Businesses that choose to go with a professional registered agent often find that it saves them time, money, and hassle. These services specialize in this statutory requirement and are familiar with the varying requirements and deadlines from state to state.
Typically, this person or business will accept legal documents and government notices on your company’s behalf. This can include service of process, tax notices, and business registration renewals.
Service of Process
A registered agent (also known as an agent for service of process or a statutory agent) is the person or company that a business must designate in order to receive legal documents, such as lawsuits and official correspondence. A good registered agent, in the simplest terms, is someone who will accept these time-sensitive documents for a business and then forward them to the proper individual within that business.
State law requires that every business entity or foreign corporation that does business in the state have a resident agent (sometimes called an agent for service of process). In some cases, federal laws also require businesses to have an agent for service of process.
Typically, the individual who designates this agent will be an officer or other authorized employee of the business. However, some states allow the business to choose its own agent, as long as that person meets the state requirements. For consistency, many business owners choose to work with a registered agent company that provides services nationwide.
Notices
A registered agent is a person or entity to whom a lawsuit or official government notice is sent. While you can technically appoint yourself or another individual within your business as your own registered agent, it is generally inconvenient and impractical (plus, it violates most state requirements for agents to be a person who lives at a physical address).
It also can create liability issues if that person does not live at the listed address or maintains non-standard office hours. For this reason, most businesses choose to hire a commercial registered agent services provider that can accept service of process during regular business hours and then scan and digitally deliver any documents received. For national companies, this provides consistency and convenience while also reducing costs by having only one company to pay for renewals.
Privacy
As a business owner, you want to maintain your privacy as much as possible. Using your own address as a registered agent may not be the best idea for this purpose. Your name and home address are public record, which could lead to junk mail for your business. Choosing a commercial registered agent service provides you with an added layer of privacy for your business, shielding your personal information from spammers and marketers.
Many professional registered agent services also provide other perks, such as information shredding and digitization, compliance assistance, and a variety of shipping options. In addition, if you need to change your address, these companies can handle the change for you without any additional fees. This is a great way to save time and avoid the headache of changing your own address with state agencies. They can even assist you with changing your address in multiple states. This service is a great choice for business owners that operate in multiple states or who frequently relocate.
Compliance
As a business owner, you may be required to have a registered agent in most jurisdictions. For LLCs and corporations, there’s often a spot for naming your registered agent on the business filings with your state (articles of incorporation or business registration).
This isn’t just a “nice to have” service; in most cases, it’s a mandatory business compliance requirement. Without a registered agent, your entity could be subject to penalties or even administrative closure and dissolution if it fails to respond to legal proceedings.
Choosing an experienced commercial registered agent like CorpNet can help ensure you meet all your compliance requirements. They’ll accept official documents on your behalf, and they’ll keep you informed about filing due dates for state reports. This way, you can focus on growing your company.
