Maintaining a registered agent for your business is not only a legal requirement for many business entities in Wyoming, it’s also a sound business investment.
Registered agents are deeply rooted in the LLC formation process, and you’re not likely to be able to complete your formation documents without listing your agent’s street address and name because of it. They’re also helpful when it comes to your business’s compliance obligations.
Keep reading for more information about what a registered agent is, what its role is, and why you need one for your business in Wyoming.
What Is a Registered Agent in Wyoming?
A registered agent is an individual or business entity that accepts mail, documents, and legal notices on behalf of your company at your Wyoming registered office during business hours.
Sending all your company’s mail and notices to a different address is initially confusing for many people because without those documents you can’t keep proper records for your business. Don’t worry. The second half of a registered agent’s duties is document delivery.
They achieve this by using either mail forwarding or online document-management systems. Some of the best registered agent service companies also provide compliance alerts to keep you informed about upcoming compliance filing deadlines, too.
If your company operates in multiple states, like a foreign corporation or LLC, then you’re legally required to maintain a registered agent in each state that your company conducts business. This means you’ll either have to designate multiple registered agents in different states or choose a national registered agent service to fulfill your legal obligation.
In some instances, a registered agent is also referred to as a resident agent or a statutory agent, so if you encounter these terms just remember that they all mean the same thing.
What Is the Purpose of a Registered Agent in Wyoming?
Now that you’ve read my definition for a registered agent, some of you have likely developed kooky schemes involving PO boxes and frequent checks to satisfy the legal registered agent requirement for your business entity. But that’s not going to work, and there’s a good reason why.
Your registered agent is required to be physically present at your business address during business hours to accept legal documents for your company. This means they have to stay posted at your business address, so checking in at your convenience won’t work. Plus, your Wyoming registered agent’s address is required to be a physical address, which entirely disqualifies PO boxes from use.
But your registered agent can do far more than receive your mail and supply your company with a street address to use on LLC formation documents!
Compliance
Annual reports only come once a year, usually on the date you officially established your business. This makes it difficult to keep track of filing dates, unless you’re one of those people that’s good at remembering anniversaries and other important dates. If you’re not, the good news is that your registered agent will take care of remembering these deadlines for you.
Your registered agent is your company’s official point of contact, which means it acts as a sort of intermediary between it and government agencies. As such, it’s your registered agent’s job to let you know about important compliance filing deadlines.
The top-tier registered agent service companies provide compliance alerts so that you won’t forget to file your Wyoming annual report.
Management of Important Documents
All of your mail, legal documents, and tax notices will be sent to your registered agent address, and you need to be able to retrieve them for your company’s records.
A lot of the best registered agent companies on the market today offer online document-management systems, which allow you to view your documents and deal with legal situations in a timely manner.
They scan and upload all of your mail and documents on the day they’re received, which makes online document management systems vastly quicker in terms of document delivery than mail forwarding.
But they also provide you with an online storage system for all of these documents and notices, which means you won’t have to set aside lots of space for storage rooms, file cabinets, and folders to store physical copies of every document.
Service of Process
There’s no way to talk about registered agents without also talking about service of process. But hopefully you don’t be receiving a new service of process or other legal documents on a daily basis.
Considering that a service of process is a notification that you’re being sued, this isn’t something that should be happening every day. It should be a rare occurrence. But if your company does get sued, it’s your registered agent’s job to accept service of process on your company’s behalf.
Who Can Be a Registered Agent in Wyoming?
Many of the requirements for registered agents are standardized across the country. Here are some of the requirements for Wyoming registered agents:
- State laws. To ensure your registered agent in Wyoming meets all of its legal requirements, you should read state laws pertaining to registered agents.
- 18+. Every Wyoming registered agent must be at least 18 years old.
- Physical address. Your Wyoming registered agent’s address must be a physical street address in the state. PO boxes don’t qualify for use as a business address.
- Who you can designate. If they meet the legal requirements, you can designate anyone as your Wyoming registered agent, even a friend, employee, lawyer, or family member. But before you choose, carefully consider who should fill this position and choose someone who’s trustworthy.
What Happens If My Business Operates Without a Registered Agent?
