California Registered Agent
California businesses need to list an agent for service of process on their formation documents. This is a public document that lists your agent’s name and address. You can be your own agent or hire a professional agent, like us.
Want to protect your privacy and have local experts available to help with California’s business regulation and compliance laws? Hire Northwest for just $39 + state fees.
When You Want More
$125 a Year Every Year
Northwest is the choice of professionals for registered agent service.
- Same-Day Scans, Instant Notifications
- Privacy by Default®
- Business Address & Free Mail Forwarding
- Instant Domain, Website, Email & Phone
What Is a California Registered Agent?
Your California agent for service of process is the person or company who receives your business’s legal mail, like service of processes or lawsuits. Agent for service of processes are sometimes called registered agents. They provide an official and reliable way to contact your business.
If your business is ever sued, your agent for service of process is the person/company who will be served. Once they receive the paperwork, it is their legal duty to forward you your mail quickly and securely.
Per state statutes (CA Corp Code § 1700-1702), registered agents are legally required in California. At a minimum, your registered agent must list a physical address on the public record and be present at that address during business hours. But ideally, your registered agent should do more.
Legal Requirements for CA Registered Agents
Per California Corporations Code 1700-1702, a California agent for service of process has the following requirements:
- Your business’s agent of process can be a registered agent service or any adult individual who is a California resident. Your corporation cannot be its own agent.
- The registered agent must maintain normal business hours and be able to accept hand-delivered service of process (no P.O. Boxes.)
- If a corporation is going to be a statutory agent for another business, it must first file a Section 1505 Certificate with the Secretary of State.
- LLCs cannot be registered agents in California.
How To Change Your CA Registered Agent
Changing your registered agent is a straightforward process:
- You’ll file a Statement of Information form with the California Secretary of State.
- If you place an order with us, the form will be available instantly. We’ll even pay and file the change of agent filing for you.
- It’s a simple change, but for more info, see our guide on how to change your registered agent in California.
The Best California Registered Agent Service
Our California Registered Agent Service includes the tools you need to keep your business running without a hitch. When you hire Northwest as your registered agent, you get:
- Same-Day scans: We scan your legal docs the same day we receive them and reach out if your essential mail goes unread.
- Mail forwarding: We accept and scan all your state and legal mail, and will scan up to five personal documents for free. For $20 a month, we offer unlimited California mail forwarding.
- Privacy by Default®: We list our business address on public docs to keep your personal info safe. And unlike those other guys, we never sell your data.
- Corporate Guides®: Have questions? We have answers. Our guides are business experts whose sole job is to provide support for all your business questions.
If you’re ready for more, Northwest can help. We provide more than just legal services. We’ve got everything you need to turn your business plan from a to-do list to a customer-facing, money-making machine.
Want to get your business in front of eyes across the world? Claim your custom domain name. When you tack on website hosting, we’ll get you an expert-built website, hosted and secured by us.
Want to start talking to suppliers, advertisers, customers, and more? Set up business email addresses and a separate business phone number so you can protect your data and keep your communication professional.
How to Order CA Registered Agent Service
You sign up online, clicking on one of the buttons or links that says HIRE US.
We collect the first year’s fee for registered agent service up front.
For new businesses, once your business registration filing with the California Secretary of State is complete, we’ll become your agent for service of process in California.
About a year later, we’ll send an invoice for another year of California Registered Agent Service. If you want to keep using us, great; if you don’t, you can easily cancel.
It’s easy to add registered agent services in other states if your business expands. We have offices in every state. We don’t farm out work (or your info) to other companies—wherever you are, WE are your registered agent.
We make your account a real go-to resource for you, not just for Registered Agent Service or paying a bill but for keeping up with corporate paperwork formalities like your California Statement of Information reports.
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Agent for Service of Process FAQ
State law requires all legitimate, registered businesses to appoint one and the Secretary of State will reject your business filing if you don’t appoint a registered agent.
A registered agent requirement gives the public and the state a reliable way to contact your business.
Yes, you can be your own registered agent in California. With that said, after considering the registered agent requirements, most business owners elect to hire a registered agent service instead.
Why? Well although being your own registered agent will cost you $0, a California registered agent’s name and address becomes part of the public record. Additionally, the registered agent is required to be available to accept service of process during normal business hours five days a week.
- If your business is web-based or doesn’t have a physical presence in California, the business needs an agent of process located inside state lines.
- Some California business owners hire registered agent services because their business doesn’t keep regular business hours, so they are unable to receive notices and services of process in a timely fashion.
- Many business owners desire privacy and don’t want their home or business address listed on public record as a point of contact, so they hire a registered agent.
- Listing an employee or family member as your statutory agent could create a lot of unwanted distractions and tension. Do you really want your employee or relative knowing the intimate details your business’s lawsuits? Do you trust this person to notify you immediately if they receive a service of process? If not, you could miss a court deadline before realizing it.
- If you don’t want the added responsibility of tracking mail and notices from the state, you can hire a registered agent to track important paperwork for you. Having an online account to help maintain your business is often worth the registered agent fee.
That depends on you. Some people rest easier knowing they’ll be notified right away if something urgent arises. An agent of process should also help keep you updated on any business reports due to California.
And if you hire Northwest Registered Agent, in your online account, we’ll also provide you with great customer service, any form you could file with the state, and helpful tips for filing forms and paying the state with no additional fees.
Plus, a registered agent service will simplify your life if you plan on operating in multiple states (you’ll also receive a discount with Northwest if you have registered agent service in multiple states.)
Northwest Registered Agent doesn’t charge more for high volume clients. However, if you know you’re going to get served hundreds of times a year, we should create a custom price for you that makes sense for both of us. Our typical clients receive less than 15 lawsuits a year and never pay additional fees.
We scan all documents locally from our office in Redding, CA.
Yes! We’re the only national registered agent service that allows our clients to list our address for everything on a filing to help keep your address private.
Yes! Just sign up for our unlimited California Mail Forwarding option ($20/month). You’ll get a unique suite number and a California business address you can use for mail, advertising, and more. While you can use our address, we are not a return depot for online or Amazon sellers, though we’d love to accept your foosball tables.
Don’t need a unique suite number? Our Registered Agent Service comes with free limited mail forwarding. We’ll list our business address (no unique suite number) on your public docs to better protect your privacy. And we’ll scan the occasional business mail we receive—up to five documents a year for FREE. You can request any additional documents to be forwarded at a per document rate of $15.
Yes. You will be unable to form your California LLC if you don’t have a designated registered agent (aka: statutory agent or agent of process) when forming your corporation or LLC.
A process server will deliver a summons form and a complaint form to the registered agent’s address. The registered agent will sign any of process server’s documents acknowledging receipt of the lawsuit. If you’ve hired Northwest, we’ll scan the documents, upload them to your account, and notify you immediately.
Only in the name. All four come with the same job description.
Registered agents aren’t required for sole proprietorships and general partnerships because those entities aren’t officially formed with the California Secretary of State. Those entities don’t offer the asset protection and potential tax benefits of an LLC or corporation, though. A California nonprofit also requires a registered agent.
You can easily look up a company’s basic details online with a California business name search.
- Type in the name of the company you’re searching for.
- In the results, you’ll find the registered agent’s name and registered office street address.
To legally notify a business, just send a certified letter directly to the registered agent name and registered office address.
In California, to resign as a registered agent, you must submit a Resignation of Agent for Service of Process form to the California Secretary of State and make sure to provide the name and address of the new registered agent if appointing a successor. It’s pretty straight forward, but for a more detailed walkthrough you can refer to our guide on how to resign as a registered agent in California.