Missouri Registered Agent

Duties of a Registered Agent in Missouri

If your organization is involved in litigation, a registered agent receives service or process and other legal notices on your behalf. They then forward such notices to your organization so that you can respond promptly.

The agent must be available during business hours at the registered office—an address in Missouri to which your notices can be delivered. As process servers must hand out legal notices in person, the registered office has to be a physical location. You can list a P.O. box, but only in conjunction with the physical address, not instead of it.

If your agent misses your notice due to absence or fails to deliver it timely, you may be unaware of legal action taken against your organization. You might miss the court date, in which case the ruling will most likely be in the plaintiff’s favor. This is known as default judgment, and a reputable registered agent should help you avoid such escalations.

Missouri Registered Agent Requirements

Missouri Statutes (Section 351.370) allow the following to act as registered agents:

1. An individual who resides in the state (e.g., a friend, employee, family member, etc.)
2. An organization authorized to transact in Missouri (domestic or foreign)

The aforementioned issue of missed notices is more prevalent among individuals. Your agent might be absent for many reasons, such as:

• Travel
• Illness/Emergency
• Other obligations

By contrast, organizations serving as agents—often called commercial registered agents—have a more elaborate system in place to ensure your notices reach you on time. They typically employ several people who can accept your correspondence, which makes them far more reliable than individuals.

How To Appoint/Change a Registered Agent in Missouri

A registered agent must be appointed with the secretary of state before you start operating in Missouri. With this in mind, there are two scenarios in which you’ll name an agent, as shown in the following table:

If you already have an agent but wish to partner with another one, you need to submit the Statement of Change of Registered Agent and/or Registered Office. The same form is used by corporations and LLCs (domestic or foreign), and there’s a $10 fee you’ll need to pay.

In some cases, changing your agent isn’t voluntary. If your current agent resigns, you must appoint a new one as soon as possible and submit the Statement of Change to the secretary of state. Not doing so on time is grounds for involuntary dissolution, which means your organization’s rights to operate in Missouri are revoked.

Note that if you opt for a commercial registered agent, they can update their details with the secretary of state on behalf of all represented entities. In this case, you may not need to submit any documents independently.

Missouri Registered Agent Services by Harbor Compliance

To help your organization meet its statutory obligations and respond to any legal matters promptly, Harbor Compliance offers a robust Registered Agent Service. It encompasses everything you need to never miss a notice, most notably:

• A local office in Harrisonville—Our office is open during regular business hours, so someone will always be there to receive your notices.
• Same-day electronic delivery of your sensitive notices—We process your notice as soon as we receive it, and you’ll get a phone call in case of legal action.
• A secure Client Portal—This is where you can manage your notices and get pre-filled state forms that save time and reduce the risk of clerical errors.

Our rich service portfolio expands far beyond the Registered Agent Service. If you need additional support to operate in accordance with Missouri’s law, here are some of the main ways we can help:

Individual Missouri Registered Agents vs. Harbor Compliance

The risk of missed notices is reason enough to reconsider appointing a third-party individual agent. You might want to enlist someone from your organization because they’ll be available during business hours, but this doesn’t resolve the issue completely, as they can still take time off and be unavailable.

Worse yet, there’s a chance you might be served in front of your team members or clients, which can be inconvenient.

You may also consider appointing yourself, but there are three major disadvantages of doing so:

1. Your personal information would be made publicly available
2. You’d need to be at the registered office during business hours without exception
3. You can’t appoint yourself in multiple states at the same time

Partnering with Harbor Compliance eliminates all of the above risks and complications. The main reasons why it’s the safest and most convenient option include the following:

• Complete privacy—When you appoint us, our information is listed with the secretary of state, so your details remain private.
• Constant availability—Someone is always there to accept your notice during business hours.
• Freedom and flexibility—We have local offices across the U.S., so you can appoint us in multiple jurisdictions and manage all notices online.
• Strong security—From data encryption to internal confidentiality agreements, we take all the necessary precautions to keep your data safe.
• Discretion—All notices are delivered to the secure Client Portal, so there are no unpleasant surprises at your place of work.

How To Appoint Harbor Compliance as Your Missouri Registered Agent

The process of partnering with us depends on whether you are:

1. Registering a new legal entity
2. Expanding your organization into Missouri
3. Changing your registered agent

Registering a New Organization

Harbor Compliance lets you choose between two approaches to forming your new organization—fully managed and DIY. If you go with the former, you can leverage any of the following services:

• Incorporation
• Nonprofit formation
• LLC formation

Choose the service based on your business structure, and we’ll handle the formation process from start to finish. We’ll appoint Harbor Compliance as your registered agent while submitting the relevant filings.

If you want to complete the registration yourself, you can order our Registered Agent Service and take the following steps to appoint us:

1. Sign up for the service
2. Visit the Client Portal to find the address of our Harrisonville office alongside pre-filled registration forms
3. Complete the forms and submit them to the Missouri secretary of state

Expanding Into Missouri

If you need help expanding your organization into Missouri from your home state, our Foreign Qualification Service package will ensure you check all the necessary boxes.

Complete the signup wizard, and we will:

• Submit all the relevant filings on your behalf
• Obtain your Missouri certificate of authority
• Appoint Harbor Compliance as your registered agent and provide the service at no additional cost for a year

Changing Your Agent

As you saw earlier in this guide, changing a registered agent is straightforward enough. Still, we can make the process even smoother if you sign up for the Registered Agent Service.

Right before checkout, you’ll see the Change of Agent service option. Select it, and we’ll submit the Statement of Change on your behalf to save you time and energy.

Stay on Top of Legal Obligations With Harbor Compliance

When you sign up for our Registered Agent Service, you can rest assured no official correspondence will be missed. You can focus on high-value work while letting a team of experts handle this responsibility.

Missouri imposes many additional requirements on organizations that wish to operate in it, and we’re here to help you meet all of them. You can begin by getting a free Harbor Compliance Score™, which will let you spot any issues proactively.

If you want to minimize tedious processes and paperwork, you can inquire about the other services you saw above. We’ve also launched an advanced software solution that helps you meet all your statutory obligations, so schedule a demonstration to see how it works.

To learn more about our Registered Agent Service in other U.S. states and territories, refer to the following table: