Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What is a registered agent?
A. Virtually all states require corporations, limited liability companies (LLCs), nonprofits, limited partnerships (LPs) and limited liability partnerships (LLPs) to appoint a registered agent in the state where the company is formed and, if applicable, foreign qualified. The registered agent is responsible for receiving important legal and tax documents on behalf of the company including: Service of Process (notice of litigation), franchise tax forms and annual report forms.
The registered agent may be an individual or it may be a company approved by the state to act as agent. It must be located at a street address in the state where the company is formed or qualified. Post office boxes are not acceptable. The registered agent's name and address are included on the formation documents. This information is a matter of public record.
Appointing BizFilings as your registered agent provides your company the assurance that this important service is handled correctly and efficiently.
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Q. What is Service of Process (SOP)?
A. Service of Process (SOP), also sometimes called notice of litigation, is the legal term for the delivery of copies of legal documents such as summons, complaints, subpoenas, orders to show cause, writs, notices to quit the premises and certain other documents. As your registered agent, BizFilings accepts these legal notices on your behalf. Additionally, many states send taxation documents, annual reports and other important state mail to the registered agent. BizFilings logs this mail and forwards it to you.
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Q. How are legal documents handled by BizFilings?
A. BizFilings accepts any legal Service of Process (SOP) documents for your company, records the document in your company file, scans the document for online viewing in our password-protected Corporate Status Center, and sends an electronic copy to the contact email address on file. If a hard or original copy is requested, shipping charges of $16.95 will apply. With state and taxation documents and other registered agent mail, BizFilings logs the mail in your company record and then forwards to you.
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Q. When a Service of Process (SOP) arrives, how is a client notified?
A. BizFilings notifies you via email upon receiving SOP.
Additionally, BizFilings scans SOPs as they arrive and makes them available to you to access securely online in BizFilings' Corporate Status Center. Paperless SOP delivery is part of the BizFilings' Going Green Initiative (to reduce paper waste in the workplace). Electronic delivery of SOP enables easy distribution of the document to in-house or external legal counsel as needed.
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Q. What is BizComply?
A. BizComply is a web-based compliance management tool which outlines critical compliance events, notifies you before these events need to happen, provides access to important forms and houses your company's important information in one convenient location. If you are an owner of multiple businesses, you can keep track of each business through a single account. Additionally, if your business is qualified in other states, BizComply will help you manage the compliance requirements for each of those states.
BizComply is included with BizFilings' Registered Agent Service. Learn more about BizComply.
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Q. As my registered agent, can BizFilings help me with annual reports?
A. Yes. BizFilings offers electronic filing of annual reports and franchise tax payments in many states. BizFilings makes it easier than ever for customers to meet the state’s annual reporting requirements.
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Q. Why should I use a registered agent provider?
A. As long as you have a physical address in the state of formation or qualification, you can act as the registered agent for your business; however, there are many reasons why business owners, even owners of one or two person businesses, choose to use a registered agent provider.
A few benefits of using a registered agent provider include:
- Stability – If are the registered agent for your company and you change addresses, you must update the state with your new address. Doing so requires filing a certificate of amendment and paying the necessary state filing fees. If you use a provider, it is the provider’s responsibility to keep its address updated and to pay any state fees itself should it need to change its address.
- Reliability – Providers like BizFilings ensure that someone is always present in their offices during normal business hours, in order to accept service of process and other important documents. If you have a profession where you travel often, do not maintain normal business hours or make a number of service calls, using a provider ensures that someone is always present.
- Anonymity – The registered agent name and address is a matter of public record, which means that anyone can access it. If you are forming or qualifying your business in a state that does not require the legal address of the business to be listed in the formation or qualification documents, the registered agent address will be the only address on record for your company. Home-based businesses often choose to use a registered agent service provider to keep the home address of the owner a little more private. Additionally, new business formations are a favorite list of marketers. Using a provider can help cut down on the volume of unsolicited mail.
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