Is The Registered Agent Representing The Company As An Individual Or Business

Appointing yourself registered agent for your visitor sounds like information technology might be the simplest solution, but in fact, it's not advisable.

While it'due south tempting to act as your own registered agent for LLC or corporation bug, it's by and large not a good thought.

6 Reasons You Shouldn't Be Your Own Registered Agent

What Is a Registered Agent?

A registered agent is a person or agency your company appoints to receive official notices on your LLC's or corporation'southward behalf. This includes service of process, correspondence with the state, and notifications about state and federal taxes.

The agent for service of process can exist anyone — the business organisation owner, an employee, or an outside person or service hired to fulfill the role.

Registered agents are particularly important for companies that are not based in a state where they are doing business organization (for instance, you lot're located in New York but too sell things or provide services in New Jersey). There must a way to contact the company for legal purposes, and a designated registered amanuensis is the way to do and then.

Many companies hire a registered agent service, a company that is ready to have notices and service of process for other businesses. These firms have thorough procedures in place and so that they tin can runway anything they receive on your behalf and ensure it comes to your attention chop-chop.

It might seem every bit if information technology would be less expensive and simpler only to be your ain registered agent, merely there are several reasons why this is not expert business practice.

1. The agent needs to have a physical address.

A corporation or LLC registered amanuensis must have a physical address inside the land where the visitor is doing business organisation, and a post office box does non suffice. A private mail service or mailbox too does not fulfill the requirement.

There has to be a brick and mortar place where someone tin go to deliver service of process or evangelize mail. If you lot're doing business exterior your dwelling state, you may not have a physical location in that state.

2. You may not want to employ your home accost.

If yous plan on being your ain registered amanuensis, you lot may end up having to use your home address (particularly if you have a home-based or web-based business concern), which will make the address public. This raises privacy concerns and also means the address volition be available to marketers and may increment the amount of junk post you receive at your home.

Additionally, it could hateful a process server or angry litigant could come to your domicile to serve y'all with notice of a lawsuit, something yous may not desire to deal with at dwelling house.

3. Address change notices must exist made promptly.

Ane matter to consider as you wonder, "Can I be my own registered amanuensis?" is that if you lot're planning on moving or relocating your business organisation location, you would need to notify the land of each accost change, which can be time-consuming. You volition likely as well need to pay a fee for each notification of an address change.

When you add up those fees and consider the time involved in handling address changes with the state, it is simpler and possibly less expensive to hire a registered amanuensis service.

4. Agents are required to keep regular business concern hours.

Registered agents need to accept regular business hours to accept service of process. This can be difficult for pocket-size business owners who oftentimes cannot stay in an part all day and who cannot beget to hire full-time employees to work out of a specific location.

5. Yous must have an amanuensis in every land.

You need to designate a registered agent in every state your company does business in. Information technology would be costly to maintain a brick and mortar location for your visitor in each country.

If y'all hire a registered amanuensis service, you can easily maintain an agent in every land without hiring employees or maintaining a concrete location in each state where you are conducting business.

6. You never desire to miss an of import notice.

Paying a pocket-sized fee each twelvemonth for registered agent services so that you take an agent for service of process and other notices can be well worth the fourth dimension you volition save in trying to keep track of official notices yourself and making certain you're sorting and reading your mail.

This type of service ensures yous won't miss or forget about an important notice, which could be hugely expensive for your company if you don't respond to pending litigation or if you lot fail to pay taxes past their deadlines.