A registered agent provides a kind of rent-an-identity for your business. You can use a registered agent’s name and address on state incorporation or registration papers. A registered agent (sometimes called resident agent or statutory agent) can also receive process service from courts, and tax and regulatory compliance notifications in your name.
Good reasons to hire registered agents are:
1. To meet state laws. You are typically required to maintain an open office in a state to receive legal documents if you do business in the state, even if your headquarters are in another state. A registered agent provides that office.
2. To take advantage of a Delaware incorporation or Nevada incorporation, two states with favorable business laws, without setting up a business in those states. Nevada or Delaware registered agents help you file and maintain your corporation.
3. To shield your identity or your privacy. You may not want your name and address on public documents filed for your corporation; registered agents can be your stand-in. And you’d probably prefer process service at a registered agent office instead of in front of your customers or family.
4. To keep up with deadlines for taxes and regulations in many states. Beyond their basic role of receiving documents, registered agents will proactively keep you on top of your obligations.
Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done
Check the registered agent listings for a state
Most states give you free access to their database of resident agents at the secretary of state website
I recommend: Find a secretary of state website through
State and Local Government on the Net.
Go with a national registered agents company
If you're operating in many states, it may make most sense to hire all your registered agents through a single supplier.
I recommend: National resident agent companies are
CT Corporation,
Corporation Service Company (CSC),
National Registered Agents, Inc. (NRAI) and
InCorp Services.
Let an incorporation service supply your registered agent
Online incorporation services make it easy to set up your business, including connecting you with a registered agent or acting as resident agents themselves.
I recommend: Some of the leaders in online incorporation are
The Company Corporation,
MyCorporation,
101Incorporate,
LegalZoom and
BizFilings.
Find registered agents for Nevada incorporation or Delaware incorporation
The registered agent business is highly competitive in Nevada and Delaware -- registered agents will even expedite your incorporation in a day for the right price.
I recommend: Start your search for Nevada or Delaware registered agents with the Business.com directory of
Delaware incorporation and
Nevada incorporation services.
Take full advantage of a diversified registered agent service
Registered agents have expanded into many services to help a company keep up with regulatory compliance, annual reports, taxes, and general management of corporate records. They'll even find you a board of directors.
I recommend: Check out some of the services from the bigger companies:
BizFilings posts a service of process online.
CSC hosts a web-based compliance calendar.
NRAI lets you view all your corporate documents online.
Compare fees for resident agents
Registered agent fees are only around $100 a year for basic service and it's a competitive business - you can find first-year-free offers - so shop around.
I recommend: Compare pricing of some registered agents by state at
Registered-Agent-Listings.com, check the fees for several states from
Pacific Registered Agents and see a first-year-free registered agent offer at
FreeRegisteredAgent.com, affiliated with InCorp Services.
Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide
- State requirements to qualify as a registered agent are pretty basic: Be a state resident with an open office in the state.
- You can name your attorney your registered agent for your home state while turning to resident agent services for other states.
- Your state's law may allow you or an officer of your corporation to act as your own registered agent in your home state.
- To change registered agents, you typically must file a document with the state and pay a fee.
- Maybe this sounds counterintuitive, but you don't want to avoid process service. If you don't contest a suit, you can lose on a default judgement.
The official source of Registered Agents is the Registered Agents page at Business.com
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