Registered Agent Service

State statutes generally require that registered agents meet the following requirements:

• Office: Registered agents must have a physical address in the state where they can receive and accept service of process. This is often referred to as their “registered office.”
• Residency: Typically, registered agents must either reside in the state where they serve as a registered agent, or they must be a business approved to provide registered agent service in the state. Businesses providing registered agent service must maintain a physical address in the state.
• Availability: Registered agents must be available to accept legal documents and official mail during normal business hours.
• Consent: Agents must consent to being designated a registered agent. In many states, registered agents need to provide a signature proving they have accepted the responsibility. For example, Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, Washington and Wyoming all require registered agent signatures on your formation documents.

Most likely, and you may need more than one. LLCs and corporations appoint a registered agent in their state and in every state where they do business. Not only are registered agents nearly always required by state statutes, but they provide a systematic way to ensure a business can reliably receive official and legal notices (including service of process.)

Service of process is the delivery of a legal notice (such as a summons or subpoena) to an individual or a business. These legal notices require a timely response and specific action from the recipient, such as producing documents, ceasing an activity, or appearing in court.

When the recipient is a business entity, service of process goes to the company’s designated registered agent. For example, when a business is on the receiving end of a lawsuit, a process server will deliver a summons to the company’s registered agent.

“Statutory agent” is another name for registered agent. Other names include “resident agent,” “agent for service of process,” and more. Why so many names for the same job? Each state has their own statutes, and often their own terminology, for business entities. Here are the terms most commonly used in each state:

• Statutory agent: Arizona and Ohio
• Resident agent: Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Rhode Island
• Agent for service of process: California, Louisiana, New York, and West Virginia
• Commercial clerk: Maine (for domestic corporations)
• Registered office provider: Pennsylvania
• Registered agent: The majority of states and DC

A national registered agent is team of registered agents—one in every state. When you hire a national registered agent, you get a local registered agent in every state where you do business, as is usually required by state law.

A USA registered agent is a professional registered agent service that has registered offices (and can file documents on your company’s behalf) in every state in the US. That means if you live in a different country but would like to start a company in the United States, a USA Registered Agent provider can help you by forming your business in whichever US state(s) your foreign business would like to expand to.

A BOC-3 process agent is a person or company that is designated on your application for Motor Carrier Operating Authority license (known as a BOC-3) to accept service of process on behalf of your business. Hiring one is mandatory in every state where you travel for work, but for more specifics you can refer to our BOC-3 Process Agent guide.

Yes! Registered agent services provide their address on your public documents, helping keep yours private.

A professional registered agent service centers its business around being available to accept your documents, freeing you up to focus on more important things. They have other benefits as well. Registered agent services provide their address on your public documents, helping keep yours private. A good service should also scan and send you your documents the same day, provide you with reminders for state compliance reports, and provide you with easy access to forms and services to help you maintain your business.

Below are common situations in which it would be beneficial to hire a registered agent service:

• You have locations in multiple states.
• You don’t have a physical address.
• You plan to change your address as you grow.
• You don’t want the world to know your home address.
• You don’t plan to be in the office Monday-Friday, 9-5.
• You want instant access to documents from wherever you are.
• You want electronic scans of your documents for safekeeping or backup.
• You want reminders for state compliance requirements.
• You want a little more peace of mind.

If you plan to hire a registered agent service, there are a few key factors to take into consideration. Ideally, a registered agent service should provide all of the following:

• Consistent pricing: Some companies have low introductory prices but exorbitant increases for annual renewals. A quick look at online customer reviews usually reveals if this is an issue.

• Electronic document delivery: For time-sensitive materials, you don’t want to wait for physical mail forwarding.

• Same-day scans: Again, time is a critical factor, so your registered agent service should receive and scan documents right away.

• Customer support: If you have a question or issue, you should be able to call and talk to a real person and get help.

• Free resources: Your registered agent service should be able to provide you easy access to state forms and templates for essential documents, like operating agreements and meeting minutes. Many companies mark these up as expensive add-ons, so it’s good to check if these kinds of resources are offered for free.

• Additional business services: While you may only be looking for registered agent service at the moment, you never know when you’ll need additional services down the road. It’s a good idea to find a provider that offers additional useful business services such as mail forwarding, virtual office, annual report renewals and business formation.

Yes. Most states require entities to file a report every year or every other year. These are easy to forget about, especially because every state has its own deadline. And if you forget, your business could lose its good standing and even be dissolved by the state. As your registered agent, we’ll remind you when your deadline is approaching and take care of the requirement for you, automatically.

Your Business Identity is the real-world foundation of your company. It includes your address, phone, email, and website. It’s how people find and interact with your business. Trying to build it across a dozen vendors creates headaches fast. Northwest sets it up correctly so it’s ready when you want more.