Registered agents are an integral part of getting a business incorporated in any or all of the 50 states. Registered agent services can provide you with a safe, secure way to make sure you get all the necessary documents filed with the state according to the state's deadlines.

A registered agent for service should be able to file the documents for you, provide you with paper or electronic copies of all documents, and charge a small fee for doing so. The pricing and costs of registered agents will depend upon the individual services they offer, but you can expect to pay similar prices for things such as:

1. Electronic access to filed documents.

2. A corporation registered agent that can file for incorporation in multiple states.

3. An agent that will work with you to meet your specific business needs.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Choose a LLC registered agent to file in a single state

Most small businesses looking to incorporate for the first time will start with incorporation filing in the state where the business is located. Most registered agents charge between $50 and $100 for a single state filing. This does not include the fee that must be to the state when filing the documents to incorporate your business. These fees vary widely from state to state.

I recommend: Form-A-Corp provides registered agent services in all 50 states and can provide additional agent services for an extra fee. Corporate Creations provides many articles and resources where you can learn more about incorporating your business and the benefits of incorporation.

Use nationwide registered agent services to file in multiple states

There are many registered agent services that can help a company not only filing for incorporation in one state, but in all 50 states. This can comes in handy and can save you money. Some agent services give you discounts for multiple filings. This can cost $50 to $100 for the first state, and 10 to 15 percent discounts for other states. You may also choose to pay a registered agent a yearly fee, which can cost $100 to $150.

I recommend: InCorp offers registered agent services for around $100 per state, plus the ability to choose consolidated billing and accounts for easier management. BizFilings offers a flat yearly rate for businesses that want to keep a registered agent on retainer.

Find a registered agent service that can assist with international incorporations

An international incorporation can really take a business to the next level. With an international incorporation, you can easily branch out into many different countries with your business, whether you specialize in a product or service. International registered agents can cost $75 to $150 per country, but filing fees for incorporation and other services can cost significantly more than domestic state filing fees.

I recommend: CT International Services provides a registered agent for a variety of foreign countries, including Australia, Panama and the United Kingdom. Superior Registered Agents.com provides international representation in Canada, as well as Central America and Western Europe.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  While national registered agents advertise their fees, any company that wants to incorporate must also account for the filing fees in each state.

A registered agent provides a kind of rent-an-identity for your business. You can use a registered agent’s name and address on state incorporation or registration papers. A registered agent (sometimes called resident agent or statutory agent) can also receive process service from courts, and tax and regulatory compliance notifications in your name.

Good reasons to hire registered agents are:

1. To meet state laws. You are typically required to maintain an open office in a state to receive legal documents if you do business in the state, even if your headquarters are in another state. A registered agent provides that office.

2. To take advantage of a Delaware incorporation or Nevada incorporation, two states with favorable business laws, without setting up a business in those states. Nevada or Delaware registered agents help you file and maintain your corporation.

3. To shield your identity or your privacy. You may not want your name and address on public documents filed for your corporation; registered agents can be your stand-in. And you’d probably prefer process service at a registered agent office instead of in front of your customers or family.

4. To keep up with deadlines for taxes and regulations in many states. Beyond their basic role of receiving documents, registered agents will proactively keep you on top of your obligations.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Check the registered agent listings for a state

Most states give you free access to their database of resident agents at the secretary of state website

I recommend: Find a secretary of state website through State and Local Government on the Net.

Go with a national registered agents company

If you're operating in many states, it may make most sense to hire all your registered agents through a single supplier.

I recommend: National resident agent companies are CT Corporation, Corporation Service Company (CSC), National Registered Agents, Inc. (NRAI) and InCorp Services.

Let an incorporation service supply your registered agent

Online incorporation services make it easy to set up your business, including connecting you with a registered agent or acting as resident agents themselves.

I recommend: Some of the leaders in online incorporation are The Company Corporation, MyCorporation, 101Incorporate, LegalZoom and BizFilings.

Find registered agents for Nevada incorporation or Delaware incorporation

The registered agent business is highly competitive in Nevada and Delaware -- registered agents will even expedite your incorporation in a day for the right price.

I recommend: Start your search for Nevada or Delaware registered agents with the Business.com directory of Delaware incorporation and Nevada incorporation services.

Take full advantage of a diversified registered agent service

Registered agents have expanded into many services to help a company keep up with regulatory compliance, annual reports, taxes, and general management of corporate records. They'll even find you a board of directors.

I recommend: Check out some of the services from the bigger companies: BizFilings posts a service of process online. CSC hosts a web-based compliance calendar. NRAI lets you view all your corporate documents online.

Compare fees for resident agents

Registered agent fees are only around $100 a year for basic service and it's a competitive business - you can find first-year-free offers - so shop around.

