What is a registered agent?
Before you file your Articles of Organisation, which is the document officialising your LLC, you’ll need to choose a registered agent for your Nevada LLC.
A Nevada registered agent is somebody that agrees to accept legal mail, like service of process and other official notices, on your behalf. They act as your primary point of contact with the state, so if you’re ever sued, notices go to your registered agent.
Why do I need a registered agent?
Your LLC’s registered agent is a key component to the court and legal systems. By requiring all Nevadas to have a registered agent, the delivery of legal mail can be tracked and accounted for. It’s like having a record that something was delivered. So you want to make sure your agent is most definitely someone you trust, to hold this private information for you.
As per Section 86.321 of state law, your LLC’s registered agent needs to have a physical street address in the state of Nevada. It is not permissible for it to simply be a PO box. So if you don’t have an address in the state, a need for a registered agent becomes even more dire.
Your agent also needs to be available during normal business hours to receive service of process – these can include summons and subpoenas, and they need to be available to receive these at the said location.
Who can actually be my registered agent?
You are in fact allowed to be your own registered agent in Nevada, if you’d like to be – as long as you have a physical address there.
In fact there are 5 main options for you regarding who can be your agent:
- You yourself, but this can hold risks
- Your LLC can be its own registered agent (beware, though, as this is a very rare happening, only allowed in a handful of states – just in case you’re thinking of expanding your LLC)
- You can list another member or an employee of your LLC to do the job, like an office administrator
- A Nevada registered agent service
- A friend or family, or basically anyone that’s over 18 and lives in Nevada.
What’s the best option to pick?
There are upsides and downsides to practically every option, so really it depends on you. Here are some things to consider before you officialise who will be your registered agent:
Choosing yourself
If you work from home, your address will be on public record, which could be dangerous for you. And even if you don’t, you could be sued anytime, in front of your friends or even worse, in front of your customers, which is dangerous for your business. This also means you could have less time to focus on your job, because you’ll be sifting through important notices.
Your LLC/someone from your LLC
If you have a slightly bigger company, in comparison to maybe one or two people, this could be a good option. Someone will always be in office to receive any documents, and if you have an employee who has this kind of job, then you aren’t spending extra money – this is all just part of it for them. But it needs to be someone you trust – if any odd person, or multiple people start handling documents, they could get lost or misplaced.
A friend/family
A friend or family member will likely just be doing this as a favour for you. This means then that they are not getting paid, which could mean they don’t put as much effort into sorting your documents or notifying you on time, and in the end you will be held liable for this.
A registered agent service
The only real downside to this is that they can be a little more expensive than the other options available. However, registered agents on a whole are great. A good service will sort all documents for you, help you keep with deadlines, and will help you keep the privacy and discretion you’ll want.
TRUiC has a detailed and useful guide on getting a registered agent in Nevada. Visit their site here: https://howtostartanllc.com/nevada-llc/nevada-registered-agent.
