A registered agent is the official point of contact that receives legal and state documents on behalf of your business. Every LLC and corporation in the U.S. is legally required to maintain one in each state where it operates. This page compares trusted registered agent providers so you can pick the right one after finding — or forming — a business.
A registered agent is a person or service with a physical address in the state, available during normal business hours, designated to accept official correspondence for your business. States require this so there is always a reliable way to deliver legal and government notices. Using a professional service protects your privacy and ensures nothing important is missed. Here's what a registered agent does:
Pricing changes often — always confirm current rates on the provider's site.
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Yes. You must maintain a registered agent in your formation state and in every state where you foreign-qualify to do business — that is, where you register to legally operate outside your home state. If you expand into new states, each one requires its own agent with a physical in-state address. Rather than managing separate agents everywhere, most multi-state businesses use a single national provider that covers all 50 states from one account, keeping compliance and annual reports centralized as they grow.
Already checked your business's registered agent status? Verify it here via your state's Secretary of State portal