In order to form a limited company or corporation within any state requires one to appoint a registered agent or resident agent. Resident agents can be referred to as a registered agents, statutory agents, service of process agents or corporate agents. Registration agents or resident agents as they are commonly called are responsible for handling tax and various other legal documents, some of which include franchise tax and annual report forms.
Resident agents may not necessary be an individual. A company can also offer its services as a resident agent, provided that it is registered with the state it is in, and located in the same state where the limited liability company is operating in. To qualify as Resident agents, they must satisfy residency requirements of the state, where they're residing in. They must also be available during office hours, and are assigned the duties of handling correspondence involving governmental issues with the company. However care must be taken to hire a professional resident agent. There are also required to keep updated records of the LLC by-laws, and some sort of mail forwarding service. In the event of the company being sued by a customer, the resident agent bears the responsibility of doing all the legal paperwork for the company.
In Delaware, a resident agent must firstly be a resident of that state He will provide various services, such as reserving the corporate name of the company, preparing and filing the certificate of incorporation, performing all necessary state governmental filings and providing notice of the State of Delaware annual franchise tax, and providing a registered agent address in Delaware.
The Delaware registered agent's name and address are incorporated in the articles of incorporation. The primary duties of the registered agent are to provide a registered office of the corporation or LLC, where officially authorized papers and correspondence can be served or delivered.
A registered agent is free to alter the address of the registered office of the Limited Liability Company or companies, in the state of Delaware by paying some additional fee. He may then issue out a certificate to the secretary of state. In the event of the registered agent resigning, and appointing another in his place, he may need to pay an additional fee, and issue out a certificate with the Secretary of State. The certificate must state its resignation, name and address of the new appointed registered agent. There must be also be an attached statement to the certificate, stating each affected limited liability company, and proofs of their approvals regarding the appointment of a new registered agent. In light of this, the name and address of the new registered agent shall become the address of the limited liability company's registered office in the state of Delaware.
