Every business entity in West Virginia is required by law to have a registered agent. Aside from the legal requirement, a West Virginia registered agent offers many useful benefits that you may want to take advantage of.
The LLC formation process is nearly impossible to complete without a registered agent. You can’t even submit legally binding formation documents without naming a registered agent on them. Thankfully, a West Virginia registered agent is quite handy when it comes to compliance matters.
Read on if you’re curious what a registered agent is, what it does, and why you need one for your West Virginia business.
What Is a Registered Agent in West Virginia?
A West Virginia registered agent is an individual or business entity that receives service of process, certified mail, and legal documents on behalf of your business..
I know that sending your business’s mail and legal documents to someone else at a different address seems ridiculous at first glance. The second part of a registered agent’s job is document delivery. Your official office address is assigned to your registered agent, who will receive and process important documents for you during normal business hours.
Registered agents forward documents and mail through either basic mail forwarding or an online account and document-management system. The best registered agent services will let you know about approaching filing deadlines with compliance alerts or annual report reminders.
If your company does business in more than one state, you’re required by law to have a registered agent for each state. You can accomplish this by designating a different registered agent in each state, or you can hire a national registered agent service as a one-stop shop to take care of all of your company’s legal needs.
Statutory agent or resident agent are other names for a registered agent in West Virginia. The first two terms are older, but they all mean the same thing.
What Is the Purpose of a Registered Agent in West Virginia?
After reading my explanation of what a West Virginia registered agent is, you might have dreamed up a plan to use a PO box for legal mail and tax notices. But this plan simply won’t work.
By law, a West Virginia registered agent must be physically present at your registered office address during business hours. “Physically present” is the key phrase here, so you can’t just go to your PO box and check it whenever you please. Also, your registered agent’s address must be a physical street address, which disqualifies PO boxes completely.
Since you have to designate a registered agent at a proper address, you’ll be pleased to learn that getting your mail isn’t the only thing your West Virginia registered agent will do for you.
Compliance
Your annual reports are generally due every year on the anniversary of your business’s establishment date. It’s really easy to forget this date every year. Your West Virginia registered agent can keep track of filing dates for you.
Your registered agent is your official point of contact, which effectively makes it a middleman between your business and government agencies (like the West Virginia Secretary of State or the IRS). Because of this, it’s your registered agent’s job to tell you about upcoming filing deadlines so you don’t miss one and face drastic legal and financial consequences.
If you choose one of the best West Virginia registered agents, they’ll send out compliance alerts to remind you about these deadlines, providing you with worry-free compliance.
Management of Important Documents
If your business is based out of your home or you don’t actually have an office location, then the fact that the Secretary of State requires your business to have a physical address can seem like a real pain. But there’s logic behind it. For example, all your legal documents and mail are sent to your business address.
A lot of the best West Virginia registered agents provide online document-management systems, which can make your life a lot easier. They scan and upload your mail and documents the same day they’re received, which means you’re able to access them a lot faster than you would with basic mail forwarding.
The document management system also provides you with an electronic storage system for your documents and files, which means you won’t have stacks of file folders cluttering up your office space.
Service of Process
Many registered agent websites would have you believe that receiving a service of process from a process agent is an everyday occurrence. The reality is that this should be a rarity.
A service of process is an official notice that your company is being sued, so you obviously don’t want that to happen on a weekly or daily basis! However, if your business should happen to get a visit from a process agent, accepting service of process on behalf of your business falls under your registered agent’s job description.
Who Can Be a Registered Agent in West Virginia?
Some registered agent requirements are the same, regardless of which state you conduct business in. Here are some of the requirements for your registered agent in West Virginia:
- State laws. To make sure that your registered agent in West Virginia meets the requirements, brush up on the laws in the state regarding registered agents.
- 18+. Every registered agent in West Virginia is required to be at least 18 years old.
- Physical address. Your registered office address is required to be a physical street address in the state.
- Who you can designate. It’s perfectly legal for you to designate anyone you’d like as your registered agent in West Virginia, as long as they meet the legal requirements. So, choose a family member, friend, employee or lawyer as your West Virginia registered agent if you want. Just make sure that the person you choose is trustworthy!
What Happens If My Business Operates Without a Registered Agent?
