Filings Made Easy™

What is a Registered Agent (Resident Agent)?

A Registered Agent, or Resident Agent or Statutory Agent, is an agent that is designated by a company to receive legal documents, such as service of process, when the company becomes a party to, or is otherwise involved in, a lawsuit or other legal matter.

The Registered Agent for a business may be an individual or a third party, such as the company’s lawyer or a service company (such as Filings Made Easy, through its owner, Corporate Filing Solutions, LLC).

The purpose of a Registered Agent is to provide a physical legal address within that state where individuals are available during normal business hours to receive legal documents. The Registered Agent receives these documents on behalf of the company and then is required to promptly provide them to the company. In addition to documents relating to litigation, the Registered Agent also receives documents relating to tax and annual franchise or other annual corporate filings.

Do you need a Registered Agent for your company?

Yes. Every legal entity is required to have a Registered Agent in the state of its incorporation or formation and in each other state in which the company operates.

Should your company utilize a commercial Registered Agent?

Filings Made Easy thinks so. Here is why:

• Confidentiality. A commercial Registered Agent will handle litigation filings in a confidential and professional manner. If legal documents are delivered to a company’s normal place of business, employees may learn of this before even the CEO, which could lead to rumors and other unintended consequences.
• Expertise. Employees of a company may not understand the importance of certain legal documents. A commercial Registered Agent provides important legal documents directly to the company’s CEO or other senior officer who has been designated to receive correspondence from the Registered Agent. This ensures that important documents are immediately attended to, and not misplaced or misunderstood.
• Flexibility. A commercial Registered Agent provides a company with the flexibility to change its address without the burden of notifying the Secretary or State. This avoids the unfortunate consequences that could arise if a business owner forgets to change its address with the Secretary of State, such as a default judgment in a law suit involving the company.
• Availability. A commercial Registered Agent is always available during normal business hours. This availability provides the business owner with the ability to travel and to staff his offices as needed, without worrying about having someone available at all times in those offices. This avoids the unfortunate consequences that could arise if legal documents are served when the offices are unattended.
• Monitoring. A commercial Registered Agent keeps track of filing requirements of their clients’ businesses. This service allows these clients to focus on their businesses, rather than the hassle of monitoring filing requirements and deadlines. This can also potentially save businesses thousands of dollars in penalties for late filings.
• Responsiveness. Some commercial Registered Agents (such as Filings Made Easy, through its affiliate Corporate Filing Solutions) provide real-time notice of litigation, and forward all official documents directly to the companies they represent (often by email, fax and/or nationally recognized overnight courier service).
• Value. The cost per year of a commercial Registered Agent is nominal, relative to the risks that a company may face if a default judgment is entered against a company.

Filings Made Easy/Corporate Filing Solutions, LLC qualifies as a “commercial registered agent” in those states that recognize such status, and also qualifies as a Commercial Registered Office Provider (often called a CROP) in Pennsylvania.

Filings Made Easy will also assist any company with the necessary documents if it wishes to change registered agents to Filings Made Easy. Please contact Filings Made Easy at customerservice@FilingsMadeEasy.com or 888-237-3410 if you wish to discuss changing your registered agent or otherwise naming Filings Made Easy (or an affiliated entity) as your registered agent in any state or states.

Get Started with Registered Agent Services from Filings Made Easy Today