Your registered agent in Florida will accept any legal correspondence and services of process for your business entity. It is a requirement in Florida for every LLC and corporation to select a registered agent during the process of formation. Companies without registered agents will face penalties from the state’s Division of Corporations. They may even have their business authority revoked.
If your Florida business gets sued, the court sends a notice to the registered agent. This agent accepts this notice for your corporation before forwarding it to you. Choosing a reliable registered agent will ensure quick delivery of any of these documents. Our site is not yet live, but you can learn more about our registered agent service in Florida here.
In addition to the legal requirement to have a registered agent in Florida, there are some benefits associated with hiring one. One of the biggest advantages comes from privacy. Registered agents can keep your information away from public records. Instead of your information being published, their name and address are. This saves your business from being within the reach of spammers, marketers, and anyone who compiles a mailing list. This way, only those who you give your address will have it.
It is possible for company owners to be their own registered agents in Florida. Doing so, however, can lead to issues if you receive services of process with customers present. This situation could hurt your reputation or cause embarrassment. With a registered agent, they will accept any legal notices instead of your company and this will occur off-site. This way, everything will be out of sight of customers.
Working with a registered agent can also save your business time and money spent on filings over the course of your company’s life. When you choose to be your company’s registered agent, you will need to update your address every time you move or change your business’s location. That counts as a filing update and comes with a fee. By contrast, using a registered agent lets you keep using their address no matter how many times you move your business’s physical location.
Your registered agent will receive key documents from Florida in addition to services of process. The agent receives notifications for your annual report as well as tax notices. These are key because of their compliance requirements. If you fail to pay taxes or file your annual report, the state of Florida can dissolve your company. Having a registered agent ensures you will not miss the notifications or reminders for these crucial actions, ensuring compliance.
When choosing your registered agent, keep the official requirements for this agent in mind. Florida registered agents must maintain an address on a physical street, known as the registered office.
Ideally, your registered agent will always be at the address during standard business hours. This will allow them to receive services of process or other official correspondence right away, so you can receive the documents quickly.
Keep in mind that your registered agent can resign. If this happens, you will have a total of 31 days for appointing a new one.
