Think of a registered agent as your business' legal liaison. They help your business stay compliant with state regulations and maintain smooth communications with government and legal bodies. For this reason, Nevada requires all title 7 business entities—including corporations and limited liability companies—to maintain a registered agent.
Technically, you can appoint yourself or designate an office within your company to act as your business’ registered agent. However, many small business owners prefer to hire professional registered agents—legal experts who can keep them up to date on important matters and protect their privacy while they focus on growing their new company.
What is a registered agent and what do they do?
A "registered agent" (sometimes called a resident agent or statutory agent) is an individual or company that you appoint to accept service of process on behalf of your business. In short, their primary role is to receive official legal documents, such as lawsuit documents, subpoenas, legal notices, and other official legal papers.
While Nevada businesses are required by law to appoint a registered agent, a professional registered agent can do more for you than just meet the minimum state requirement.
Extra services offered by professional registered agents
Professional registered agent service companies sometimes offer additional services, such as preparing and filing registration documents, sending reminders when annual lists or license renewals are due, and keeping documents. These services help you smoothly run your business and stay compliant.
Document scanning
Many registered agent services (like LegalZoom, for instance) will scan urgent legal documents received on behalf of your business and upload them to a secure cloud storage account. Once the mail is in your inbox, they’ll send you an alert to ensure you’re aware of any urgent documents that need your attention. This is a particularly convenient process that allows you to get to those documents quicker and access them digitally from anywhere.
Mail forwarding
A registered agent service can also receive your mail and forward it to any address of your choice. For example, if your business location changes or you expand to new locations, your registered agent can redirect mail to your new address or forward mail to the office of your other branch.
Time-sensitive alerts
Similarly to alerting you about important documents, many professional agent services will create a calendar of your important deadlines and alert you when those deadlines are approaching. For example, they’ll keep track of when you need to file your annual reports and renew your business licenses. These reminders help your business stay compliant with state regulations, maintain good standing, and avoid costly penalties that you could incur from filing late.
Virtual mailboxes
Some registered agents also offer a virtual mailbox service that you can sign up for in addition to registered agent services. A virtual mailbox is linked to a physical street address where providers receive your regular business mail, scan it, and upload it to your cloud inbox to access digitally.
This can be valuable for business owners who work from home or choose not to publicly display their office address. Instead, they can offer the virtual mailbox provider's Nevada business address as their own business address and have their mail and packages sent there to view online or have forwarded to them.
Junk mail filtering
Companies will frequently obtain registered agent and business addresses from the Secretary of State and mail solicitations. Many virtual mailbox services will filter out junk mail and only forward the documents that are actually relevant to your business. This can save you time and effort and help to ensure you don’t lose track of important documents under a mountain of junk mail.
What are the legal requirements for a Nevada registered agent?
There are essentially three kinds of registered agents that can represent your business in Nevada:
- A registered commercial registered agent: Any individual or company with 10 or more represented entities on file with the Nevada Secretary of State. This category applies to most Nevada registered agent services.
- A noncommercial registered agent: Any individual or company with fewer than 10 entities on file with the Nevada Secretary of State. This includes yourself or any individual/company position that you choose to act as your business’ registered agent.
- An office or position in your business: A specific office or position within your company whom you designate as your registered agent. If you choose this option, it’s smart to designate the office or position as your registered agent rather than the individual person. That way, you won’t have to change registered agents if you restaff that position.
No matter what type of registered agent you choose to represent your business, they must:
- Maintain a physical address in Nevada (not a P.O. box, a private mailbox, or mail service)
- Be available during normal business hours to receive service of process for the business
- Be over the age of 18 and a Nevada resident, if the agent is an individual.
In Nevada, commercial registered agents have an additional set of requirements:
- Whether a business entity or individual, they must register as a commercial registered agent with the Nevada Secretary of State if they act as the agent for 10 or more registered Nevada businesses.
- If your agent is an individual, they can't be a convicted felon or must have a statement proving their civil rights have been restored.
- If your agent is an individual, they can't have their ability to serve as a registered agent denied or revoked.
- If your agent is a company, all their directors, officers, or managing agents must meet the previous two requirements.
