Registered Agent
Virtually all states require corporations, limited liability companies (LLC), nonprofits, limited partnerships (LPs) and limited liability partnerships (LLPs) formed or foreign qualified there to have a registered agent in the state. The registered agent must have a physical presence and address (no P.O. Boxes allowed) and must be available during normal business hours.
The registered agent is responsible for receiving important legal and tax documents on behalf of the business. Service of Process (sometimes called notice of litigation), which is the document that initiates a lawsuit, is served to the registered agent for a business. Proper handling of and timely response to this document are vital, as not doing so can result in significant adverse consequences to the business. Additionally, the registered agent often receives mail and tax documents from the state on behalf of business. Timely handling of these documents is also important as states typical impose deadlines for annual report and franchise tax payments.
Selecting the right registered agent for your business goes beyond satisfying a statutory requirement. The right registered agent can be a partner in helping you promptly and easily address the necessary requirements for your business, which keeps your business in good standing with the state and allows you to concentrate on running and growing your business.
As your registered agent, BizFilings will help ensure that your company remains compliant with government regulations in any state. However, unlike other incorporation and registered agent providers, we offer additional values at no charge to you. As your registered agent, we will:
- Professional handling of Service of Process, which means we will:
- Accept Service of Process on your company’s behalf
- Record the service in your company file
- Scan the documents and make them available for you to access online via BizFilings’ Corporate Status Center
- Notify you via telephone and/or email upon receipt of the service
- Ship the service to you via overnight delivery
- Forward any official documents and tax notices received from the Secretary of State and/or Department of State for your company.
- Provide you with 24/7 secure, online access to your registered agent account via BizFilings' Corporate Status Center, allowing you to view Service of Process, update addresses and pay renewal invoices online.
- Provide 24/7 access to BizComply (view demo), our online compliance management service, which helps you manage critical company information and alert you of upcoming compliance deadlines.
Additionally, BizFilings offers annual report filing assistance for registered agent customers in many states. In these states, BizFilings notifies customers when the annual report for their company is pending, and offers to complete and file the report on the company’s behalf. To learn if your state is included in our annual report filing service, contact BizFilings’ customer service team.
Advantages
Appointing BizFilings as your registered agent provides your company the assurance that this important function is handled correctly an efficiently. The advantages of choosing BizFilings include:
- Exceptional service for a low cost.
- Professional and efficient document handling, with the logging and forwarding of Service of Process and official state documents to you.
- Expedient notification, via telephone and/or email, of receipt of any Service of Process for your company and immediate online access to the Service of Process via BizFilings’ Corporate Status Center.
- Online account access, making viewing Service of Process, updating account information and paying invoices convenient.
- Online compliance management with BizComply. BizFilings’ compliance management tool is provided to registered agent customers at no additional charge.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What is a registered agent?
A. Virtually all states require corporations,limited liability companies (LLCs), nonprofits, limited partnerships (LPs) and limited liability partnerships (LLPs) to appoint a registered agent in the state where the company is formed and, if applicable, foreign qualified. The registered agent is responsible for receiving important legal and tax documents on behalf of the company including: Service of Process (notice of litigation), franchise tax forms and annual report forms.
The registered agent may be an individual or it may be a company approved by the state to act as agent. It must be located at a street address in the state where the company is formed or qualified. Post office boxes are not acceptable. The registered agent's name and address are included on the formation documents. This information is a matter of public record.
Appointing BizFilings as your registered agent provides your company the assurance that this important service is handled correctly and efficiently.
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Q. What is Service of Process (SOP)?
A. Service of Process (SOP), also sometimes called notice of litigation, is the legal term for the delivery of copies of legal documents such as summons, complaints, subpoenas, orders to show cause, writs, notices to quit the premises and certain other documents. As your registered agent, BizFilings accepts these legal notices on your behalf. Additionally, many states send taxation documents, annual reports and other important state mail to the registered agent. BizFilings logs this mail and forwards it to you.
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Q. How are legal documents handled by BizFilings?
A. BizFilings accepts any legal Service of Process (SOP) documents for your company, records the document in your company file, scans the document for online viewing in our password-protected Corporate Status Center and ships the SOP to you via overnight delivery. With state and taxation documents and other registered agent mail, BizFilings logs the mail in your company record and then forward to you.
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Q. When an Service of Process (SOP) arrives, how is a client notified?
A. BizFilings notifies you via telephone and/or email upon receiving SOP.
Additionally, BizFilings scans SOPs as they arrive and makes them available to you to access securely in the BizFilings' Corporate Status Center. You can download a scanned SOP the same day it is processed by BizFilings. Once available, in addition to viewing online, you can download it to a desktop,enabling easy distribution of the SOP electronically to in-house or external counsel as needed.
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Q. What is BizComply?
A. BizComply is a web-based compliance management tool which outlines critical compliance events, notifies you before these events need to happen, provides access to important forms and houses your company's important information in one convenient location. If you are an owner of multiple businesses, you can keep track of each business through a single account. Additionally, if your business is qualified in other states, BizComply will help you manage the compliance requirements for each of those states.
BizComply is included with BizFilings' Registered Agent Service. Learn more about BizComply.
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Q. As my registered agent, can BizFilings help me with annual reports?
A. Yes. BizFilings offers electronic filing of annual reports and franchise tax payments in many states. BizFilings makes it easier than ever for customers to meet the state’s annual reporting requirements.
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Q. Why should I use a registered agent provider?
A. As long as you have a physical address in the state of formation or qualification, you can act as the registered agent for your business; however, there are many reasons why business owners, even owners of one or two person businesses, choose to use a registered agent provider.
A few benefits of using a registered agent provider include:
- Stability – If are the registered agent for your company and you change addresses, you must update the state with your new address. Doing so requires filing a certificate of amendment and paying the necessary state filing fees. If you use a provider, it is the provider’s responsibility to keep its address updated and to pay any state fees itself should it need to change its address.
- Reliability – Providers like BizFilings ensure that someone is always present in their offices during normal business hours, in order to accept service of process and other important documents. If you have a profession where you travel often, do not maintain normal business hours or make a number of service calls, using a provider ensures that someone is always present.
- Anonymity – The registered agent name and address is a matter of public record, which means that anyone can access it. If you are forming or qualifying your business in a state that does not require the legal address of the business to be listed in the formation or qualification documents, the registered agent address will be the only address on record for your company. Home-based businesses often choose to use a registered agent service provider to keep the home address of the owner a little more private. Additionally, new business formations are a favorite list of marketers. Using a provider can help cut down on the volume of unsolicited mail.
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