Should The Owner Be The Registered Agent

Appointing yourself registered amanuensis for your company sounds like it might be the simplest solution, but in fact, it'southward non advisable.

While it's tempting to act as your own registered agent for LLC or corporation issues, it's generally non a practiced thought.

6 Reasons You Shouldn't Be Your Own Registered Agent

What Is a Registered Agent?

A registered agent is a person or bureau 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 be anyone — the business owner, an employee, or an outside person or service hired to fulfill the office.

Registered agents are peculiarly of import for companies that are not based in a state where they are doing business organisation (for example, you're located in New York but also sell things or provide services in New Jersey). There must a way to contact the company for legal purposes, and a designated registered agent is the style to practise and so.

Many companies hire a registered agent service, a company that is gear up to accept notices and service of process for other businesses. These firms take thorough procedures in place so that they tin rails anything they receive on your behalf and ensure it comes to your attending quickly.

It might seem as if it would be less expensive and simpler but to be your own registered agent, simply there are several reasons why this is not good business organisation exercise.

1. The agent needs to take a concrete address.

A corporation or LLC registered amanuensis must have a physical address inside the country where the company is doing business organisation, and a post office box does non suffice. A private mail service or mailbox also does non fulfill the requirement.

At that place has to exist a brick and mortar identify where someone tin can go to deliver service of procedure or deliver mail. If you lot're doing business exterior your home state, you may not have a concrete location in that state.

2. Yous may not want to utilize your home address.

If you plan on being your own registered agent, you lot may finish upward having to use your home accost (specially if yous have a home-based or web-based business), which volition make the accost public. This raises privacy concerns and besides means the address volition be bachelor to marketers and may increment the amount of junk mail you receive at your home.

Additionally, information technology could mean a process server or angry litigant could come up to your home to serve you with find of a lawsuit, something you may not want to deal with at home.

3. Address change notices must be fabricated promptly.

Ane affair to consider as you lot wonder, "Can I be my own registered agent?" is that if you lot're planning on moving or relocating your business location, y'all would need to notify the state of each address change, which can be time-consuming. You will likely also need to pay a fee for each notification of an address change.

When y'all add upwardly those fees and consider the fourth dimension involved in handling address changes with the country, it is simpler and possibly less expensive to rent a registered agent service.

4. Agents are required to keep regular business hours.

Registered agents need to have regular business hours to take service of procedure. This can be difficult for small business owners who often cannot stay in an role all solar day and who cannot afford to rent full-time employees to work out of a specific location.

5. Y'all must have an agent in every state.

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

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

6. You never desire to miss an important notice.

Paying a minor fee each year for registered agent services then that you have an agent for service of process and other notices can be well worth the time you will save in trying to continue track of official notices yourself and making sure yous're sorting and reading your mail.

This type of service ensures you lot won't miss or forget about an important notice, which could be hugely expensive for your visitor if you don't respond to awaiting litigation or if you neglect to pay taxes by their deadlines.