Every business entity must maintain a registered agent in Nevada, but having one is a smart idea, regardless of the law.
Registered agents are such an integral part of the LLC formation process that it’s nearly impossible to establish your business without one. They’re also useful when it comes to meeting your compliance obligations. A Nevada registered agent will issue compliance alerts or annual report reminders so that you don’t miss an important filing deadline and land in legal hot water with the Nevada Secretary of State.
If you’re interested in learning what a registered agent is, what it does, and whether you need one, keep reading.
What Is a Registered Agent in Nevada?
A registered agent is an individual or business entity that receives service of process, legal mail, and official documents on behalf of your business. They’re stationed at your business address during normal business hours so that you don’t miss any official correspondence.
Maybe you don’t see the point of sending your important mail off to someone else at another address. But the second half of a registered agent’s duties is document delivery.
A registered agent uses mail forwarding or an online document management portal to deliver your mail and legal documents to you and keep you informed about things like annual report filing deadlines.
And if your company does business in more than one state, you’re required to have a registered agent in each one of those states. So, you’ll either have to designate someone at each branch as your registered agent and keep multiple registered agents or hire one national registered agent to meet all your company’s legal requirements.
You’ll sometimes notice that a Nevada registered agent is referred to as a statutory agent or resident agent. These are all three different names for the same business service.
What Is the Purpose of a Registered Agent in Nevada?
As you read my definition for a Nevada registered agent, you may have developed a nutty scheme to set up a PO box for your company and check it occasionally for official mail. But this scheme isn’t going to work, and here’s why.
State law dictates that your Nevada registered agent must be physically present during regular business hours to receive service of process for your business. A PO box can’t fulfill this requirement.
Not only that, your registered agent’s address is required to be a physical street address, which means you can’t use a PO box.
A Nevada registered agent service can also do a lot more than just receive mail on your behalf! Here are a few of the other things a Nevada registered agent service can do:
Compliance
It’s hard to remember most filing deadlines because they only come around once a year. Keeping track of upcoming filing deadlines is part of your registered agent’s job.
Your Nevada registered agent serves as a middleman between your company and various government agencies. So it will remind you of your annual reports and other important deadlines with the Nevada Secretary of State so that your company doesn’t lose its good-standing status.
Management of Important Documents
Most of the best Nevada registered agent services will scan and upload your mail and documents for you to view with an online account—all on the same day that the registered agent receives them.
The online document management portal allows you to view your mail and documents more quickly than basic mail forwarding allows (snail mail is slow!). It also provides you with a convenient virtual storage facility to store your documents. You won’t have to make space for endless filing cabinets and folders.
Who Can Be a Registered Agent in Nevada?
Most registered agent requirements are standardized across the United States. Here’s a look at some of the requirements your registered agent in Nevada will be expected to fulfill:
- State laws. Some jurisdictions have additional requirements beyond the national standardized requirements for registered agents. So to make sure that your registered agent in Nevada meets state requirements, you should read up on state laws pertaining to registered agents.
- 18+. Every registered agent in Nevada must be at least 18 years old.
- Physical address. Your registered agent in Nevada must have a physical street address in the state.
- Who you can designate. As long as they meet the legal requirements, you can designate anyone as your registered agent in Nevada. It can be a trustworthy friend, close family member, or even your lawyer. Just make sure that whomever you choose as your Nevada registered agent is available during business hours and dependable enough for you to trust with your business.
What Happens If My Business Operates Without a Registered Agent?
Say your Nevada registered agent isn’t available at your business address during normal business hours to receive service of process from a process server. The process server will then deliver the service of process to the Nevada Secretary of State.
This is dangerous for your business. It means you didn’t get to see the legal notice and therefore can’t mount a proper legal defense. In this case, a judge can issue a default judgment against your company without you being present.
If you fail to maintain a Nevada registered agent or miss a filing deadline, the Nevada Secretary of State could take back your company’s good-standing status. This could prevent expansion to other states, qualifying for business loans and financial aid, or conducting business in Nevada at all.
Another irksome side effect of losing your company’s good standing is losing your company’s business name. When you lose your good-standing status, your business name reservation is no longer valid. While you’re without good standing, other companies can reserve your business name themselves. And no matter how hard you try to quickly resolve the situation, you could lose your business name indefinitely.
A limited liability company is uniquely affected by the revocation of good-standing status. Without good standing, a Nevada LLC could experience “administrative dissolution,” where the Secretary of State automatically dissolves the company due to noncompliance with its legal requirements.
Administrative dissolution means that your limited liability company no longer has the legal safety nets that business owners rely on, such as limited liability protection. If your company were to be sued, you would be held financially responsible for the company and your assets and money could be on the line.
Because every business entity is required to maintain a Nevada registered agent, many of the repercussions listed here don’t just affect LLCs, but could also affect your Nevada corporation, sole proprietorship, or limited liability partnership.
Can I Be My Own Registered Agent in Nevada?
Nowhere in the United States makes it illegal for you to be your own registered agent. But before you do, you should learn about the pros and cons of being your own Nevada registered agent.
Cons of Being Your Own Registered Agent
Liability
If you miss a service of process as your own Nevada registered agent, there can be major legal consequences for your Nevada business. Some of these include default judgments against your company and losing your company’s good-standing status.
Lack of Privacy
Being your own registered agent means bits of crucial personal information will be listed on the public record, where anyone can access your personal information. Hackers and cybercriminals can use your information for things like identity theft, which could put you into debt and trash your credit score.
That’s not to mention that giving your name, address, and phone number to everyone is creepy enough to make your skin crawl.