When a process server comes to your listed business address to deliver service of process and your West Virginia registered agent isn’t there to accept the delivery, it sets off a chain of events with dire consequences for your business. The process server will probably deliver the service of process to the Secretary of State.
The result of this is that you may not even know you’re being sued until it’s too late to defend yourself. Even in your absence from court proceedings, a judge can issue a default judgment against your company.
Because it’s illegal for a business entity to operate without a registered agent in West Virginia, the West Virginia Secretary of State can revoke your business’s good-standing status. Some of the immediate impacts of this include no longer qualifying for business loans, being prohibited from expanding to other states, and losing your ability to transact business in West Virginia.
Once you lose your company’s good-standing status in West Virginia, you’ll also forfeit your business name reservation. While your business name isn’t reserved, other companies can take it for themselves. Even if you quickly resolve the situation and get your company back on track, you may not get your business name back—ever.
If you own a limited liability company in West Virginia, losing your good-standing status could uniquely impact your business. A West Virginia LLC without good-standing status could be subject to “administrative dissolution,” which is when the West Virginia Secretary of State removes a company’s authority to conduct business in West Virginia.
Can I Be My Own Registered Agent in West Virginia?
West Virginia doesn’t expressly forbid you from being your own registered agent. But before you make that choice, you should learn about the pros and cons of being your own agent and compare them to hiring a professional registered agent service in West Virginia.
Cons of Being Your Own Registered Agent
Liability
You established an LLC because you wanted the legal protection of separating your business assets from your personal assets. By acting as your own registered agent instead of hiring a professional one, this legal protection is vulnerable.
If you miss a service of process or forget to file your annual report because you’re acting as your own registered agent, you risk administrative dissolution and the loss of your limited liability protection. Without this safety net, the owner of a West Virginia LLC becomes both financially and legally responsible for the company. If the company is sued, your money and personal assets are at risk.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that only LLCs face the fallout of not having a West Virginia registered agent. As long as your company is legally designated as a business entity, it can face legal and financial consequences for not continuously maintaining a registered agent in West Virginia.
Lack of Privacy
Another downside to being your own registered agent in West Virginia is that your personal details will be listed on the public record. This is especially true if your business doesn’t have a physical street address, because on top of listing your name and phone number you’ll have to list your home address.
The catch is that you can’t control who accesses public records, and cybercriminals and hackers are part of the general public. Once they access your information they can use it to steal your identity, trash your credit score, or commit other crimes.
It’s also creepy to think that anyone can get their mitts on your home address and phone number.
Time
The simple truth is that being your own agent takes up a lot of time you could be dedicating to other important things. As a West Virginia registered agent, you must be present at your business address during regular business hours—it’s a full-time job.
Many businesses also operate during regular business hours, which makes it nearly impossible to do both jobs. This is especially difficult for business owners who go out on calls or meet clients in secondary locations. You can’t be in two places at once. .
Pros of Being Your Own Registered Agent
There’s only one advantage of being your own registered agent: it’s free.
But as an informed business owner, you might just find that it’s worth it to pay a registered agent service and avoid the risks. Keep in mind, most West Virginia registered agent services don’t cost much, which also adds to their value.
Should I Use a Registered Agent Service?
There are lots of reasons that business owners choose to use West Virginia registered agent services:
- With a West Virginia registered agent service that sends compliance alerts, you won’t forget to file your annual report or miss other important compliance filing deadlines.
- You won’t miss a service of process or lose your good-standing status with the West Virginia Secretary of State.
- You’ll have more time and energy to effectively manage your business.
- Businesses that operate in numerous states can use a national registered agent service to cover all their legal needs, rather than designating multiple agents.
- If you own a business that operates outside of normal business hours, you can use a West Virginia registered agent service to prevent burning the candle at both ends. Even busy business owners need sleep!
- You can use a registered agent service to keep your personal information off public records. You just list your registered agent’s name and information in place of your own.
- Your registered agent even gets your junk mail—and dispatches it for you as well.
- Some West Virginia registered agent service providers offer premium registered agent services that are too appetizing to pass up, like specialty business insurances and payment of state fees.
