Q: I started a Home Inspection business. Do I need to have a Registered Agent?
I used Legal Zoom to help with the initial paper work for my company and now they say that I need to kepp paying them because I need them to act as my Registered Agent.....
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Registered Agent is the legal contact that receives, signs and forwards any State and legal documents to the LLC/Corp on behalf of the company.
- Having an active Registered Agent is a requirement by the Secretary of State to remain in good standing
- A registered agent is a person or company, that goes on public record with the state government as a point of contact for the business
- a designated party which is responsible for receiving all official state correspondence and service of process on behalf of the entity.
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Is this true? If so, can you recommend a way ahead so I can get one for my company and quite with Legal Zoom?
A:
What's true is that you do require a registered agent. The registered agent can be just about anyone as long as they are designated by you to receive legal paperwork on your company's behalf. Many entity startup businesses (such as LegalZoom and a ton of "Create a S-Corp in 5 Minutes!" companies) provide registered agent services, and will send you notices of anything that they receive on your company's behalf.
You can also elect to be your company's registered agent as well (to save a couple bucks), but like with anything as an entrepreneur, it means it's more paperwork for you to manage and maintain, and more to learn about legal process in the event you were to receive something critical. It's do-able, but just know it means more work like with anything as a small business owner.
Many law offices offer registered agent services as well. This is typical when you have a prior relationship with the firm, or seek to build one so that if legal issues ever come up, the attorney knows your business, and can respond to it quicker than having to find a lawyer when an emergency strikes.
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