What happens when something is served
Service of process is the one piece of mail with a clock on it. A summons has a response deadline that starts when it is served, not when you happen to read it, and a default judgment is what happens to businesses whose agent posted it second class.
When something is served on an entity we act for, it is scanned the same day and put in the portal, and an email goes to the owner, every full user and any service-of-process contact on the account — including the ones who have muted every other kind of email from us, because this is not the kind of message anyone should be able to switch off. If nobody has opened it, we chase it.
What the service covers
- A street address in the state, on the public record instead of yours
- Service of process scanned and delivered the day it arrives
- State notices and annual report reminders forwarded, not filed in a drawer
- Renewal invoiced ahead of the anniversary, so the engagement never lapses by accident
- A record of who was sent what, and who opened it
Changing agent from someone else
Moving is a filing with the state, and we prepare it. What is worth knowing is the timing: your existing agent may resign the moment you appoint a new one, and a gap between the two is a period during which something can be served on nobody. We file the change before the old engagement ends.
Questions people ask
What is a registered agent for an LLC?
A registered agent is the person or company an LLC names to receive legal papers on its behalf — lawsuits, subpoenas and official notices from the state. Every state requires one, the address must be a street address in the state of formation, and someone has to be there during business hours to sign for what arrives. Naming yourself is allowed in most states; it also means your home address is on the public record and that you have to be at it.
Can I be my own registered agent?
In most states, yes, if you have a street address there and are at it during business hours. Two things follow. Your address becomes part of the public record, which is how it ends up on mailing lists. And if you are out when a process server calls, the state may still treat the entity as served.
What happens if my registered agent resigns?
The state gives you a window to appoint another — commonly thirty days — and an entity that misses it can lose its good standing. If we resign an engagement for non-payment we tell you before the state does, and the entity’s standing in your portal changes so it cannot pass unnoticed.
Do you cover every state?
We act as agent in the states listed in your portal when you order, and we will tell you plainly if yours is not one of them rather than taking the order and sorting it out later.
Related
LLC formation
You tell us the name, the state and who is behind it. We prepare the articles, file them with the state, and put the deadlines that follow on a calendar you can see.
Certificate of good standing
A one-page letter from the state saying your entity exists, has filed what it owes and has paid what it owes. Banks, lenders and other states ask for it constantly.
Annual reports
Most entities lose good standing for the same reason: a report nobody remembered was due, in a state nobody was watching.
Start a filing
Tell us the state and what you need. You will see the state fee and our fee before you pay anything.