How To Be Your Own Registered Agent

If y'all're running a concern that requires a registered amanuensis, you lot might be tempted to take on the responsibility yourself. At offset glance, being a registered agent seems simple, since you're really tasked with monitoring the postal service and receiving state correspondence for your business.

But this position comes with significant responsibility, and if you lot brand mistakes, you could state your business organisation in financial or legal problem – or both.

Before you make up one's mind to be your ain registered amanuensis, it's important to understand merely what'due south involved and what y'all'll need to practice to position yourself for success.

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Quicksprout.com's complete beginner's guide to being your own registered agent.

What is a Registered Agent?

If you determine to operate your business concern as an LLC or a corporation, you'll need a registered agent. The registered agent helps to connect your business and the state and is responsible for accepting state documents on behalf of the business and ensuring that the business stays compliant with the state constabulary.

Some businesses choose a third-party business to act as a registered agent, but it's likewise possible to exist your own registered agent, every bit long as you follow some specific requirements. There are pros and cons to being your own registered amanuensis, though, so it'southward important to make certain that this is the right choice for both you and your business concern.

The Basics of Being Your Own Registered Agent

To become your own registered amanuensis, you'll demand to meet some strict requirements. The following steps tin guide you through the process.

1. Carefully Consider the Pros and Cons

Becoming your own registered agent might seem platonic, but there are several pros and cons that you should consider.

As a registered agent, you'll need to publish the physical street accost where your business organization operates. If this is your habitation, so your home address will be public.

Yous'll as well need to receive state documents and correspondence at that address, including being served in the instance of a lawsuit. If yous're operating out of a business, so your staff will see you be served with these documents.

You'll also need to be available during normal business organisation hours, year-round. If you often take vacations or have a flexible schedule, this commitment will be difficult.

Many businesses utilise registered amanuensis services for these reasons. While these services do toll money, they are more convenient and can be more thorough than you may be while balancing your normal work responsibilities with the commitment of being a registered agent. Using a professional person service tin assistance to ensure that documents and correspondence aren't missed, and that your business stays fully compliant with the law.

Condign a registered agent tin potentially save your business organization money, only it's important to counterbalance the pros and cons of this choice. This decision isn't right for everyone and every business. If you feel that information technology's the right selection for you, the following steps can assistance you to motion forrard with the process.

ii. Decide Your Business concern Address

Every bit a registered amanuensis, yous'll demand to have a physical address that'south within the country where your company operates. This address cannot be a mail part box or a private postal service service.

You lot'll demand to provide the concrete address of a brick and mortar location where you can receive mail or where y'all can have service of process.

In the case of a web-based business organisation or a smaller business concern that yous operate from home, your business accost may be your home accost. This is acceptable, but your dwelling address may be provided to the public.

Yous might be served with legal documents at your domicile, and you'll likely receive increased amounts of junk mail. You might too have security concerns about your accost being publicly fastened to the concern.

Put careful thought into the business address that is best to use. If you've been working out of the home simply have been because getting office infinite, this might be the time to make that transition so you accept a business address that isn't your home.

Keep in mind that every time you modify your business address, you'll need to notify the state of the address change. In that location's usually a fee associated with accost changes, and completing the required paperwork tin can as well be time-consuming. For these reasons, it's best to try to proceed accost changes to a minimum.

3. Determine an Advisable Schedule

Another requirement of beingness a registered amanuensis is that you lot need to accept regular business hours at your business address yr-round. This is for the purposes of accepting mail and service of process in the result of a lawsuit.

If you have a small business concern or a home-based business concern and don't accept additional staff, it tin can be difficult to ensure that the business is staffed during working hours year-circular. Advisedly program your schedule and brand sure that you're ready for this commitment. Consider what you'll do about coverage during vacations and plan out how you lot'll manage this type of schedule.

4. Designate Registered Agents in Every State

If your business operates in multiple states, you'll need to accept a registered agent in every country. This tin be challenging if you're not nonetheless operating a brick-and-mortar business in every state y'all operate in, and it might warrant hiring a registered agent service in some or all of those states.

While you may work equally a registered agent in your country, before you make that determination to move forrad, be sure that y'all take a programme to provide registered agents for the other states.

five. Get Organized

Every bit a registered amanuensis, you're responsible for receiving notices and ensuring that they go proper attending from your business. You're also responsible for accepting service of process.

Focus on means that y'all can ensure y'all're organized and yous don't miss any important mail. This might mean developing mail handling procedures for your team, ensuring you check your mailbox daily, or even taking over the mail treatment duties, yourself.

Mail service isn't always recognizable, and information technology's of import to promptly receive any state correspondence. Develop a process then that all mail is opened and read daily.

6. Create an Activity Plan

To ensure that all of the notices you receive are handled accordingly, work with your employees and business organisation managers to develop an action plan. Put some steps in place then that if you receive land correspondence that requires activeness, you lot know who to connect with, how to initiate the advisable response, and how to follow up to verify that advisable action has been taken.

