Nonprofit organisations in Washington will almost certainly need to designate and have a registered agent.
A registered agent receives any official documents from the State of Washington, as well as any service of process that may be served on a firm in a lawsuit.
A registered agent is a professional who will represent your organisation to the Washington Secretary of State while you do business. Registered agents are sometimes known as resident agents, statutory agents, or service of process agents in certain jurisdictions.
Typically, your registered agent will receive mail on your behalf, such as compliance information and tax notices. Registered agents are also in charge of receiving process paperwork. This simply implies that your registered agent will receive court summons and paperwork on your nonprofit’s behalf if it is sued.
The following are the criteria for registered agents in Washington:
As long as they complete the qualifications outlined above, anybody may act as your nonprofit’s registered agent. You may choose to be your nonprofit’s registered agent, or you can designate a member of your board of directors or a trustworthy friend.
If you decide to serve as your organization’s registered agent, you must grasp the significance of this role. If you miss a filing date or misplace a document, your nonprofit’s compliance status may be jeopardised, and the Secretary of State may revoke your nonprofit’s corporate registration.
Many organisations and other companies engage a professional registered agent service to guarantee that their company is always in compliance.
Before you choose a Washington registered agent service, think about the benefits and drawbacks of this technique.
There are various reasons why you should consider employing a registered agent service for your nonprofit organisation. This strategy, in particular, can:
The sole downside of using a registered agent service is that it is expensive, while you may serve as your own registered agent for free.
While employing a professional registered agent service is a good idea for many reasons, in other cases it is required. If you answered “yes” to any of the following questions, your organisation should use a registered agent service.
When you submit your Washington nonprofit’s Articles of Incorporation, you must name a registered agent. In Washington, the fundamental nonprofit creation document is the Articles of Incorporation.
You may register your nonprofit’s Articles of Incorporation and pay the $50 filing fee online at the Washington State Secretary of State’s website. You may choose your nonprofit’s registered agent when you complete the Articles of Incorporation online.
To organise your Washington nonprofit by mail, download the Articles of Incorporation form, fill it out, and return it to the Washington Secretary of State together with the $30 registration fee. On the second page of the form, you will put your registered agent’s name and contact information, and they must sign that they agree to their appointment.
Fill out a Statement of Change of Registered Agent form with the Washington Secretary of State to officially change your Washington nonprofit’s registered agent. You may also make this modification through the Secretary of State’s website. There is no price for replacing your registered agent; however, they must sign the Statement of Change form.
When you work at a charity, you have more essential things to worry about than monitoring the mail, submitting legal paperwork, and remembering compliance deadlines. A registered agent can help you with that. When you engage a professional registered agent service, you can put these responsibilities in their skilled hands and completely concentrate on what is most important to your firm.