If a process server comes to deliver a service of process to your company at your registered office address during business hours and your Wyoming registered agent isn’t there to receive it, they’ll deliver it to the Secretary of State.
This is bad news for your company because you can’t defend your company against a lawsuit you don’t know about. A judge could make a default ruling against your company, which could have far-reaching financial and legal consequences.
Failure to continually maintain a registered agent in Wyoming is illegal for any business entity in the state, and the Secretary of State could nullify your company’s good-standing status. As a result, your company may no longer be allowed to expand to other states or qualify for business loans, and it could be banned from conducting business in the state.
When you lose your company’s good-standing status, you’ll also lose your company’s business name registration. During this lapse in paperwork, other companies can reserve your business name for themselves. No matter how quickly you resolve your troubles with the Secretary of State, you could still permanently lose your business name.
Limited liability companies are particularly devastated by the loss of good-standing status. In such cases, an LLC could face “administrative dissolution” when it fails to meet its legal obligations to file annual reports or maintain a Wyoming registered agent.
Once your Wyoming LLC has been dissolved, it’s dangerous to continue business as usual. That’s because ordinarily, a Wyoming LLC has limited liability protection, which separates the company, its assets, and its liabilities from its business owner. Without it, the owner’s personal assets and finances are at risk.
If you don’t own a Wyoming LLC, but you still own another type of business entity (like a corporation, sole proprietorship, or limited liability partnership), you could still feel the effects of missing a service of process, so it's best to keep a registered agent in Wyoming.
Can I Be My Own Registered Agent in Wyoming?
There’s nothing that legally holds you back from being your own agent, but before you decide to take on this responsibility, you should know about the pros and cons of being your own registered agent in Wyoming and compare them to hiring a Wyoming registered agent service.
Cons of Being Your Own Registered Agent
Liability
The biggest disadvantage of being your own registered agent is the serious consequences involved with missing a service of process. Some of these include losing your company’s good-standing status or having default judgments entered against your company.
Lack of Privacy
One of the unfortunate caveats of being your own registered agent is listing your personal information on the public record. Along with your name and phone number, you’ll have to list your home address as your business address if you don’t have a Wyoming street address.
You can’t pick and choose who can view your information once it’s listed on the public record, so hackers and cybercriminals can access it and use it to steal your identity, amass massive debt in your name, or commit other crimes.
Plus, knowing that anyone can find your home address and phone number is enough to give you chills.
Time
Most business owners don’t have time to be their own registered agent. You’re required by the Secretary of State to be present at your registered office address during normal business hours to receive official mail and accept legal documents on behalf of your business. That means it’s a full-time job.
It’s pretty likely that your business is also open during normal business hours, which means that being your own agent and running your business simultaneously is a feat that would require a time machine or advanced magic because you can’t be in two places at once.
Pros of Being Your Own Registered Agent
There’s only one benefit from being your own registered agent in Wyoming. You won’t have to pay a Wyoming registered agent service.
But now that you’re more informed and you understand the time-consuming nature of the job and the seriousness of the consequences you could face if you miss a service of process, you might agree that fees for registered agent services are well worth the price.
Besides, most registered agent services don’t have high prices.
Should I Use a Registered Agent Service?
Only you can answer that question. But here are the reasons most business owners decide to hire a registered agent service:
- Compliance alerts can help you remember to file your annual report.
- You won’t miss a service of process, which means that you aren’t as susceptible to consequences such as losing your company’s good-standing status.
- If your Wyoming business operates in multiple states, you can use a national registered agent service as a sort of one-stop-shop to cover all of your registered agent needs.
- If you own a restaurant, bar, or other business that operates outside of normal business hours, a registered agent can allow you to manage your company at night and catch some shut-eye during the day.
- You can list your registered agent’s address and information on the public record in place of your own.
- A registered agent will even handle your junk mail for you.
- There are some unique advantages to using registered agent companies that provide premium services, like identity theft protection and payment of state fees.
- If you haven’t officially established your business entity with the Wyoming Business Division, you can still take advantage of formation promotions, like a year of free registered agent service, which could save you as much as $299 your first year!
At the end of the day, no one can tell you whether hiring a registered agent service is the best idea for your company. With that being said, I always suggest that new businesses use a registered agent service.
