Registered Agents In Deleware
Delaware, like most states, requires a corporation or LLC to have a registered agent – whether you wish to hire a service, or act as your own – after you have completed your LLC’s Certificate of Formation. Now, where does a registered agent come in? To understand this, we need to do some research on how an LLC is set up in Delaware.
LLC Setup In Deleware
- Begin by giving your LLC a unique name. Acquire the Certificate of Formation and fill in the details required. To file the paperwork, you must pay a $90 fee. Plus, being an LLC owner, you will be paying the annual LLC tax of $300.
- It is possible to acquire a list of official registered agents from Delaware’s Secretary of State if need be but make a shortlist of possible registered agents.
- Interview the agents from your list about the services they offer (further details on this later). Pay attention to the organization of the agent’s office, and the time they take to respond. Normally, the cost can range from $60 to $300 annually, for reputed registered agent services.
- After finally selecting a registered agent, you are required to sign a contract designating your selection as your agent.
- Prepare the rest of the paperwork to register your Delaware LLC, this requires a fee to be paid for.
Electing A Registered Agent Through Mail
It is also possible to elect a registered agent through the mail. To form your LLC through the mail you have to download the Certificate of Formation, which comes with a fee i.e. $90 for filing. Fill in the required details, print a physical copy, and submit it to the Delaware Secretary of State. You will be required to provide your registered agent’s information on the third page of the document.
What To Look For In A Delaware Registered Agent:
Here are some pointers to focus on when looking for a registered agent: How Do I Elect a registered agent?
- Make sure the registered agent you are looking into has a physical office address located in the state of Delaware, in accordance with the statutory code. Also, confirm if it’s a legitimate business location.
- It would be convenient on your part to find a registered agent service that knows their way around in business and can deal with any kind of situation with ease.
- If they offer customer service access through fax, telephone, live chat, email, and in person.
- If they provide reliable customer service with rapid response time.
- The option of them having direct, online access to the Delaware Secretary of State, for you to easily procure company documents in a matter of hours.
- Ideally, their services should be worth the value of your money (and hidden fees aren’t sneaked in).
- If they are a nationwide provider, as there is an added benefit of you being able to oversee annual filings through a single provider if your organization operates in multiple states.
What Does A Registered Agent Service Do?
You designate a registered agent service to receive service of process and important official mail for the business you plan to run.
But their duties aren’t limited to that, other responsibilities that they are to take up include:
- Being the person people will contact in case they are going to file a lawsuit against your company and if they need to hand in important paperwork in person.
- Being responsible for accepting and sending important legal and tax documents.
- Being available during office hours i.e. 9-5 in your place, since your focus will be on handling your business.
- Receiving important papers at their registered address, so you don’t have to use yours, giving you privacy and saving you from potential embarrassment.
- Notifying you whenever your business’ annual reports are scheduled to be presented to the state.
- Providing you with business knowledge and offering you free tools to help with filing business forms with the state and to be able to keep track of your business’ status.
- Keeping you from the danger of having to pay fines or penalties imposed if you miss a deadline, by notifying you when they are close.