Can I Be My Llc Registered Agent

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

Not just anyone can fill this role, though. In that location are certain rules you need to follow when choosing one. Notice out why you need a registered amanuensis, who you tin can appoint and how to alter agents.

Who needs a registered agent?

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

The following types of businesses demand to appoint one:

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

If you take ane of these business concern types, you'll be asked to proper noun your registered amanuensis during incorporation or business registration. There'due south typically a spot to designate your registered amanuensis on your articles of incorporation or articles of arrangement.

General partnerships and sole proprietorships don't demand to designate one because these business types are non registered with the state. Of grade, all businesses need to keep upward with business tax obligations and respond in a timely manner to legal papers. However, the regime doesn't continue registered agent information on file for sole proprietorships and general partnerships.

Why do you demand a registered agent?

States accept required businesses to engage 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 government to contact your company. Once the state has your registered agent information, it'due south a affair of public tape. Anyone searching through a business concern entity database tin find out who serves this role for your visitor.

More specifically, here are the iii main reasons why registered agents are of import:

Receive legal process: People with legitimate legal complaints against a business accept an address to ship service of process.
Government can contact y'all: The government knows how to contact a business that's delinquent on taxes or noncompliant with other laws.
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 amanuensis. Your registered agent will receive legal, revenue enhancement and other official postal service for y'all, forward the documents to your business address and notify you of any deadlines or actions that you need to take. For urgent documents, such every bit notice of a lawsuit, y'all'll probable be notified the very same twenty-four hours.

Registered amanuensis requirements

In full general, registered agents must meet the following requirements:

Age: If you use an individual, they must exist at least 18 years former.
Residency: If you utilise an individual, they must exist a resident of the state of registration. If the registered agent is a visitor, information technology can be a domestic or strange entity, equally long as it'south authorized to practise business in the state.
Physical address: Must take a physical address in the country of registration. This location is usually called the "registered office." P.O. boxes don't count, so yous tin't apply a UPS Store, for example.
Availability: Must exist bachelor to receive mail and sign official documents during normal business organisation hours, Mon to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.one thousand.

Different states have slightly different regulations. For example, in Virginia, merely 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 available during normal business hours. Your state's business concern filing agency will be able to tell you more about land-specific requirements.

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

Continue in heed that if you're registered to do business in multiple states, each country will require y'all to proper name a registered agent who has a concrete address in that state.

Who can serve every bit your appointed agent?

Every state gives you the choice to appoint yourself, someone else inside the company or a 3rd party, equally long as the appointed agent meets the requirements mentioned above (plus whatever additional country-specific requirements). The merely caveat — you lot can't proper noun your concern as its own registered agent. At that place needs to a separate, responsible party, whether that's an individual or an outside agency.

Any of the following can serve:

Yourself
A business partner, officeholder, manager or member of the business organisation
A business lawyer
A company that provides this specific service, such equally LegalZoom or Rocket Lawyer.

Often, the quickest, least expensive way is to just appoint yourself or some other person in the visitor as the registered agent. But business owners often notice that this is too time-consuming or inconvenient and end upwardly appointing either a lawyer or a service.

Joe Horan, the owner of Wrightwood Homes, an Indianapolis-based belongings buyer, says:

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

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

"In Arizona (where we are incorporated), a registered amanuensis tin can be any person, and at that place is no requirement for them to be available during normal business hours. One of my family members living in Arizona is the registered amanuensis for Advancing Scientific discipline Worldwide. I would advise that those looking to start a concern look into the registered agent requirements for their specific states."

Ultimately, the state doesn't intendance then much most who you cull, as long every bit they're doing what's required of them, so make sure your choice is convenient for you.

Reasons to use 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 one of these services, as opposed to appointing yourself or someone else within the company.

These are the benefits of using a legal service:

Cheap

LegalZoom, Rocket Lawyer and IncFile accuse about $150 per year for registered agent services. Y'all can find even less expensive services, simply the nice thing nearly sites like LegalZoom is that they likewise provide other kinds of legal assistance with business setup and maintenance.

Every bit your registered amanuensis, they volition accept all legal and official correspondence on your company'southward behalf, frontward you the documents and give you timely notifications near pending deadlines or actions that yous need to take.

Saves you time

Most one-third of small-business owners work more than l hours per week. If you're spending time sorting through official mail service, that adds to your already busy lifestyle.

By using a service, you're free to keep holiday or take fourth dimension off without worrying that you're missing important post. You also relieve time of going through junk mail. Since a registered agent's address is a matter of public record, you volition receive a lot of junk post if you appoint yourself.

Privacy

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

Organization

If you have a fast-growing business organization, it tin be tough to keep all your important paperwork and deadlines straight. Having a registered agent is one 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 agenda (like the one pictured above) for your business, noting important regime deadlines.

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

"We used LegalZoom to class our LLC, so we thought information technology was easiest to stick with them as our registered agent every bit well… Whenever they receive documents from the country, they immediately snail-mail the states copies. Within the LegalZoom business relationship portal, you tin can also simply download PDF copies of the documents besides. In improver, in that location is also a calendar within the LegalZoom account portal that shows yous when important deadlines are budgeted."

Changing your registered agent

No affair who y'all select, you'll need to go along the information up to date. Having a registered agent is an ongoing requirement, meaning that you demand ane as long as your business is operating.

If you change your registered agent or their contact information changes, you lot'll demand to inform your country's business filing agency. In most states, there is a change grade (example from Texas shown above) that you can download and fill out online. Some states let electronic filing, while others require that you postal service in the form. The fee for changing your appointed agent is usually pretty low, $25 to $50 in most states.

Information technology's like shooting fish in a barrel to forget about updating your registered agent, but make sure you make full out the necessary papers. The fines for a lapse tin be pretty hefty. And if yous go too long without an appointed agent, the state can revoke your certificate of skilful continuing or even deliquesce your company.

A version of this article was get-go published on Fundera, a subsidiary of NerdWallet