Registered Agent in Tennessee

 

Every formal business in Tennessee is required by law to have a Tennessee registered agent. A registered agent receives any official documents from the State of Tennessee, as well as any service of process filed on a firm in a lawsuit.

In this Tennessee Registered Agent tutorial, we’ll go over what a registered agent is, what they perform, and how to choose one.

What Is a Registered Agent in Tennessee?

A Tennessee registered agent is a person or corporate organization that serves as your company’s point of contact for:

Receives all service of process for the company in any case, including the Tennessee Annual Report and certificate of good standing.

Every formal company in Tennessee, such as an LLC, corporation, or partnership, is required by law to have a registered agent.

In Tennessee, may I act as my own registered agent?

Yes, any owner or employee of a company may serve as its registered agent in Tennessee if they are above the age of 18 and have a Tennessee 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 Tennessee 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 South Dakota Business Information 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.

Having all of this information, which is accessible as PDFs, is really useful when you need to do things for your company, such as create a business bank account, apply for a business credit card, apply for small business loans, and many other things that need a copy of your paperwork.

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.

In Tennessee, How Do I Choose A Registered Agent?

When you finish your LLC’s Articles of Organization in Tennessee, you must choose a registered agent. The Articles of Organization are the primary document used to incorporate an LLC in Tennessee.

Online Registration of a Registered Agent

You may register your LLC online at the Tennessee Secretary of State’s website ($50 per member, with a $300 minimum and a $3,000 maximum). After entering some basic information regarding your LLC, you will be asked to name a registered agent.

Choosing a Registered Agent by Mail

Download the Articles of Organization form ($50 per member, with a minimum charge of $300 and a maximum fee of $3,000), fill out the appropriate areas, and send a physical copy to the Tennessee Secretary of State. Section 4 will ask for the name and contact information of your registered agent.

How Do I Change My Tennessee Registered Agent?

Simply fill out a Statement of Change of Registered Agent/Office by Entity or Agent form and send it to the Tennessee Secretary of State along with the $20 filing fee paid by check, money order, or credit card to change your Tennessee registered agent (online).

This may be done through email, mail, or in person:

Online

Whether via mail or in person:
Tennessee Secretary of State 312 Rosa L. Parks Ave, 6th Floor Nashville, TN 37243-1102 ATTN: Corporate Filing

You may also use this online tool to print a form that has been pre-populated with some of your company’s information.

When selecting your new registered agent, be sure to include a signed permission letter from your new registered agent, if appropriate. This stage varies by state and is dependent on who you pick as your registered agent.