Every formal business in the state of Delaware is required by law to have a Delaware registered agent. A registered agent receives any official documents from the State of Delaware, as well as any service of process filed on a firm in a litigation.
In this Delaware Registered Agent tutorial, we’ll go over what a registered agent is, what they perform, and how to choose one.
Table of Contents
What Is a Registered Agent in Delaware?
A Delaware registered agent is a person or corporate organisation that serves as your company’s point of contact for:
All communications with the State of Delaware, such as the Delaware Annual Franchise Tax and certificate of good standing
A registered agent is necessary by law for any formal business in Delaware, such as an LLC, company, or partnership.
In Delaware, may I act as my own registered agent?
Yes, any owner or employee of a company may serve as its registered agent in Delaware if they are above the age of 18 and have a Delaware street address.
You might also designate a member of your LLC or a friend you trust, as long as they match these standards as well.
Why Do Companies Use Delaware Registered Agent Services?
Many firms opt to employ a registered agent service when forming an LLC for the following reasons:
Compliance
A registered agent service keeps a compliance calendar and will notify you when yearly reports or other files are due, as well as assist you in submitting them.
This helps you avoid penalties and maintains your firm in good standing, both of which are necessary to preserve your limited liability protection.
If you do not reply immediately to serving of process, legal complexities, costs, or other concerns may develop. A registered agent will scan your papers, upload them to the internet, and tell you when they are ready.
Privacy
If you operate from home or a private office as your own registered agent, your address will be publicly shown on the Delaware General Information Name Search.
If your privacy is important to you, a registered agent service will use their own address instead of yours.
Discretion
Receiving service of process for a lawsuit at your place of business may be a delicate circumstance to have in front of your staff and customers.
To circumvent this problem, a registered agent will accept service of process and other papers at their office and deliver them to you discreetly online.
Flexibility
If you are your own registered agent, you must be accessible every working day of the year during regular business hours.
Registered agent services have real offices and people to cover certain hours, allowing them to be accessible during those times.
Hiring a registered agent service enables you to be more flexible with your working hours and locations. So go ahead and take a vacation, work from home or the office, or travel the globe knowing they’ll be there to collect your documents.
Online Data Storage
A competent registered agent service will scan your papers as soon as they arrive, maintaining a digital record of all your company documents and any service of process on a user-friendly dashboard.
If you employed an LLC creation service, you would most likely also use them as a registered agent. This implies a copy of your formation paperwork will be accessible online as well.
National Reach
If you want to grow your company into other states, such as by employing an out-of-state employee or establishing a new sales office, you must have a registered agent for your foreign LLC or other corporation.
The majority of registered agent services are available in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Simply pay a little fee for the new state in which you operate, and they will transmit all of your paperwork to the same web dashboard.
What Is the Cost of a Registered Agent?
A registered agent service normally costs between $50 and $300 each year. When you consider how much time it will save you, this is a little amount to pay.
Best Registered Agent Service in Delaware
Northwest is the greatest registered agent service in terms of overall quality and cost transparency. Northwest provides a unified user experience as well as industry-leading customer service and privacy protection.
When you choose Northwest as your registered agent, you will get an online account with access to important papers, mail forwarding, and business address services.
Northwest’s virtual mailbox service will scan your mail and electronically transmit it to you. This means you can keep track of your mail from anywhere in the globe.
How Do I Choose A Delaware Registered Agent?
When you finish your LLC’s Certificate of Formation in Delaware, you must choose a registered agent. The Certificate of Formation is the primary document used to incorporate an LLC in Delaware.
Choosing a Registered Agent by Mail
Download the Certificate of Formation ($90 filing fee necessary), fill out the appropriate information, and send a physical copy to the Delaware Secretary of State to create your LLC by mail. In the second part of page 3, you will be requested to supply the following information about your registered agent:
How Do I Change My Delaware Registered Agent?
Simply fill out a Change of Agent form and submit it to the Delaware Department of State along with the $50 filing fee ($5 for nonprofit companies and $500 for statutory trusts) paid by cheque or credit card (online only).
Delaware offers many Change of Agent forms for various company structures:
Limited Partnership (LP) Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) Partnership Statutory Trust Foreign Corporation Foreign LLC Foreign LP Foreign LLP Foreign LLP
This may be done online or in the mail.
Online
*Note: Forms sent by mail must include a cover page. Mail: Delaware Division of Corporations 401 Federal Street – Suite 4 Dover, DE 19901