Time
Being your own agent takes a lot of time. You’re required by the Nevada Secretary of State to be present at your business address during normal business hours to receive service of process and official mail. Do you know what’s also open during business hours? Most likely your Nevada business.
And unless you’ve befriended some sort of time-manipulating wizard, you can’t be in two places at once, which makes performing both of these duties simultaneously next to impossible.
Pros of Being Your Own Registered Agent
The only advantage of being your own agent is that you won’t have to pay a Nevada registered agent service. But now that you know the risks and drawbacks of being your own registered agent, you probably agree that it’s worth it to pay for a Nevada registered agent service.
Should I Use a Registered Agent Service?
There are plenty of reasons to choose a professional registered agent service.
- Because they issue compliance alerts, you won’t miss important filing deadlines (for things like annual reports) or face the legal repercussions of noncompliance.
- You won’t miss a service of process, which means you won’t lose the good-standing status of your Nevada business or deal with the repercussions of default judgments.
- You’re free to manage your business efficiently because you won’t have to work two full-time jobs (as both a registered agent and a business owner).
- If you have a company that transacts business in multiple states, you can choose a national registered agent service, which prevents you from hiring multiple registered agents to meet your legal obligations.
- Businesses that keep abnormal business hours (theaters, factories and warehouses, grocery stores, etc.) can use a registered agent service so that they can sleep during regular business hours.
- Companies without a physical location or physical address can use a registered agent service to prevent their personal information from being listed on the public record. You can instead list your registered agent’s name and information in place of your own.
- Businesses receive a ludicrous amount of junk mail, which you’ll have to sort through and manage yourself if you’re your own registered agent, but a registered agent service can deal with this for you.
- You can choose a registered agent that supplies premium registered agent services, like identity theft insurance or payment of state fees.
- Many registered agent service providers also provide business formation services. You can use these dual-service providers to your advantage and cash in on bundle promotions, like free registered agent service for a year.
Ultimately, it’s your call. You’re the only person that can determine whether a Nevada registered agent service is right for your company. With that being said, I always recommend that new Nevada businesses use registered agent services.
What Is the Best Registered Agent Service?
Lots of factors go into choosing the best Nevada registered agent service. Here are some of the things you should look at when choosing your company’s registered agent.
Service Features
Some registered agents provide online document management systems so that you can access your mail, legal documents, and service of process quickly and store them online, while others only offer mail forwarding.
And some registered agents offer compliance alerts so that you never forget to file an annual report, while others just supply you with a measly compliance calendar that you can easily forget about in the back of a drawer somewhere.
Choose a registered agent that does everything you need it to do and don’t settle.
Value
The mark of good Nevada registered agents is a full service list and a good rate. If the registered agent has a service list that’s chock-full of quality services and a low fee, then it’s likely that you’ve found a registered agent that provides a good value.
With that in mind, you should steer clear of “budget registered agents.” These sneaky Nevada registered agents advertise prices as low as $39–$59, which draws in new customers, and then drop multiple additional fees for essential services, like online document management systems or compliance alerts. So stay away from budget agents.
Easy Sign-Up
No one wants to feel like a company is wasting their time, and that’s true of Nevada registered agents, as well.
Some Nevada registered agents make you wait weeks or even months to complete the sign-up process and require you to fill out loads of paperwork. Make sure that you choose a registered agent with a quick and streamlined sign-up process.
User-Friendly Interface
You’ll use your registered agent’s system quite frequently, so it’s important that it’s easy to use.
Some Nevada registered agents have systems that are slow, confusing, and poorly laid out, and they have IT departments that can’t explain the technical issues, either. So, be sure that you’re choosing a registered agent with an easy-to-use interface.
Customer Service
Your registered agent could mean the difference between running a successful business or closing your doors forever. This is why choosing Nevada registered agents with excellent customer service is important.
I used these ratings factors, as well as my four-stage investigative process, to choose the best-registered agent: Northwest Registered Agent. If you’d like to learn more about registered agent services or how to choose the best Nevada registered agents, read my article about the Best Registered Agent Services.
Conclusion
The volume of information that new business owners have to learn is pretty insane. You’re expected to know about new business management techniques, how to operate industry-specific equipment and software, state and federal business regulations, and loads of business and legal terms. But a registered agent can make a lot of this work easier for business owners.
If you haven’t legally established your business and you’d like to learn more about the ins and outs of the formation process, read my guide on How to Start an LLC. If you’d like the peace of mind that comes from expert guidance throughout the formation process, read about the Best LLC Formation Services.
Nevada Registered Agent FAQs
What’s the Difference Between a Commercial and a Noncommercial Registered Agent?
A commercial registered agent service is a professional registered agent that’s registered with the Secretary of State as a commercial agent. Some states require all professional registered agent services to register as commercial registered agent services.
A noncommercial registered agent is any individual or business entity that has been designated as a registered agent, resident agent, or statutory agent but hasn’t registered as a commercial registered agent with government agencies. If you’ve designated your dad as your registered agent, then congratulations, your Pops is a noncommercial registered agent.
How Do I Change the Registered Agent for My LLC?
You can change your registered agent by filling out a Change of Registered Agent by Represented Entity form. That may be a mouthful, but it’s relatively easy to complete. Just enter the information about your new registered agent and file the form with the Secretary of State along with $60 to cover the costs of the state fees.
How Much Does a Registered Agent Cost?
The cost of your registered agent is based on a number of different variables, like which registered agent provider you choose and the registered agent services you need. Your registered agent could cost anywhere from $39–$299 per state per year. If you’re interested in learning more about registered agent pricing, read my guide on the Best Registered Agent Services.
