When creating an LLC you might encounter this term and it might seem intimidating at first. But I can assure you it’s quite simple. This article details to us What is a Registered Agent?
An LLC’s Registered Agent is basically a person/entity that will accept various tax-related and legal LLC documents on your behalf.
Who can be a Registered Agent?
Depending on each state’s requirements a Registered Agent can be another company, another person (your friend for example), or even you yourself.
Although, most people don’t want that role simply because they don’t particularly like to mix personal mail with business mail and etc. In addition, filing paperwork
yourself and so on is pretty time-consuming.
What does a Registered Agent do?
Essentially the main function is what I mentioned earlier — to receive all legal mail associated with your LLC on your behalf. But there are some other functions as well:
- Maintains effective corporate compliance — that means, they will send you notifications of important events such as tax filing and etc.
- They will forward all the documents usually by scanning and emailing them to you.
- They can even help you to form an LLC for you (most of the companies offer that).
How do I choose the best Registered Agent service?
Sure, there are dozens of great companies offering Registered Agent services. But not all of them are equal. These are the main points I want to suggest considering when choosing
a reliable provider:
- Make sure they work with all 50 states.
- Make sure they provide reminders for annual reports, tax filings and other important events
- Read 3rd party reviews and etc.
What are the main benefits of choosing a Registered Agent service?
There are quite a few benefits in hiring a service provider instead of using your own address to receive various LLC-related paperwork.
Let see a few of them:
- No work and headache involved. They will do everything for you so that you can focus on what really matters — your actual business.
- Flexible working hours. A service provider accepts mail and calls, etc. usually 24/7. So you don’t have to waste your time for that purpose.
- No paperwork. As said, everything is done for you, you will be fully compliant. So a total win-win situation.
- You don’t have to use your physical address. That one is pretty obvious and a very beneficial thing.
What are the best companies that offer these services?
There is a lot of LLC creation companies out there that offer Registered Agent services. Some even include the service free of charge for the 1st year (which is awesome).
Although, not everyone is of the same quality… For example, you might’ve heard of those well-known companies such as LegalZoom, Incfile or etc. They all provide Registered Agent
services. But if you dig a little deeper — you will find some astonishingly great companies that specialize in that field and have superb support. One of those that I can truly recommend is
Northwest Registered Agent. They are not super-widely known, but believe me, by far their support is of stellar quality. And it’s not just my opinion, there are 1000s of 3rd party reviews
praising their work ethic and support quality. If you’re interested you can have a look at this Northwest Registered Agent review here.
Not only they can help you to form an LLC, but they will also provide a free Registered Agent service for 1 year if you choose to work with them. In addition, they allow monthly installments for their service, which is actually great.
Last Word
So as you can see, having a reputable Registered Agent service provider can surely save you a lot of money and time, and headache.
Sure, you can be one yourself if you want, but most people choose professionals to do the job for them.
I hope you found this mini-guide helpful. Good luck!
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