- If you’ve yet to establish your business, it’s a good time to choose a registered agent service that also provides business formation services. Some even offer free registered agent services for a year when you sign up for an LLC formation package.
No matter what, the only person that can decide whether a registered agent service is the right choice for your company is you. With that being said, I always recommend new businesses use registered agent services.
What Is the Best Registered Agent Service?
Choosing the best registered agent service is complicated and involves many different factors. Here are some of the things you should think about when choosing your company’s registered agent.
Service Features
I can’t think of a single good reason to choose a registered agent service in West Virginia that doesn’t provide all of the registered agent services you need. There are so many registered agent service providers to choose from, and many have full catalogs of quality registered agent services.
Some registered agent providers supply compliance alerts and worry-free compliance so that you won’t forget to file annual reports and find yourself in legal hot water with the West Virginia Secretary of State. Other registered agent companies will just give you a compliance calendar with the dates filled in, which you can easily forget about.
Some registered agent companies provide you with an online document management system so that you can view and store legal documents, official paperwork, mail, and service of process quickly and conveniently. Other registered agent providers only offer basic mail forwarding, which is far slower.
When choosing a West Virginia registered agent service, make sure you choose one that delivers all the registered agent services you need.
Value
A good way to test the worth of a registered agent service in West Virginia is to compare its service list to its price. You’re looking for a registered agent service that provides a wide array of quality services and a low fee.
While you’re searching for a registered agent with a low fee, be sure to avoid “budget agents.” These sneaky registered agent companies advertise low prices of $39–$59 then slap new clients with extra fees for essential services. So, avoid budget agents—they’re definitely not worth it in the long run!
Easy Sign-Up
No business owner wants their time wasted, and this is especially true during the formation process because it’s stressful enough already.
Some registered agent services will make you fill out stacks of paperwork, and their sign-up process takes weeks or even months to complete.
Look instead for a registered agent that has an automated sign-up process that’s quick and hassle-free.
User-Friendly Interface
Have you ever been forced to use a computer system for work or school that was so complicated that you dreaded firing it up each day?
Some registered agent providers have equally convoluted systems. Their servers are outdated, it’s difficult to navigate the system, the layout is poorly designed, and to top it all off it’s so buggy that the whole thing crashes several times a day.
Save yourself some headache and choose a registered agent service with a simple user interface.
Customer Service
There’s no way to avoid technical issues or questions about your service, even if you choose the best registered agent service around. And because your registered agent performs vital business operations, it’s important that you choose a registered agent with excellent customer service.
To identify the best registered agent service, Northwest Registered Agent, I combined all of these factors with my four-stage investigative process. If you’d like to learn more about registered agent services or how to choose your company’s registered agent, read the Best Registered Agent.
Conclusion
It’s hard work to start and run a new business. But the good news is that you’re not in it alone. West Virginia registered agent services can take some of the work off your hands and give you a few less things to worry about.
If you haven’t chosen a business structure for your company and you want to learn more about LLC formation, read How to Start an LLC. And if you think you could benefit from professional guidance throughout the formation process, check out my guide on the Best LLC Formation Services.
West Virginia Registered Agent FAQs
What’s the Difference Between a Commercial and a Noncommercial Registered Agent?
A commercial registered agent is one that’s officially registered with the Secretary of State in West Virginia. Some states require all professional registered agent services to register as commercial agents.
A noncommercial registered agent is an individual or business entity that hasn’t registered as a commercial registered agent. So if you’ve designated a family member or friend as your registered agent, their official title is “noncommercial registered agent.”
How Do I Change the Registered Agent for My LLC?
You can change your registered agent in West Virginia by filling out an Application to Appoint or Change Process, Officers, and/or Addresses. While that name is impossibly long and difficult to remember, it isn’t difficult to fill out or file.
You just add some information about your new registered agent, like your registered agent’s name and address, and then file it with the Secretary of State. It can be submitted in person, by mail, or by fax, and you’ll need to pay $15 in state fees to file.
How Much Does a Registered Agent Cost?
The cost of your registered agent differs according to different factors, like which registered agent company you go with and which services your company needs. Registered agent services can cost anywhere from $39–$299 per state, per year (plus filing fee). To find out more about registered agent pricing, read my guide on the Best Registered Agent Services.