The follow-up phase is particularly important, especially if the correspondence requires someone else in the business organization to take some sort of action. Even though this activeness might not exist your responsibility, you all the same need to monitor the progress and verify that the action is completed by your deadline.

Consider using calendars, checklists, automated reminders, and whatsoever other tools that tin help ensure you don't miss anything important and are able to run into the process through to completion.

seven. Review Any Additional Land Requirements

The above requirements to become a registered agent are somewhat general and widely practical, but every state has its ain rules and regulations. Be certain to research your country'south specific requirements to make sure that yous'll qualify equally a registered agent.

8. File a Statement of Change

If you're already using a registered agent and want to become your own amanuensis, then your business will need to file a Statement of Change with your state. Filing fees and processing times tin vary.

If you're starting a new LLC or incorporating your business, you'll need to identify yourself as the registered agent when you file the paperwork.

Being a registered agent is total of challenges, and something as simple as an overlooked detect could outcome in legal and financial consequences for your concern. These three tools can make your job easier and help ensure that you don't overlook annihilation of import.

monday.com

mon.com is a workflow management programme that tin can assist to proceed yous and your entire squad working together smoothly. With mon.com, you lot can ensure that everyone takes appropriate action after you've received of import correspondence from the state.

You tin apply monday.com to assign tasks and deadlines to your team members, and and so you can see at a glance whether they've completed those tasks or non. All of your team members using monday.com will run into the tasks and deadlines, and will be able to provide updates right through the system, keeping everyone updated.

Y'all can access the platform on your telephone, so you lot e'er have the latest updates and tin keep your business progressing.

Ring Video Doorbell

If you work out of your home, it's essential that y'all are available to receive correspondence and deliveries during normal business hours. Using the Ring Video Doorbell can help ensure you never miss a delivery or visitor who comes to your firm. It's ideal if your office is located toward the back of the property or if y'all otherwise don't always hear the doorbell.

This video doorbell detects motion and sends a notification right to your phone, tablet, or computer. You lot can then meet and talk to the visitors in existent time, letting them know that you'll be right out to greet them. This might help to prevent missed deliveries or attempted deliveries of service of process.

TickTick

While a workflow management system like mon.com is a groovy selection for those larger tasks and to-dos, you might also want to utilise a personal reminder app to help ensure y'all don't forget those piddling details and projects yous're working on each mean solar day. TickTick is an app that tin can assist you to manage your to-dos, no matter how small or how tight the deadline is.

With TickTick, you tin ready reminders for everything from needing to check the postal service to needing to follow upwardly with your business organization owners. This app offers five calendar views to go along yous on job, and notifications volition remind you nearly those of import items you lot can't afford to forget.

3 Tricks for Existence Your Own Registered Agent

Being a registered amanuensis tin be challenging, and mistakes tin be expensive for your business organization. These 3 tricks can help you to set for this responsibleness.

Learn How to Handle a Service of Process

At that place are many potential consequences for mishandling or overlooking country correspondence, but mishandling a service of process could potentially lead to a default judgment against your business in a legal case. Just in case y'all receive a service of process, it's essential that y'all know how to properly handle it.

Familiarize yourself with the process that you lot'll need to follow if you lot are ever served. This is an excellent question to discuss with your lawyer, who tin help you lot to depict up a game plan – just in case.

Develop a Calendar

It's essential that you are bachelor during working hours throughout the entire calendar twelvemonth. The exception is only for weekends and federal holidays. Establish a calendar well ahead of time and ensure that you lot're available to receive correspondence during those times.

Triple-Bank check Your Deadlines

When you receive correspondence, you need to read it carefully and look for the essential information, including deadlines associated with the request. Consider making a photocopy of the correspondence so you lot can highlight information technology and draw on it, making notes that will help you lot to meliorate empathize the certificate.

As you identify deadlines, put them right into a calendar. It's always wise to back upward your deadlines for a few days, so you have a fiddling actress time if something goes wrong. Then, follow up with anybody involved in the process to verify that the correct action has been completed in time.

What to Do Next

Information technology'southward important to carefully consider whether being your own registered agent is the right decision for y'all and your business organization. The money you could save might exist appealing, but be honest with yourself near whether you can commit to the responsibilities that this decision brings.

Mistakes and overlooked correspondence can be very expensive and comport meaning consequences for your business concern, and so it's important to only take on this role if you lot're certain that you can practise information technology well.

Earlier y'all make up one's mind to be your ain registered amanuensis, inquiry some registered agent services. Inquire for quotes and get details about how the services operate. Their rates might surprise you, and you might find that the investment is well worth the peace of mind that working with a service volition give you.

If y'all're all the same because which type of business organisation operation is right for you, do some research into how an LLC and a corporation compare. Information technology can also be helpful to research how to first an LLC, which can requite you information on the other requirements that your business organization volition need to meet.

The more information you have most these business options and the requirements of being your own registered agent, the amend able you'll be to make a well-informed decision almost how to handle your business.