What is a registered agent and does my business need one?
The main purpose of a registered agent is to be the agent for service of process for a company. This means the person who will physically receive the notification. If someone filed a lawsuit against your company, some other official time sensitive information could go there like notification of a required wage garnishment, and then your registered agent would promptly forward the information to you.
Can you be your own registered agent?
In many cases, yes. But you might not want to be. And there are several reasons for that. The first is that you must have a physical address in a state if you’re doing business in multiple states, it’s highly likely that you don’t have a physical office in each one, and a P.O. box doesn’t count. Secondly, someone has to be available during business hours. That means from 9 to 5 on every business day. So if you ever need to go visit your customers or you take a vacation or you decide to work from home, then your physical office might not be staffed appropriately. And thirdly, service of process is a public thing. That means you may be notified that someone is suing you in front of your employees or your customers, which could be embarrassing or even damaging to your business reputation.
When do you need to get a registered agent?
Most states are going to require registered agent information when you register to do business in the state, and then it’s your responsibility to keep the state informed if there are any changes after the fact. What if you don’t have a registered agent? There could be penalties and fines for failing to maintain a registered agent. A state could determine that you’re no longer in good standing. They could revoke your authority to do business. They could even administratively dissolve your company. And it’s also possible that you could miss important information that needs a timely response.
So who can be your registered agent?
We already said it’s pretty simple. Someone with a physical address and the state is available during the business day. So could be your dad, your best friend, your next door neighbor. But we know that most people don’t stay home all the time. And that’s the reason that many companies decide to use a professional registered agents service. This is a company that acts as your registered agent for an annual fee. And since the agent is an entire company, we don’t have to worry about someone taking vacation or sick days. And they can even help you with other paperwork that you might need to do because they’re experts in filling out the appropriate paperwork for things like withdrawing from a state you no longer do business in or helping you to register. If you begin to do business in a new state. So you should consider whether or not you need a registered agent. And though there is a fee, sometimes the service that they perform is well worth it.
