Can you be your own registered agent? The short answer to that question is yes.
Of course, you can be your own registered agent if you fulfil certain requirements. However, you need to remember that it comes with many responsibilities.
The bigger question is:
Should you be your own registered agent? Can you handle the work it entails along with your entrepreneurial duties?
Before you answer these questions, first learn more about what is required to be a registered agent and why many entrepreneurs today choose to hire a reliable service as opposed to managing this requirement on their own. Budget, simplicity and privacy are the primary things to keep in mind.
Who Can Become a Registered Agent?
Anyone—an individual or a professional service—who fulfils the following criteria can work as a registered agent:
- Is at least 18 years old
- Has a physical address in the state where the company is authorized to conduct business
- Can be contacted during business hours
What are the Pros and Cons of Being Your Own Registered Agent?
Whether you opt to start your own LLC or Corporation, you will need a registered agent to receive official notices on your company’s behalf. You’ll need them for service of process, notifications related to state and federal taxes, and overall correspondence with the state.
If your company isn’t based in the state where you are doing business, having a registered agent is important for legal purposes.
In fact, you can also be your own registered agent. To ascertain if it’s the right choice for you, check out its pros and cons.
Pros of Being Your Own Registered Agent
Here are some of the pros of being your own registered agent:
1. You Can Save Money
The key benefit of being your own registered agent is that you can save money you’d otherwise pay to a registered agent.
If you’re on a tight budget, being your own registered agent can be a good choice.
2. You Don’t Have to Coordinate With Others
If you’re your own registered agent, you’d get access to all the legal paperwork directly. You won’t need to call another professional service or agent to find out what’s going on.
Cons of Being Your Own Registered Agent
Now, let’s talk about the downsides of being your own registered agent:
1. You’ll Have to Be Available During Business Hours
As an entrepreneur, you’re likely to have a lot of work on your hands. Being your own registered agent may add to the work. That’s because you’re required to be available during normal business hours.
You will need to reside in the state where your business is being conducted. Since P.O. boxes aren’t considered, you will need to be available at your designated physical address.
2. You’ll Need to Be Extremely Organized
As a registered agent, you’ll receive paperwork that is related to your business’ tax forms, annual reports, and renewal reminders.
Some of them are likely to be very important and time-sensitive documents. To ensure you don’t miss any deadlines, you will need to keep your paperwork very organized.
If you’re someone who struggles with staying organized, it might be a better idea to appoint a third-party registered agent. They will make sure that all your important legal documents are kept in order and passed to the relevant authorities in a timely manner.
3. You May Have Privacy Concerns
If you want to be your own registered agent, you may end up using your home address for official purposes. This may raise privacy concerns as it makes your home address public. It could mean that you could receive a lot more junk mail and be easily accessible to marketers.
Furthermore, angry litigants may also show up at your doorstep to serve you the notice of a lawsuit. In fact, you may receive other confidential paperwork like court summons and lawsuit paperwork at home as well.
If you are worried that such an instance could damage your reputation, you may be better off working with a registered agent. They can accept such confidential paperwork on your behalf so that you can maintain your privacy.
4. You Must Make Address Change Notices Promptly
If you are planning to move your business to a new location, it might not be a good idea to become your registered agent. You’ll have to notify the state each time you change your address.
Not only will this process be time-consuming but you’ll also need to pay an additional fee for each address change. If you add up the fees involved and the time you’ll need to invest in handling address changes, it may seem simpler to hire a professional registered agent service.
Ready to Make a Choice?
Now that you know the requirements as well as the pros and cons of being your own registered agent, it’s time to make a choice.
If you are on a tight budget and would like to handle all the paperwork on your own, it makes sense to become your own registered agent. Otherwise, it’s better to hire professional services to ensure your paperwork stays organized and gets submitted in a timely manner.
The best part is that you can maintain your privacy while the appointed registered agent accepts confidential paperwork on your behalf.
Choose wisely and avoid future troubles. All the best!
Ingrid Maldine is a business writer, editor and management consultant with extensive experience writing and consulting for both start-ups and long established companies. She has ten years management and leadership experience gained at BSkyB in London and Viva Travel Guides in Quito, Ecuador, giving her a depth of insight into innovation in international business. With an MBA from the University of Hull and many years of experience running her own business consultancy, Ingrid’s background allows her to connect with a diverse range of clients, including cutting edge technology and web-based start-ups but also multinationals in need of assistance. Ingrid has played a defining role in shaping organizational strategy for a wide range of different organizations, including for-profit, NGOs and charities. Ingrid has also served on the Board of Directors for the South American Explorers Club in Quito, Ecuador.
