A registered agent is someone who receives legal and service of process documents on your company's behalf. By law, you are required to designate an in-state registered agent in order to maintain good standing with the state.

You can choose an individual or a commercial registered agent service. Some states allow you to designate yourself or your own company to be its own registered agent.

The agent must be physically available during normal office hours to receive any service of process documents.

VPM offers registered agent services in all the states where we have mailbox addresses. These currently include California, Delaware, Florida, and Nevada.

For the time being, yes. This is because all received documents are inducted directly into your mailbox. This also allows you to get your legal documents on the same day so you have more time to review and respond.

Yes. Most states allow you to search public records to find the name and address of a registered agent. This means that if you were to put yourself as the registered agent, your personal information will become public. This creates a privacy concern and is the biggest reason why you'd want to go with a commercial registered agent.

Your registered agent is your official contact with the State. Important compliance information and official correspondences from the state will be sent to your registered agent.

Additionally, it also serves as the primary contact for receiving service of process, which are usually documents served by the court.

You can learn more about why you need a registered agent here.

Failing to have a registered agent appointed for your company may result in serious adverse consequences, including heavy penalties and revival fees. Additionally, your company will not be in good standing status, which will disallow you from performing some business activities such as opening bank accounts or filing legal documents with the court.

You cannot use a PO Box. The address of your registered agent must be a physical business address where an individual can receive and sign for documents in person.

Often, yes, you can act as your own registered agent. However, some states such as Texas do not allow you to. Check your secretary of state website. In addition, you’ll risk compromising your privacy and running into compliance issues if you act as your own registered agent.

Time-sensitive materials require immediate attention. You’re busy running your business and that means you’re not always available during regular business hours to receive important communications or documents that require a response by a certain deadline or due date.

There are a few other risks to being your own registered agent that you may want to consider.

If you have an existing company with another registered agent, please follow the steps in each support article specific to your state:

• Delaware
• California
• Florida
• Nevada