I recommend: Compare pricing of some registered agents by state at Registered-Agent-Listings.com, check the fees for several states from Pacific Registered Agents and see a first-year-free registered agent offer at FreeRegisteredAgent.com, affiliated with InCorp Services.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  State requirements to qualify as a registered agent are pretty basic: Be a state resident with an open office in the state.
• •  You can name your attorney your registered agent for your home state while turning to resident agent services for other states.
• •  Your state's law may allow you or an officer of your corporation to act as your own registered agent in your home state.
• •  To change registered agents, you typically must file a document with the state and pay a fee.
• •  Maybe this sounds counterintuitive, but you don't want to avoid process service. If you don't contest a suit, you can lose on a default judgement.

Registered agents can help you incorporate your new business. A corporation registered agent can provide your business with many services. The majority of these services include accepting legal documents on your behalf, usually from a local or state office, and representing you when you cannot be present.

A registered agent for service should be able to provide you with reliable service and help you through the process of incorporating your business. Staying on top of registered agents news and trends can help you find out more about how working with an agent can benefit your business. Working with registered agents should be a simple process. When looking into registered agents, make sure to ask about the following:

1. How long the agent has been in business.

2. The price of the services a registered agent provides.

3. Ask previous customers if the incorporated registered agent is reliable.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find reviews of registered agent services to help you make a decision

Because there are so many registered agent services on the Internet and offline, you may wonder about the differences in the services they provide. Besides the fees each company charges, a review of these services may also alert you to slow processing, bad communications and other problems.

I recommend: Legal Spring offers a listing of the top registered agent companies to hire for incorporation services, plus gives them review rankings to help you find the best service. Registered Agent Solutions provides a comparison of services and prices for some of the top registered agent services in the United States.

Connect with nationwide registered agent services through blogs and forums

One of the best ways to get to know registered agents is reading about what they have to say themselves. Online resources such as blogs and forums can put anyone in touch with an actual registered agent, so you can ask specific questions and get the information from a professional source.

I recommend: Merchant Circle offers a blog that includes topics and discussions about registered agent services in the Nevada area, one of the most popular places to incorporate due to the state's business friendly tax laws. BiggerPockets has a forum on LLC registered agents, so people can ask questions about using an agent and find out more about how the process works.

Read news resources to choose a registered agent for service of process

There are many news sources, both online and off, where you can read about registered agents and topics that are pertinent to what registered agents can do for your business. You can find out about laws that regulate what a registered agent can do, and you can also access information about filing fees for the area where you wish to establish an LLC.

I recommend: National Registered Agents provides newsletters that contain information on all aspects of registered agents and what they do, including LLCs, incorporation and other services. Companies Incorporated can also help you to determine what the filing fees are in each state, a price that is not included in the advertised price of a registered agent service.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If you choose a national registered agent for your business incorporation, you may be offered filing discounts if you use the same company for multiple filings.

Registered agents can provide a variety of helpful services to business owners. From helping to incorporate a business in a given state to signing for legal documents, a registered agent can ensure your business runs smoothly. The type of registered agent you will need depends on a variety of factors, including the types of services you need, the states in which you want to incorporate your business and how often you think you'll need to use the agent.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

State incorporation

Many business owners opt to register their businesses as a corporation. Each state has different rules and regulations governing incorporation, so business owners may want to incorporate in a different state than the one they live in. When businesses decide to do this, they need a registered agent to help with the state incorporation.

I recommend: LegalZoom offers an article detailing state incorporation. It covers some of the benefits to incorporating your business in your home state.

Regulatory compliance notification

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) oversees and enforces the rules and regulations governing businesses. When a business fails to abide by the rules and regulations, the DOL sends a regulatory compliance notification to the registered agent representing the business.

I recommend: Visit the website of the U.S. Department of Labor to learn more about the rules and regulations you need to comply with in order to avoid these notifications.

National registered agent

Because each state has its own regulations for incorporating a business, many registered agents specialize in one state or one geographical area. National registered agents offer services in all 50 states.

I recommend: Visit National Registered Agents (NRAI) to learn what services a national registered agent can offer your business.

Diversified agent

A diversified agent is a registered agent who offers services besides incorporation. These services can include finding your business a board of directors, making sure your business is compliant with rules and regulations or creating annual reports for your company.

I recommend: Diversified Corporate Services describes the services provided by diversified agents.

Filing fees

In order to submit documents to a state or government agency, a registered agent will need to pay the filing fees on behalf of your company. In some cases, states offer discounted filing fees for electronic payments.

I recommend: The Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts provides a list of filing fees for the different types of documents you can file with the state. Filing fees vary by state.