What Is the Best Registered Agent Service?
Choosing the best registered agent service is no easy task. There are lots of factors to consider! Here are some of the things you should think about when choosing a registered agent in Wyoming:
Service Features
Plainly stated: Don’t choose a Wyoming registered agent service provider that doesn’t supply all the registered agent services that your Wyoming business needs.
Some registered agent companies only offer basic mail forwarding, which is painfully slow and requires you to find a place to store physical copies of all of your legal documents and official mail.
Other Wyoming registered agent services offer online document management systems that allow you store and view your business documents and legal notices online.
Some Wyoming registered agents supply you with a compliance calendar loaded with important filing deadlines, which is insufficient because you can lose it or forget about it entirely. But the best Wyoming registered agent services provide compliance alerts or annual report reminders for worry-free compliance.
Choose a Wyoming registered agent service that does everything you need it to do.
Value
One surefire way to find out whether a registered agent company is worth your time is to compare its list of services to its fee. A registered agent provider with loads of quality services and an affordable rate is probably a good value.
Make sure you’re not falling for “budget agents” to find a low-cost registered agent service. These shady registered agent companies will quote you starting rates as low as $39–$59 then tack on additional fees for crucial services, like online document management systems or compliance alerts. Steer well away from budget registered agent services!
Easy Sign-Up
I’m sure no one’s ever thought to themselves “Gee, I sure wish someone would waste my time!” But for whatever reason, that seems to be exactly what some registered agent service companies do.
They’ll make you spend days filling out paperwork, and then it’ll be weeks or months before the process is completed. Because of this, you should make sure that you choose a Wyoming registered agent service with quick and straightforward sign-up.
User-Friendly Interface
Some Wyoming registered agent service providers have headache-inducing systems. Their servers are ancient, their navigation systems are a tangled mess of confusion, and it’s just a matter of time before the numerous bugs cause the whole thing to lock up or shut down entirely.
To prevent yourself a lot of frustration, choose a Wyoming registered agent that has a user-friendly interface.
Customer Service
You could choose the absolute best registered agent in Wyoming and you’d still eventually experience some sort of technical calamities or have urgent questions about your registered agent service.
Your registered agent is responsible for maintaining services that could have catastrophic results for your company if they’re neglected. So, it’s crucial that your registered agent has excellent customer service.
I used all of these factors and my four-stage investigative process to choose the best registered agent service: Northwest Registered Agent. If you’d like to learn more about various registered agent services or how to choose the best registered agent service for your Wyoming company, read the Best Registered Agent Services.
Conclusion
As a business owner you’ll have a ridiculous amount of new things to learn, and responsibilities that you’re saddled with. But Wyoming registered agents can take some of the stress and workload off your shoulders.
If you’re still deciding on a business structure and you’d like to learn more about LLC formation, check out How to Start an LLC. And if you’d like additional guidance through the formation process, check out my guide to the Best LLC Formation Services.
Wyoming Registered Agent FAQs
What’s the Difference Between a Commercial and a Noncommercial Registered Agent?
A commercial registered agent is one that has registered with the Wyoming Secretary of State as a commercial registered agent service. Some states require all professional registered agent companies to register as commercial registered agents.
Noncommercial registered agents are individuals or business entities that haven’t registered as commercial registered agents. So if you’ve designated a family member, like your Uncle Frank, as your Wyoming registered agent, then his official designation is “noncommercial registered agent.”
How Do I Change the Registered Agent for My LLC?
To change your Wyoming registered agent, you need to file a Change by Business Entity form, as well as a Consent to Appointment by Registered Agent form. Just enter some information, like your registered agent’s address and name, and file it with the Wyoming Secretary of State.
The forms can be submitted in person or by mail, and there’s no charge to file it unless you’re a nonprofit corporation, in which case you’ll have to pay $3 in state fees.
How Much Does a Registered Agent Cost?
How much your Wyoming registered agent service costs depends on everything from the registered agent service provider you hire to the services your business requires. Registered agent services cost between $39–$299 per state, per year (plus state fees). If you’d like to learn more about registered agent pricing, read my guide on the Best Registered Agent Services.
