A Mississippi registered agent is not just a smart investment, for many business owners it’s a legal necessity.
Mississippi registered agents play such an important role in the formation process that it’s nigh impossible to complete without one. And they’re incredibly helpful when it comes to meeting your compliance requirements.
But first, allow me to explain what a registered agent is, how to pick the best one for your company, and why you need one at all.
What Is a Registered Agent in Mississippi?
A registered agent is an individual or business entity that accepts service of process from a process agent, as well as mail and tax notices from government agencies (like the IRS or the Mississippi Secretary of State), on behalf of your Mississippi business.
How this works is that you use your registered agent’s address as your registered office address instead of your business or home address. Of course, that doesn’t explain how you get your mail and documents after they’ve been delivered to another site.
That’s where the second part of a registered agent’s services comes into play: document delivery.
Mississippi registered agents use either mail forwarding or an online service to keep Mississippi businesses informed when they receive mail or service of process. They use similar techniques to inform you of approaching compliance deadlines for your business filings.
All business entities must maintain a registered agent in every state they conduct business. You can designate a different registered agent at each local office, or you can take the easier approach and hire a professional registered agent service to meet these requirements.
Occasionally you’ll see a Mississippi registered agent referred to as either a resident agent or a statutory agent. Just know that all these terms refer to the same professional service.
What Is the Purpose of a Registered Agent in Mississippi?
I’m guessing by now that you’ve started hatching a plan that involves setting up a PO box for your business and checking it at the end of every day for mail and service of process. But that won’t work for three reasons.
First, the Mississippi Secretary of State requires your registered agent or resident agent be physically present at your business address during normal business hours. The key words there are physically present. Because of this, you can’t just set up a PO box and check it at the end of the day.
Second, the Secretary of State requires your registered agent’s address be a physical street address, and a PO box simply doesn’t qualify.
And lastly, there are many more things your Mississippi registered agent can do for your business!
Compliance
It’s nearly impossible to remember compliance filing deadlines that come only once each year, unless you’re one of those people that actually remembers anniversaries. Luckily, you won’t have to keep track of these dates anymore because your Mississippi registered agent service will remind you about them with compliance alerts and annual report reminders.
Your registered agent in Mississippi functions as a sort of middleman to shuffle information to you from various government agencies, like the Secretary of State and the IRS. As such, your registered agent will send out a compliance alert to notify you about important filing deadlines so that your Mississippi LLC or business doesn’t lose its good-standing status.
Management of Important Documents
Your registered agent’s address is important for many reasons beyond simply meeting the criteria for a physical address. This is also the address where your business’s legal documents, mail, and any service of process you might get will be sent, and you need to keep all of that organized for business records.
Many registered agents provide online document management portals onto which they scan and upload business documents, mail, and service of process forms the day they’re received. You can easily access these documents using your online account.
There are two reasons why online document management portals are superior to basic mail forwarding: It’s faster than receiving official documents and service of process through snail mail, and it provides you with online storage for all your documents, which is convenient and saves space.
Who Can Be a Registered Agent in Mississippi?
Some registered agent requirements are the same nationwide. Here are some of the requirements you can expect for your registered agent in Mississippi:
- State laws. In some states, certain laws spell out the requirements for registered agents. To make sure that your registered agent in Mississippi meets all state requirements, check into Mississippi’s registered agent guidelines.
- 18+. Every registered agent in Mississippi must be over the age of 18.
- Physical address. Your Mississippi registered agent must have a physical street address in the state. PO boxes do not disqualify.
- Who you can designate. So long as the person you choose meets the requirements, you can designate anyone you want—a professional (like your lawyer), friend, or family member. It’s important to make sure that whomever you choose is available during regular business hours and dependable enough to show up on time to your registered agent address.
What Happens If My Business Operates Without a Registered Agent?
If your Mississippi registered agent isn’t present at your business address to accept service of process when a process server attempts to deliver it, it can mean bad news for your business. The process agent will deliver the service of process to the Mississippi Secretary of State and consider the notice served.