- Whether a business entity or individual, they must use a name that's distinguishable from other commercial registered agents registered with the Secretary of State.
Why should you hire a Nevada registered agent?
Whether you choose an "in-house" agent or hire an outside registered agent service, it's important to designate one that you can rely on to notify you promptly when they receive important legal papers. This is because lawsuits, subpoenas, and notices often have strict deadlines that, if not met, can result in a default judgment, costing your business the chance to defend itself in court.
Helping your business stay on top of legal correspondence is one of the many benefits of hiring a professional Nevada registered agent service, along with the following:
- Legal compliance. Nevada requires title 7 entities to have a registered agent. Hiring a professional registered agent service can also help your business stay on top of urgent deadlines and maintain good standing in the state.
- Extra authority for your business. Maintaining good standing is highly important for boosting your business' credibility. You’ll often need to produce proof of good standing to receive loans or open a business account. Customers and investors will also appreciate that you have an expert handling your business' legal matters.
- Privacy. The Nevada Secretary of State makes your registered agent's address publicly available. If you act as your business' own agent, your home or business address will be public record. Especially if you have a home-based business, you may want to keep this information private.
- Separates your business and personal life. For many small business owners, it can be hard to create boundaries between your business and personal life. Particularly if you work from home, a professional RA can work as a cushion by preventing legal notices and unsolicited mail from clogging your mailbox.
- Flexibility. As your business' registered agent, you'll need to be at home during regular business hours to receive service of process. Hiring a professional registered agent offers you the flexibility to choose your own hours and travel where you need to go for your business.
- Added services and benefits. Often, a professional registered agent will offer additional services that can help your business streamline parts of its administrative process, such as access to their business address, digital mailboxes, and filtering junk mail.
Who should hire a professional registered agent?
Any company that must register with the Nevada Secretary of State—such as a corporation, limited liability company, and limited partnership—will need to hire a registered agent. That said, any business can benefit from working with a professional registered agent. Particularly if you run your business from home, many of the services a professional agent provides work to separate your business from personal life, which in turn add authority to your business.
How to hire a Nevada registered agent
While the registration process differs by service, hiring a registered agent through LegalZoom is fairly quick and straight forward. First, create a LegalZoom account and select the registered agent service. After that, there are three key steps:
- Tell us your legal business name. That is, the one you used to register with the Secretary of State.
- Answer a few questions. You’ll provide basic details such as your business address and contact info to customize the service to meet Nevada state requirements.
- We do the rest. We'll assemble the necessary paperwork and file it with the Nevada Secretary of State. If you end up wanting to switch registered agents in the future, we’ll cover the cost to change it.
From your LegalZoom account, we can also help you register your business in Nevada with just a few more clicks.
Nevada registered agent FAQs
Can you change registered agents?
Yes, you can change your current registered agent by filing a statement of change with the Secretary of State and paying a fee. The statement will ask you to provide basic information, such as the name of your business and what information you would like to change. In this case, it would be your registered agent information.
Can I be my own registered agent in Nevada?
Yes, you can act as your own registered agent. In this case, Nevada law would consider you a noncommercial registered agent. You can also designate a title in your company as your registered agent. That said, you might prefer to hire a professional.
A registered agent must be available at their listed office address during regular business hours to receive legal documents. Often, these documents contain time sensitive information, such as court dates, that could have legal and financial consequences if missed.
Should you hire a registered agent before forming your LLC?
Yes, you won't be able to register with the Secretary of State without a registered agent. To register, you'll need to complete articles of organization/incorporation that will ask for your registered agent's name, address, and signature demonstrating that they accept the appointment.
How much does a registered agent cost in Nevada?
That depends on who you hire to provide the service. Registered agents in Nevada can cost anywhere from $100 to $500 per year, depending upon the agent you select. LegalZoom's Registered Agent Services is $249/year. If you appoint yourself or a member of your business, the service could be free.
Is a registered agent required for Nevada businesses?
For some businesses, yes. For example, entities such as corporations or limited liability companies must appoint a registered agent to register their business in Nevada. However, neither a sole proprietorship nor a general partnership legally need a registered agent.
Edward Hartman contributed to this article.
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