Glossary
Registered agent
The person or company a business names to receive lawsuits and official state mail on its behalf.
Also called: Statutory agent, Resident agent, Agent for service of process.
Every LLC and corporation has to name a registered agent in each state where it is registered. The agent has a street address in that state and is available there during business hours, so that court papers and state notices always have somewhere to go.
The agent can be an owner, an employee, a lawyer or a company that does this for a yearly fee. Whoever it is, the name and address go on the public record, which is why many home-based owners pay a service instead of listing their own address.
A business that lets its agent lapse can miss a lawsuit or a compliance notice, and many states will dissolve a company that has no agent on file.
Where you'll see it in a business search
On the detail page of a business record, usually with the agent’s name and street address.