How To Start A Registered Agent Office In Florida

Before filing your Articles of Arrangement with the Department of State, y'all demand to select a Florida Registered Agent for your LLC.

A Registered Agent in Florida is a person or company who agrees to accept legal mail on behalf of your LLC in case your business gets sued.

In Florida, your Registered Agent also serves as a full general point of contact for receiving business organisation and revenue enhancement notices, payment reminders, and other documents.

Your Registered Agent must have a street address in Florida (PO Boxes aren't allowed).

Your Florida Registered Agent must also exist available during normal business hours (9am – 5pm) in case Service of Process arrives. Service of Process for an LLC includes delivery of legal documents such every bit complaints, summons, or subpoenas.

In curt, this is how the Florida court and legal systems works. Past providing a Registered Amanuensis of record with a reliable Florida street accost, the delivery of legal postal service and court documents tin be tracked. It's similar to how 'certified mail return receipt' works. It creates a physical record that something was delivered.

Special offering: If yous hire Northwest to form your LLC ($39 + state fee), they'll include their Registered Agent service free for the 1st year.

Tin can I be my own Registered Agent in Florida?

Yep, you can be your own Florida Registered Agent, as long as yous meet the requirements mentioned in the side by side section.

However, you actually have 3 options when forming an LLC in Florida:

Option 1: You tin be your LLC's Registered Agent in Florida (are there risks?)if y'all're a Florida resident over age 18.

Choice ii: A friend or family member can be your LLC's Registered Agent if they're a Florida resident over age eighteen.

Choice iii: You lot can hire a Florida Registered Amanuensis Service , technically known as a Commercial Registered Agent.

What'southward the best Registered Amanuensis selection to cull?

If y'all take a street address located in Florida (such as a home or office accost), and are available during business hours, you tin can be your own Registered Agent.

If yous don't have a street address in Florida, you can use a friend or family unit member's address. They need to have a street address in Florida and be available during business hours.

If you don't have a street address in Florida, and you don't have a friend or family fellow member's address that you tin can employ (or prefer not to), you can hire a Florida Registered Agent Service Company.

Using a Registered Amanuensis Service Company in Florida also offers more privacy (tin can keep your accost off public records) and tin can be a more reliable setup.

Florida Registered Agent Services

Note: The terms "Florida Registered Agent Services" and "Florida Commercial Registered Agent" hateful the aforementioned affair. We will use them both interchangeably.

Florida Registered Agent Service Companies specialize in receiving Service of Procedure (legal mail) on behalf of your Florida LLC. Nearly Registered Agent Services in Florida price between $100 and $300 per twelvemonth.

Once hired, they volition receive Service of Process on behalf of your Florida LLC and so forward information technology to you lot by post, or scan and upload it to your online business relationship.

Who'southward the best Florida Registered Agent?

The Florida Registered Amanuensis Service that we recommend (and that the LLC University squad use for our own LLCs) is Northwest Registered Agent ($125 per twelvemonth).

Northwest has been in the business organization for over xx years and they have great client service.

Still, one of the coolest things about using Northwest is the privacy characteristic.

How to keep your accost off public records:

It'southward important to realize that your Registered Agent address (and all addresses in your LLC's Articles of Organization) go a part of public tape. If you desire to keep your address off of public record, using a Registered Amanuensis that volition let yous to use their address every bit your LLC's address tin be very helpful.

Northwest Registered Agent is the only company that offers a Registered Agent service where they'll permit yous use their address throughout your entire Articles of Organisation.

Y'all tin can use their accost in all sections of your Articles of Organization:

encompass letter address
principal function address
mailing address
registered agent address
fellow member/director address

Whatsoever postal service that is sent to your LLC will be scanned by them and uploaded into your online account.

Special discounted pricing for LLC Academy® readers

Northwest usually charges $100 + state fees to form an LLC. Yet, we've negotiated a discounted rate (60% off) for LLC Academy® readers.

Risks of beingness your own Registered Agent in Florida

As mentioned above, you lot can be your own Registered Agent in Florida. In fact, yous, a friend, or a family member tin be your Florida Registered Agent.

But are there whatsoever risks to being your own Registered Agent?

In short, there are risks. They are not very likely to occur, but if they do, you could lose your liability protection and the Florida Section of State has the ability to administratively deliquesce (shut downward) your LLC.

This can happen if you don't maintain (always have) a Registered Amanuensis on file, or if the Department of Country is unsuccessful in reaching your Florida Registered Agent.

Additionally, if a process server (a person who serves court documents and notices of lawsuits) is unsuccessful in reaching your Florida Registered Agent, a court case can go along in your absenteeism and you might non even know almost information technology. Worse, the court could enter a default judgment against your LLC if you aren't there to defend yourself.

A few reasons a procedure server might not be able to reach your Florida LLC's Registered Amanuensis:

you, your friend, or family member are non there during business hours (the state of Florida requires that your Registered Agent maintain normal business hours)
you/they are on vacation or out of town
y'all/they moved and you forgot to file a Change of Registered Agent with the state

Using a Florida Registered Amanuensis Service similar Northwest Registered Agent is a more reliable setup and offers more than privacy.

It too gives you the freedom to have vacations and not worry about changing your Registered Amanuensis address if you motion.

Side by side Step

Once yous decide who volition serve as your Florida LLC's Registered Agent, yous tin can and then proceed to the next Lesson: Florida LLC Articles of Organization.

If yous need to hire a Florida Registered Agent Service (a Commercial Registered Amanuensis), please do and then before going to the next footstep.

Founder & Educator, LLC University®

Matt Horwitz has been the leading expert on LLC didactics for the by decade. He founded LLC University in 2010 subsequently realizing people needed simple and actionable instructions to outset an LLC that other companies weren't offering. He's cited by Entrepreneur Mag, Yahoo Finance, and the U.s.a. Chamber of Commerce, and was featured by CNBC and InventRight.

Matt holds a Bachelor's Degree in business from Drexel Academy with a concentration in concern police. He performs all-encompassing research and analysis to convert country laws into simple instructions anyone can follow to form their LLC - all for gratuitous! Read more than well-nigh Matt Horwitz and LLC University.