What is a registered agent?

A registered agent is a person or company officially designated to receive legal documents, government notices, tax forms, and lawsuit papers on behalf of your business. Every LLC and corporation in every US state must maintain a registered agent with a physical street address (not a P.O. Box) in the state where the business is registered.

The registered agent must be available at their listed address during normal business hours (typically 9 AM to 5 PM, Monday through Friday) to accept service of process. If your registered agent is unavailable when legal documents are delivered, you could miss critical lawsuit deadlines or government compliance notices. This is why most founders use commercial registered agent services rather than serving as their own agent — a commercial service guarantees availability, provides privacy (their address appears on public records instead of yours), and sends instant digital notifications when documents are received.