Michigan Registered Agent

Michigan registered agents need to have physical addresses in Michigan, be open during business hours, and accept documents on your behalf and get them to you. In other words, your registered agent’s address acts as the official place where any service of process and official mail for your Michigan LLC, Michigan corporation or Michigan nonprofit will be sent.

However, the right registered agent service can do much more. At Northwest, we go above and beyond the minimum to ensure top speed, security, privacy and support.

In accordance with Michigan Law § 450.1241 (for corporations) and Michigan Law § 450.4207 (for LLCs) your registered agent must:

• Have to be a resident or companies that provide registered agent services.
• Have a registered office address that is a physical address located within the State of Michigan.
• Be available to accept legal documents.

Note: In documents and legislation in Michigan, registered agents are sometimes referred to as resident agents. These two terms mean the same thing and the names can be used interchangeably.

In the state of Michigan you are able to be your own resident agent for your business. This means that it is you who will be answering the door when the process server comes knocking if you get served. A lot of businesses choose to hire a resident agent for this very reason, but it is completely possible for you to act as your own agent.

What does it take to be your own resident agent in Michigan?

First, you need to know that registered agents and resident agents are the same thing, but Michigan uses the term “resident agent” on some of its forms. Beyond that, you need to adhere to at least two important rules:

1. You need to ensure that you maintain regular business hours (9 to 5)
2. You need to maintain a physical street address in the state of Michigan where you can physically accept legal documents and official mail.

It is necessary for you to have an actual street address in Michigan because a resident agent is the person or business designated to accept your official documents and mail—and process servers need to be able to find you. This is also why it is important to maintain regular business hours. If you can’t keep regular hours at which you can be reached by the process server, you will need to look for a resident agent who can.

How do I become my own resident agent?

To become your own resident agent in Michigan, simply list your own information on the formation documents when you start your business. This means that when you file your articles with the Michigan Secretary of State, there will be a space for you to fill in your resident agent’s information—just put your own name and address here.

If you already have an established business, however, the process is a bit different. To change your Michigan registered agent, Michigan has a form called the Certificate of Change of Registered Office and/or Change of Resident Agent. Fill this out with your name and address as the resident agent information. This way all the official documents for your business, including service of process, will come to your address.

There are two ways to change your registered agent in Michigan.

1. Hire us and we’ll complete the change of agent form for you for free.
2. Do it yourself and file a Certificate of Change of Registered Agent form with the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA).

At Northwest, we do business the right way. We’re dedicated to getting you your docs fast, protecting your privacy and offering you support. Here’s how:

• Same-Day Scans, Instant Notifications: We accept and scan your docs at our local office the same day. We notify you instantly and reach out to you if your essential mail goes unread.
• Privacy by Default®: We automatically minimize the exposure of and access to your personal data. If we can put our address on a public doc instead of yours, we do. If we don’t have to list your personal info, we don’t. We have tough privacy policies to keep your data safe and private. And we never sell your data.
• Free Limited Mail Forwarding: Of course we’ll get you your state and legal mail. That’s our job. But what if we get some of your regular business mail? It happens a lot—clients and businesses trying to connect with you via your registered agent. We scan 5 documents per year for FREE. We can also scan additional mail at a per document rate of $15.
• Corporate Guides®: Have questions? We have answers. Our guides are business experts whose sole job is to provide phone and email support for all your toughest business questions.