Now you’re completely unaware that someone is suing your company. Even worse, a court can proceed with litigation against your company without your knowledge and without you being present to defend it.
If you fail to maintain a registered agent in Mississippi or keep up with compliance filing deadlines—think annual report—your business isn’t complying with the law and the Mississippi Secretary is within its rights to revoke your company’s good-standing status. This can be extremely disruptive to your business. It could prevent your business from expanding to other states, qualifying for loans, or even conducting business in the state.
Losing your good-standing status also means your company will lose its business name reservation. While your name reservation has lapsed, another business could grab it up and use it for its own company. And even if you rectify this legal snafu in a timely manner, it’s still possible to permanently lose your business name.
Losing an LLC Certificate of Good Standing can be especially troublesome for a limited liability company. Without good-standing status, your company could be vulnerable to “administrative dissolution,” which is when the Secretary of State removes a company’s legal authority because of noncompliance or failure to otherwise meet legal obligations.
Continuing normal business operations without legal LLC recognition is playing with fire. Any business owner of a Mississippi LLC that’s lost its legal LLC status is considered personally and financially responsible for the company. This means that their personal and financial assets are up for grabs in lawsuits, regardless of any precautions they’ve taken to prevent this, like setting up a business bank account.
LLCs aren’t the only business entities that can feel the effects of failing to maintain a registered agent in Mississippi. Many of the consequences listed here also apply to corporations, sole proprietorships, and other entities, as well.
Can I Be My Own Registered Agent in Mississippi?
There are no laws that prevent you from being your own registered agent, but before you make that decision you should learn about the pros and cons of being your own registered agent as opposed to hiring a professional registered agent service.
Cons of Being Your Own Registered Agent
Liability
For many business owners, the biggest drawback of being your own registered agent is the devastating consequences that come from missing a service of process. This can cause the revocation of your company’s good-standing status, fines, and civil defaults against your company. It’s a legal nightmare that no business owner needs.
Lack of Privacy
As your own agent, if your company doesn’t have a physical address, you’ll have to list your personal address and information on public record. The unfortunate thing about the public record is that it’s public, and cybercriminals and hackers can access it to steal your identity and wreak havoc on your credit.
But beyond that, it’s just really creepy to think that literally everyone has your phone number and address and can do with that information what they will.
Time
Another massive inconvenience that comes with being your own registered agent as a business owner is the vast amount of time the job takes up. It’s a full-time job! As a registered agent in Mississippi, you’re required to be available to receive service of process during normal business hours, and it’s likely that your business operates during the same hours.
So, unless you’ve figured out the trick to being in two places at once, it’s not practical in the long run.
Pros of Being Your Own Registered Agent
The only upside of being your own registered agent is that you won’t have to pay any fees to a Mississippi registered agent service. But now that you’ve learned the legal risks of being your own registered agent, as well as the amount of time the job takes up, no doubt you’re willing to pay for the convenience. Most registered agents are quite affordable, anyway.
At the end of the day, you’re the only one that can decide whether it’s worth it to hire a Mississippi registered agent service for your company. But I always recommend hiring a registered agent service to new businesses.
Should I Use a Registered Agent Service?
There are many reasons to hire a registered agent service:
- You’ll never forget to file your annual reports with the Mississippi Secretary of State thanks to compliance notifications.
- Missing a service of process isn’t likely, and neither is a civil default or the loss of your company’s good-standing status.
- Running your company while also being your own agent is essentially working two full-time jobs. Hiring a Mississippi registered agent service allows you to take a breath and manage your business without additional stress.
- A national registered agent can fulfill your legal obligations and manage your business documents and deadlines in more than one state.
- If your business doesn’t operate during standard business hours (convenience stores, pubs, specialty shops, etc.), hiring a registered agent service means you won’t have to work night and day to run your business AND meet your legal obligations.
- If your business lacks a physical location, a registered agent service will prevent you from having to list your personal information on the public record. Instead, you can list your registered agent’s name and information.
