Many business owners have a lot of questions about the requirement for their LLC business to have a registered agent. They do not understand exactly what this person is and what its roles and responsibilities are. Hopefully, this article will be of help.
Every state in the US requires that an LLC formed in that state have an officially appointed registered office and registered agent in that state. This the the person and place that is designated for accepting legal papers that a third party may need to deliver to the LLC business.
Why is this necessary? Because, unlike a physical person, an LLC is a creature of the law. Aside from a document showing its existence, it does not otherwise have a physical presence and being. But because it is its own separate legal person, it must have some physical presence in the event some other party (whether it be the government or another business or person) needs to deliver communications or important documents to the business.
The registered office address and the registered agent person at that address meets this purpose. As a result, the state records tells everyone who the registered agent is of an LLC. These third parties now know exactly where to deliver legal documents to the LLC. And once those papers have been sent to that registered agent, the law recognizes it as officially delivered to the LLC business.
Now, it is also important to know that the registered agent only serves this adminsitrative purpose. It is not a lawyer or advisor to the LLC and has no other reponsibilities other than to forward documents received on behalf of the LLC to the last known address given by the LLC owners to that agent. It is very important that you keep the registered agent of your LLC up to date on where to notify you if it receives legal papers and where to send the papers to.
Can You Serve as Your LLC’s Registered Agent?
Yes as long as you have a permanent physical address in the state of formation where legal papers can be accepted. Every state has its own set of requirements for who can serve as a registered agent for a limited liability company formed in the state. In most cases, the main requirement is that the person have a physical permanent address within the state where papers can be accepted by the agent during normal business hours. A few states require that if the agent is an individual it also must be a member or manager of the LLC.
Many business owners choose to retain the services of a registered agent company as this keeps their name and address outside of the public database for registered agent in the state and also gives them one less legal requirement to worry about. Because this role is so important to potentially preserving your rights in the event of a lawsuit, you should only appoint a reputable service that specializes in registered agent services.
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