In almost every state, businesses, including corporations, limited liability companies (LLCs), and limited partnerships (LPs) are required to appoint a registered agent.
A registered agent is responsible for accepting legal documents and government notices on behalf of your company. They also help keep your business in compliance with state and federal regulations.
Service of Process
Every state requires a business entity to designate a person or company who is available at their designated office for service of process. This individual or company is known as the registered agent and is responsible for receiving legal documents on behalf of a business.
A registered agent is important for a number of reasons. First of all, it ensures that the business can receive important notices like tax notifications and other compliance-related paperwork.
Second, it allows the business to avoid being served court papers in front of employees that may be sensitive to this type of activity. And third, it prevents a business owner from missing deadlines for filing legal documents.
In addition, it is a good idea to have a registered agent company accept service of process on your behalf as it saves you the time and effort that you would otherwise spend serving someone yourself. This is especially useful if you live out of town or have other issues that interfere with your ability to serve the company.
Notices
A registered agent is the person or business that receives legal notices on behalf of a business entity, such as an LLC, corporation, LLP, or LP. All states require a business to have an individual or company listed as its registered agent.
The person or company designated as the registered agent is also responsible for accepting service of process (SOP) on behalf of the business entity. This means that if a court orders someone to serve papers on the business, they will be delivered to that person or company.
Often, individuals who own and operate businesses designate themselves or an employee as the registered agent for their business. However, this is not always the best solution because they may spend little time at their registered office, they might be too busy for SOP delivery, or they might not have the expertise and knowledge to properly handle and forward SOP papers.
For these reasons, more companies are choosing a registered agent services provider that can serve all of their legal compliance needs. This ensures that all important notices and documents are delivered by a single company, it provides consistency and convenience for business owners and their staff, and it makes renewal simple.
Taxes
When a corporation or LLC forms, it’s generally required to name a registered agent. These are individuals or businesses that receive important legal and tax mail for the company.
The registered agent is also responsible for receiving notices of lawsuits and other official or government notices on behalf of the business entity. This ensures that the company is informed of any actions it must take or deadlines to meet.
Typically, the registered agent must have a physical address in the state of registration. This address must be available to accept service of process during normal business hours, Monday through Friday.
Most states require registered agents to be at least 18 years old and residents of the state. Some states have special rules, such as requirements that they be licensed attorneys or officers of the business.
Privacy
Keeping your information private is a valuable right that has been used by many people throughout history to protect themselves from being persecuted by governments, powerful business entities, criminals and influential organizations.
There are several different types of privacy rights. The first, a right to live aspects of your life unobserved and unrecorded, is considered a basic human right that is important for safety and security.
A second type of privacy right involves the ability to control information about oneself. This includes protection against unwarranted searches, eavesdropping and surveillance.
Third, the ability to conceal or selectively disclose information about oneself is also a privacy right. This includes protection against disclosure to others of facts that have been included in a public record.
While the right to privacy is a fundamental human right, it is a trade-off. Some of us are willing to give up some of our privacy in order to access products, services, environments and media that we value.
