Nonprofit organisations in Arizona will almost certainly need to designate and have a registered agent.
A registered agent receives any official documents from the State of Arizona, as well as any service of process filed on a firm in a lawsuit.
What Is a Statutory Agent in Arizona?
A statutory agent is a professional who will represent your organisation to the Arizona Corporation Commission while you run your company. Statutory agents are sometimes known as registered agents, resident agents, or service of process agents in certain states.
Typically, your statutory agent will receive mail on your behalf, such as compliance information and tax notices. Statutory agents are also in charge of receiving process paperwork. This simply implies that your statutory agent will receive court summons and paperwork on your nonprofit’s behalf if it is sued.
The following are the prerequisites for statutory agents in most states:
They might be either native or international persons or businesses.
Individuals must be Arizona residents and above the age of 18.
To operate in Arizona, businesses must be registered.
They must have a physical address in Arizona (not simply a P.O. box).
During normal business hours, they must always be accessible at the specified physical location.
In Arizona, may I act as my own Statutory Agent?
As long as they match the conditions outlined above, any anyone may act as your nonprofit’s statutory agent. You may serve as your nonprofit’s statutory agent, or you can choose a member of your board of directors or a trustworthy friend.
If you choose to serve as your organization’s statutory agent, you must recognise the significance of the role. If you miss a filing date or misplace a document, your nonprofit’s compliance status may be jeopardised, and the Company Commission may remove your nonprofit’s corporation registration.
Many organisations and other companies engage a professional registered agent service to guarantee that their company is always in compliance.
Should My Nonprofit Use a Registered Agent in Arizona?
Before you choose an Arizona registered agent service, think about the benefits and drawbacks of this technique.
Advantages
There are various reasons why you should consider employing a registered agent service for your nonprofit organisation. This strategy, in particular, can:
Save Time: When you initially establish your Arizona charity, you must concentrate on doing everything possible to ensure its success. Hiring a professional registered agent service allows you to concentrate on what matters most while the statutory agent handles all incoming mail and formal notifications. Furthermore, they will often remind you of approaching key files or deadlines.
Protect Your Personal Privacy and the Reputation of Your Company: Unfortunately, your company may face a lawsuit at some point. All service of process notifications will be sent to a business address if you engage a professional registered agent service. Law enforcement officials may deliver these notifications to your home or workplace if you operate as your own statutory agent, depending on the address on file.
Registered agent services are used to receiving and correctly processing legal documentation, in addition to preserving your privacy and the reputation of your firm. This will assist to guarantee that your company does not lose a lawsuit on a technicality because you failed to submit anything on time or handled something incorrectly due to a lack of understanding of how the legal system operates.
Ensure that your business mail is handled promptly: Because a registered agent service’s principal function is to act as a statutory agent for a variety of organisations, you can be certain that any mail they receive will be addressed immediately. They will also be accessible during regular business hours to address any queries you may have concerning these papers.
Maintain Your Nonprofit’s Compliance: You must keep your nonprofit in compliance with the State of Arizona and the federal government (assuming you successfully petition for 501(c)(3) registration). Hiring a registered agent service can assist you avoid missing any filings.
Offer Convenience: Statutory agents are supposed to be present during business hours at their given address. That is, using a registered agent service will enable you to take time off as required and work on a flexible schedule if wanted.
Provide National Serve: If you believe your organisation may desire to expand nationally, choose a national registered agent service that will continue to support you as your firm expands.
Disadvantages
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.
Is a Professional Registered Agent Service Required?
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.
Is your non-profit open at odd hours? As previously stated, your nonprofit’s statutory agent must be accessible during normal business hours at their indicated location. If your organisation operates outside of typical business hours, you’ll need to engage a registered agent service.
Do you reside in another state? The statutory agent of your nonprofit must be a resident of the state in which it is established. If you are not a resident of Arizona, you must engage an Arizona statutory agent to represent your organisation.
Is your charity now or will it be situated in many states? If your organisation presently operates in many states or intends to do so, you must designate a statutory agent in each state where it intends to operate. You must employ a registered agent service since you cannot be in two locations at the same time.
Will you continue to function without a physical address? If you want to run your charity entirely online or without a physical location, you will lack a business address to provide on your Articles of Incorporation and other crucial legal papers. By using a registered agent service, you may provide their actual address on all papers.
How Do I Select an Arizona Statutory Agent?
When you submit your Arizona nonprofit’s Articles of Incorporation, you must choose your statutory agent. In Arizona, the fundamental nonprofit creation document is the Articles of Incorporation.
Online Statutory Agent Nomination
The Arizona Corporation Commission’s eCorp website allows you to submit your nonprofit’s Articles of Incorporation and pay the $40 filing fee online. You may choose your nonprofit’s statutory agent when filling out the Articles of Incorporation online.
After you file online, the Arizona Corporation Commission will send your appointed statutory agent an email with confirmation instructions.
Nominating a Statutory Agent by Mail or in Person
Download Create C011 – Articles of Incorporation, fill it out completely, then send the original plus one copy (together with the $40 filing fee) to the Arizona Corporation Commission to form your Arizona charity by mail or in person. Section 6 will provide the name and contact information for the statutory agent.
You must send Form M002 – Statutory Agent Acceptance with your Articles of Incorporation, which your statutory agent must sign to assent to their employment.
How Do I Change the Statutory Agent of My Nonprofit in Arizona?
Simply fill out Form C016 – Corporation Statement of Alter and submit it to the Arizona Corporation Commission to officially change your Arizona nonprofit’s statutory agent.
To certify that your statutory agent consents to their appointment, you must file Form M002 – Statutory Agent Acceptance, just as you did with your first filing.
Conclusion
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 statutory 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.