4 ms·

Paying for a registered agent is the biggest scam going. You're literally paying $100/year to use someone else's contact information instead of your own. It's

Paying for a registered agent is the biggest scam going. You're literally paying $100/year to use someone else's contact information instead of your own. It's essentially like paying $100/year for WhoIs privacy.

will_brown 10y ago
>You're literally paying $100/year to use someone else's contact information instead of your own. Yes people may be their own registered agent FREE. However, almost no one can act as their own DE registered agent because the Registered Agent must have a DE physical address, and very few DE companies are physically present in DE. Additionally, for the non-DE businesses, whether you are big or small business you likely don't want process servers coming to your place of business (or your home) and serving lawsuits in front of your employees/family. Edit: Still your point remains that not many people see the benefit of paying for an Registered Agent (even when they can't be their own) which is why I have bundled 3 additional services (annual report/franchise tax notification; annual report preparation/filing; unlimited legal advice). Annual Reports are easy and can be done by business owners too, but based on the number of people who file late and pay late fees greater than the filing fee, its still a service businesses need.
- logfromblammo 10y ago
  If you act as your own registered agent, you must have someone present at all times during ordinary business hours to accept legal service. You're not just renting someone else's address. You're also renting an employee that will take papers from a sheriff's deputy on behalf of your business. But a registered agent business is not the only type of business that can provide such services. Attorney's offices can do it. A self-storage business can do it. A private mailbox business can do it. A crazy cat-person that never leaves the house can do it. Those options may be cheaper than the specialist business, but most RA businesses will provide additional services that make the higher fees worthwhile. For instance, they will not only inform you in a timely fashion when your business has been sued, but may also e-mail you a scanned copy of the complaint and summons within minutes of receiving it. Also, registered agent businesses are likely to have offices in place in multiple states, so they can better compete on price if your business operates in more than just one state. That said, don't buy RA services from Corporation Service Company, because they buy up tech businesses and then indiscriminately fire all the software pros.

will_brown 10y ago

>You're literally paying $100/year to use someone else's contact information instead of your own. Yes people may be their own registered agent FREE. However, almost no one can act as their own DE registered agent because the Registered Agent must have a DE physical address, and very few DE companies are physically present in DE. Additionally, for the non-DE businesses, whether you are big or small business you likely don't want process servers coming to your place of business (or your home) and serving lawsuits in front of your employees/family. Edit: Still your point remains that not many people see the benefit of paying for an Registered Agent (even when they can't be their own) which is why I have bundled 3 additional services (annual report/franchise tax notification; annual report preparation/filing; unlimited legal advice). Annual Reports are easy and can be done by business owners too, but based on the number of people who file late and pay late fees greater than the filing fee, its still a service businesses need.

logfromblammo 10y ago
If you act as your own registered agent, you must have someone present at all times during ordinary business hours to accept legal service. You're not just renting someone else's address. You're also renting an employee that will take papers from a sheriff's deputy on behalf of your business. But a registered agent business is not the only type of business that can provide such services. Attorney's offices can do it. A self-storage business can do it. A private mailbox business can do it. A crazy cat-person that never leaves the house can do it. Those options may be cheaper than the specialist business, but most RA businesses will provide additional services that make the higher fees worthwhile. For instance, they will not only inform you in a timely fashion when your business has been sued, but may also e-mail you a scanned copy of the complaint and summons within minutes of receiving it. Also, registered agent businesses are likely to have offices in place in multiple states, so they can better compete on price if your business operates in more than just one state. That said, don't buy RA services from Corporation Service Company, because they buy up tech businesses and then indiscriminately fire all the software pros.