a physical accost in that state.

Who tin serve as your appointed amanuensis?

Every state gives yous the choice to appoint yourself, someone else within the visitor or a tertiary party, as long equally the appointed agent meets the requirements mentioned in a higher place (plus whatsoever additional land-specific requirements). The just caveat — you can't proper noun your business as its own registered agent. In that location needs to a dissever, responsible party, whether that's an individual or an outside agency.

Whatsoever of the following can serve:

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

Frequently, the quickest, least expensive style is to merely appoint yourself or some other person in the company equally the registered agent. But business owners often discover that this is as well time-consuming or inconvenient and terminate up appointing either a lawyer or a service.

Joe Horan, the possessor of Wrightwood Homes, an Indianapolis-based property buyer, says:

"I originally chose myself considering it was the easiest way to first my LLC. But I've recently called my attorney to be my registered agent. The main reason is that my attorney also has her own real estate business organisation, so she understands the details of mine. She tin can handle all necessary paperwork and be the 'legal face' of my business. Information technology's fairly cheap for the service. I pay about $100 per year for my attorney to be the registered agent for my business."

Rithvik Musuku, the president and CEO of Advancing Science Worldwide, went with an even less expensive choice:

"In Arizona (where nosotros are incorporated), a registered amanuensis can be any person, and there is no requirement for them to be available during normal business organisation 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 look into the registered amanuensis requirements for their specific states."

Ultimately, the land doesn't care and so much virtually who yous cull, equally long every bit they're doing what's required of them, and then make sure your option is convenient for you.

Reasons to use a legal service

Dozens of legal service websites, including LegalZoom, Rocket Lawyer and IncFile, offering registered agent services for a fee. There are multiple benefits to using 1 of these services, as opposed to appointing yourself or someone else within the company.

These are the benefits of using a legal service:

Inexpensive

LegalZoom, Rocket Lawyer and IncFile charge about $150 per twelvemonth for registered agent services. You tin can observe even less expensive services, but the nice affair well-nigh sites like LegalZoom is that they besides provide other kinds of legal aid with business setup and maintenance.

As your registered agent, they volition accept all legal and official correspondence on your company'due south behalf, frontwards you the documents and requite you timely notifications about awaiting deadlines or actions that you lot need to take.

Saves you lot time

Nearly one-third of small-business organization owners work more than fifty hours per calendar week. If you lot're spending time sorting through official post, that adds to your already decorated lifestyle.

Past using a service, you lot're gratis to keep vacation or have time off without worrying that yous're missing important mail. You also save time of going through junk mail. Since a registered agent's accost is a matter of public record, y'all will receive a lot of junk mail if you appoint yourself.

Privacy

Having a registered agent means that their address is public record, non your ain. This protects your business organization to some extent from spammers. In improver, when you have an appointed agent, you can avoid potentially embarrassing moments in front of customers. Imagine existence served with a lawsuit while you're helping a client. A service will transport you important documents via email and postal mail.

Organisation

If you take a fast-growing concern, it can be tough to go along all your important paperwork and deadlines direct. Having a registered amanuensis is one way to ensure that zippo gets lost in the shuffle. In addition to accepting official correspondence, LegalZoom and many other legal services volition create a compliance calendar (like the one pictured above) for your business organization, noting important regime deadlines.

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

"We used LegalZoom to form our LLC, so nosotros thought it was easiest to stick with them as our registered amanuensis as well… Whenever they receive documents from the state, they immediately snail-mail us copies. Inside the LegalZoom account portal, you can also just download PDF copies of the documents too. In addition, there is too a calendar within the LegalZoom account portal that shows yous when important deadlines are approaching."

Photograph credit: Texas Secretary of Land

Irresolute your registered agent

No affair who yous select, you'll need to proceed the information up to date. Having a registered amanuensis is an ongoing requirement, pregnant that you need one as long as your business is operating.

If y'all change your registered agent or their contact information changes, you'll need to inform your country's business filing agency. In most states, at that place is a change class (example from Texas shown in a higher place) that yous can download and fill up out online. Some states permit electronic filing, while others require that you post in the grade. The fee for changing your appointed amanuensis is usually pretty low, $25 to $50 in virtually states.

Information technology's easy to forget well-nigh updating your registered agent, but brand sure you fill out the necessary papers. The fines for a lapse can be pretty hefty. And if you become too long without an appointed agent, the state can revoke your certificate of expert continuing or even dissolve your company.

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