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Your business must appoint a registered agent to receive documents in legal matters, including notice of lawsuit. Our reliable registered agent service fulfills this requirement. You get:
A registered agent is a crucial partner in your business operations. Their role may be as simple as receiving and forwarding legal documents and government notices from the secretary of state, but any omission by your resident agent can have several legal implications.
So, what happens when a business suffers legal consequences due to a mistake made by its agent? Can a registered agent be held liable?
This guide will explain the responsibilities of a resident agent and the circumstances under which they can be held liable. You’ll also learn about Harbor Compliance, a reliable and trustworthy resident agent service provider that can help you stay on top of legal obligations.
The primary role of a registered agent is to receive legal documents and official government communications and forward them to your business.
The agent is vital in preventing potential fines or even default judgments against your business. By providing a reliable channel for official communication, the agent enables your organization to respond effectively to legal and administrative matters.
The primary legal obligation of your registered is to serve as the official point of contact for your business. They receive different types of documents, including:
A resident agent must ensure the documents reach you promptly, helping maintain your right to due process.
An agent is also legally required to have a physical address in the state where your business is registered. It must be a street address—not a P.O. Box or virtual office. They must be physically present in the registered office throughout normal business, ensuring there’s always a reliable channel for your business to receive important legal and tax documents.
Note that the registered agent’s address is a matter of public record. If your agent changes their address, they’re required to inform you. In that case, you must inform the secretary of state about the change as soon as possible.
A registered agent can be held liable, but only under specific circumstances. An agent’s liability is typically tied to their failure to meet legal obligations, including the following:
If your registered agent is unavailable to receive legal documents at their registered office during regular business hours, your organization could miss important notices, which can lead to a loss of good standing with the state.
Harbor Compliance uploads and forwards documents the same day they’re received, ensuring you reliably receive important notices.
A resident agent’s responsibilities include receiving legal documents and forwarding them to you on time. Delays and submissions to the wrong person can cause you to miss important deadlines or fail to respond to notices promptly.
Harbor Compliance ensures that this doesn’t happen by processing and forwarding the notices to you the same day they are received.
If your statutory agent uses a P.O. Box or mail forwarding service instead of a physical address, they’re not fulfilling their obligations. Such an oversight could invalidate their role as a registered agent and expose your business to risks like default judgments, penalties, and even administrative dissolution by the state.
Harbor Compliance has a registered office in every state, which can help you meet registered agent address requirements across all U.S. states.
As a business owner, you must inform the secretary of state or equivalent office immediately if your resident agent changes their physical address. To ensure your business remains on top of its obligations, your agent should notify you about the change.
Harbor Compliance has a robust system in place to ensure any address changes are promptly reported. As a commercial agent provider, we can make a blanket filing that updates the address for all our clients, absolving them of that responsibility.
Misrepresentation means knowingly and willfully providing false or misleading information or concealing important facts. It could involve a registered agent providing incorrect details about their qualifications, experience, or physical address.
Holding an agent accountable is crucial for several reasons, the main ones being:
Harbor Compliance uses a robust system to ensure your legal documents and government notices are handled with utmost care and professionalism, exemplifying the qualities of a dependable agent.
To avoid the potential legal risks associated with having a registered agent who doesn’t fulfill their duty, you should exercise due diligence before appointing one. A reliable agent can help protect your business from liability, meet state requirements, and provide peace of mind.
Even though you can, being your own registered agent is not recommended. The downsides of being your own agent include:
Even if you choose another individual (e.g., an employee, friend, or family member) as your agent, these downsides still apply if they’re not fully committed or equipped to handle the role’s responsibilities.
This is why appointing an organization serving as a registered agent (known as a commercial agent) is a much safer option. These organizations have trained staff and systems in place to help prevent such omissions and ensure you never miss an important notice.
If you need a trustworthy and reliable partner, Harbor Compliance is an excellent option.
Harbor Compliance offers a Registered Agent Service to help your business meet regulatory obligations. Our team of experts is always available to receive legal documents in our local registered offices, ensuring you stay on top of all correspondence.
Once we receive the documents, we process and forward them to you electronically on the same day. We’ll also send you an email with a link directing you to the secure Client Portal to review the notice.
In case of litigation, we’ll also call the appropriate person in your organization to ensure you’ve received the notice, helping protect your business from penalties and default judgments.
We also offer additional solutions to help you meet other legal obligations. The table below shows some of our ancillary services:
| Category | Services |
|---|---|
| Document filing and retrieval | |
| Business Licensing |
|
| Lifecycle support | |
| Beneficial ownership information reporting |
|
| Tax services | |
| Nonprofit services |
Our comprehensive Registered Agent Service eliminates the downside of appointing yourself or another individual as your resident agent. Partnering with us comes with many benefits, including:
You can appoint Harbor Compliance as your registered agent in three scenarios:
If you’re forming a new organization and want a seamless process, you can pick from our three entity formation services:
Once you select the service that meets your needs, we’ll handle the rest of the process, including filing the necessary documents and appointing Harbor Compliance as your registered agent.
If you want to file the statutory documents in-house, you can order Our Registered Agent Service separately and appoint us in three simple steps:
Growing your business and expanding into a new state is easier said than done due to differences in regulatory requirements.
The good news is that with our Foreign Qualification Service, you can expedite the process. Complete the signup wizard, and we’ll file the required paperwork and help you get a certificate of authority.
If you choose the package, we’ll also provide our Registered Agent Service for one year at no extra cost.
If you’re considering changing your registered agent to reduce potential liabilities, you can partner with us. Order our Registered Agent Service and select Add Change of Agent Service during checkout. Once you complete the pre-filled form, we’ll submit it to the relevant state agency, allowing you to proceed with other urgent business operations.
Below, you’ll find answers to commonly asked registered agent questions. If you need additional guidance, visit our robust Information Center.
Your accountant can be your registered agent as long as they meet specific criteria. They must be a legal adult, have a physical address in the state where your business is registered, and be present at the registered office during regular business hours. However, appointing a registered agent service provider like Harbor Compliance is a much safer option.
A registered agent doesn’t have to be an attorney. You can appoint an employee, friend, relative, third-party organization, and even yourself as your registered agent, provided the state requirements are met. If you want a reliable registered agent, though, you can’t go wrong with Harbor Compliance.
The penalties for not having a registered agent can be severe, including restrictions from registering your business with the state, inability to expand into new states, revocation of certificate of authority, and even administrative dissolution.
You should always maintain a resident agent to ensure your business remains in good standing with the state.
Whether you’re just starting your business or expanding it into another state, you can count on Harbor Compliance. Order our Registered Agent Service and have peace of mind knowing our team of professionals will receive and forward important legal documents promptly, helping protect your business from statutory liability.
If you need to uncover and address other legal issues without delay, leverage our free Harbor Compliance Score™. For a more comprehensive solution to managing your regulatory duties, consider our advanced compliance platform. Book a demonstration to see it in operation.
If you’re interested in our ancillary services, reach out, and we’ll provide comprehensive information to help you make the appropriate choice based on your business needs.
To learn more about registered agent requirements in U.S. states and territories, refer to the table below:
