Glossary
Registered agent
The person or company with a physical address in the formation state, designated to receive legal papers and state notices for an entity.
Every state requires one, in every state where the entity is registered. The agent receives service of process (lawsuits), tax notices and annual report reminders during business hours and forwards them to you. Non-resident owners need a commercial agent by definition; resident owners can act as their own, at the cost of putting their home address on the public record.
Commercial agents charge roughly $50 to $200 a year per state. The two failures that cost money: an agent whose forwarding email nobody reads, so a lawsuit or a $25,000 IRS notice sits unanswered, and an agent that lapses for non-payment, which puts the entity out of good standing.
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