- Choosing a registered agent service prevents you from having to deal with your business’s junk mail, which may seem trivial, but businesses are sent a staggering amount of junk mail. Trust me, you don’t want to deal with all that yourself!
- Premium registered agents will pay your state fees and provide specialty business insurance.
- If you haven’t established your business yet, you’re in a prime position to choose a registered agent service that offers formation services. These companies often offer bundled deals with promotions for free registered agent services for a year.
What Is the Best Registered Agent Service?
You need to consider many factors to find the best registered agent service. Here are some of the things you should think about when choosing your company’s registered agent:
Service Features
Don’t choose a registered agent service that doesn’t supply all of the registered agent services that your company needs. There are so many registered agent providers with full service catalogs and great rates that you shouldn’t need to settle. Choose a registered agent provider that does everything you need it to.
Value
A good way to determine whether you’re dealing with a good registered agent service is to consider both its services and its price. If a company has a slew of high-quality services and an affordable price, then it provides a good value.
Having said that, steer clear of “budget” registered agents. These registered agent services use deceptive pricing ($39–$59) to draw in new customers and then hit them with extra fees for necessary services, like online document management systems or compliance alerts. So, if you find a budget registered agent provider, run.
Easy Sign-Up
Some registered agent providers make you fill out tons of paperwork and even after you’ve dotted your i’s and crossed your t’s, the process can still take weeks or months to complete. The formation process is already stressful enough, so choose a Mississippi registered agent that has a quick and simple sign-up process.
User-Friendly Interface
Have you ever worked for a business whose computer system is so slow, glitchy, and confusing that it made you dread going to work? Some Mississippi registered agent providers have systems that are a real nuisance to deal with. Find a registered agent with a system that you can easily operate.
Customer Service
Even if you choose a Mississippi registered agent with an excellent service list, affordable rates, a simple sign-up process, and an easy-to-use interface, you'll still eventually need to call customer service. And because your registered agent can mean life or death for your business, it’s important that you choose a Mississippi registered agent with great customer service.
I used these rating factors, as well as my four-stage research process to determine that Northwest Registered Agent is the best registered agent service. If you want to find a registered agent online today, review the best registered agent services.
Conclusion
Dealing with compliance filing deadlines is the last thing you want to do when you’re navigating the endless software, equipment, and procedures of running a new business. Luckily, Mississippi registered agent services can alleviate some of the workload and stress for business owners.
If you haven’t chosen a business structure and would like to learn more about the LLC formation process, you can read my guide on how to start an LLC. And if you’d like a bit of guidance through the complicated formation process, check out my guide on the best LLC formation services.
Mississippi Registered Agent FAQs
What’s the Difference Between a Commercial and a Noncommercial Registered Agent?
Essentially, a commercial registered agent is one that has registered with the Secretary of State as a commercial registered agent service. Some states require all professional registered agent services to register as commercial registered agent services.
A noncommercial registered agent is any person or business that hasn’t registered with the Secretary of State as a commercial registered agent. So if you’ve designated your unemployed brother as your Mississippi registered agent, then he’s officially a noncommercial registered agent! Tell him congrats from me.
How Do I Change the Registered Agent for My LLC?
If you ever find yourself frustrated with your Mississippi registered agent and decide you want a new one, the good news is that you aren’t stuck with the same registered agent for the life of your business.
It’s not as easy to change your LLC’s registered agent in Mississippi as it is in some other states, but it is possible. The Secretary of State doesn’t have a Change of Registered Agent form. Instead, you’re required to file a corporate or LLC amendment. Fill out the form and remember to include your information, as well as your new registered agent information. There’s a $50 filing fee.
How Much Does a Registered Agent Cost?
Registered agent cost depends on a number of factors, including which registered agent service you go with and which registered agent services you choose.
However, most registered agent services cost somewhere between $39–$299 per state, per year. If you’d like to learn more about registered agent pricing or registered agent services, read my guide to the best registered agent services.
