What Is An Llc Registered

Before filing your Articles of Organization with the Section of State, you demand to select a Florida Registered Agent for your LLC.

A Registered Agent in Florida is a person or company who agrees to accept legal mail on behalf of your LLC in instance your business organization gets sued.

In Florida, your Registered Amanuensis too serves every bit a general point of contact for receiving business organisation and revenue enhancement notices, payment reminders, and other documents.

Your Registered Amanuensis must have a street accost in Florida (PO Boxes aren't allowed).

Your Florida Registered Amanuensis must as well be bachelor during normal business hours (9am – 5pm) in instance Service of Procedure arrives. Service of Process for an LLC includes delivery of legal documents such equally complaints, summons, or subpoenas.

In short, this is how the Florida court and legal systems works. By providing a Registered Agent of record with a reliable Florida street accost, the delivery of legal postal service and court documents can be tracked. Information technology'southward like to how 'certified mail render receipt' works. It creates a physical record that something was delivered.

Special offer: If you rent Northwest to class your LLC ($39 + state fee), they'll include their Registered Agent service free for the 1st year.

Tin I be my ain Registered Agent in Florida?

Aye, you can be your ain Florida Registered Agent, equally long as you lot see the requirements mentioned in the next section.

All the same, you actually have 3 options when forming an LLC in Florida:

Choice 1: You can be your LLC's Registered Agent in Florida (are there risks?)if you're a Florida resident over age xviii.

Option 2: A friend or family member can exist your LLC'due south Registered Amanuensis if they're a Florida resident over age 18.

Option three: You tin can hire a Florida Registered Agent Service , technically known as a Commercial Registered Agent.

What's the best Registered Agent option to choose?

If you have a street address located in Florida (such as a home or office address), and are available during business hours, you lot tin exist your ain Registered Agent.

If you don't have a street address in Florida, yous can use a friend or family member'southward address. They need to have a street address in Florida and be available during business hours.

If you don't have a street address in Florida, and you don't accept a friend or family fellow member's address that you can use (or prefer not to), you can hire a Florida Registered Agent Service Company.

Using a Registered Amanuensis Service Company in Florida too offers more privacy (can keep your address off public records) and tin be a more reliable setup.

Florida Registered Agent Services

Note: The terms "Florida Registered Amanuensis Services" and "Florida Commercial Registered Agent" mean the same affair. We will use them both interchangeably.

Florida Registered Agent Service Companies specialize in receiving Service of Process (legal mail) on behalf of your Florida LLC. Most Registered Agent Services in Florida cost between $100 and $300 per yr.

Once hired, they volition receive Service of Process on behalf of your Florida LLC then forward it to you lot by mail, or browse and upload it to your online account.

Who'south the best Florida Registered Agent?

The Florida Registered Agent Service that nosotros recommend (and that the LLC Academy team employ for our own LLCs) is Northwest Registered Agent ($125 per year).

Northwest has been in the business for over 20 years and they accept swell customer service.

However, one of the coolest things about using Northwest is the privacy characteristic.

How to keep your address off public records:

It's important to realize that your Registered Agent address (and all addresses in your LLC's Articles of Organization) become a office of public tape. If you want to keep your address off of public record, using a Registered Agent that will allow yous to utilize their accost equally your LLC's address can be very helpful.

Northwest Registered Amanuensis is the only company that offers a Registered Amanuensis service where they'll let you employ their accost throughout your entire Articles of System.

Y'all tin can use their address in all sections of your Articles of Organisation:

cover letter accost
principal function accost
mailing address
registered amanuensis address
fellow member/manager address

Whatsoever mail that is sent to your LLC will be scanned by them and uploaded into your online account.

Special discounted pricing for LLC University® readers

Northwest usually charges $100 + state fees to course an LLC. However, nosotros've negotiated a discounted charge per unit (threescore% off) for LLC University® readers.

Risks of beingness your own Registered Agent in Florida

Equally mentioned to a higher place, yous can be your ain Registered Agent in Florida. In fact, yous, a friend, or a family fellow member can be your Florida Registered Agent.

But are there any risks to being your own Registered Agent?

In short, there are risks. They are not very likely to occur, but if they practice, you could lose your liability protection and the Florida Department of State has the power to administratively dissolve (shut down) your LLC.

This tin happen if you lot don't maintain (always have) a Registered Agent on file, or if the Section of State is unsuccessful in reaching your Florida Registered Agent.

Additionally, if a procedure server (a person who serves court documents and notices of lawsuits) is unsuccessful in reaching your Florida Registered Amanuensis, a courtroom case can proceed in your absence and yous might non even know about information technology. Worse, the courtroom could enter a default judgment against your LLC if you aren't there to defend yourself.

A few reasons a process server might not be able to attain your Florida LLC's Registered Amanuensis:

you, your friend, or family member are non in that location during business organization hours (the country of Florida requires that your Registered Agent maintain normal business hours)
you/they are on holiday or out of town
yous/they moved and you forgot to file a Change of Registered Agent with the land

Using a Florida Registered Agent Service like Northwest Registered Amanuensis is a more reliable setup and offers more privacy.

Information technology also gives you lot the liberty to accept vacations and non worry about irresolute your Registered Agent address if y'all move.

Adjacent Step

One time yous make up one's mind who will serve as your Florida LLC's Registered Agent, you lot can then proceed to the next Lesson: Florida LLC Articles of System.

If you demand to hire a Florida Registered Agent Service (a Commercial Registered Agent), please do so before going to the next step.

Founder & Educator, LLC University®

Matt Horwitz has been the leading good on LLC education for the past decade. He founded LLC University in 2010 after realizing people needed unproblematic and actionable instructions to outset an LLC that other companies weren't offering. He's cited by Entrepreneur Magazine, Yahoo Finance, and the US Chamber of Commerce, and was featured by CNBC and InventRight.

Matt holds a Available'southward Caste in business from Drexel University with a concentration in business constabulary. He performs all-encompassing inquiry and analysis to convert land laws into simple instructions anyone can follow to class their LLC - all for free! Read more about Matt Horwitz and LLC University.