A registered agent needs to be available at the principal address during regular business hours. This makes it difficult to leave the office to run errands, meet up with potential clients, take a sick day, etc.

If you serve as your own registered agent and a lawsuit is filed against the business, you could have papers served to you at your business in front of customers. Or worse, at home in front of your family during dinnertime.

We provide reminders of upcoming state requirements, such as filing annual report filings. Forgetting compliance obligations will eventually cause problems with the state.

Not continuously maintaining a current registered agent could mean fines and other penalties, including having your LLC dissolved by the state.

A registered agent is a person who receives official documents on behalf of a business. In many cases, this is someone associated with the business, such as an owner. However, sometimes it’s not a good idea to have the owner also be the registered agent. In fact, there are a number of reasons why it’s a much better idea to use a registered agent service. When you need a registered agent for your business, turn to Missouri Registered Agent Services for help.

Required for Registering

All businesses in Missouri must have a registered agent listed to register the business with the state. This can be someone associated with the business or a service, but it does need to be someone who otherwise meets all requirements set forth by the state. A registered agent needs to be appointed before filing the paperwork. The registered agent must be open and available at a single location during regular business hours to make it easy for them to accept mail and legal notices on behalf of the business. In many cases, this isn’t possible for someone associated with the business, so it makes sense to use a registered agent service.

Maintain Privacy

Privacy is important, and many people will want to avoid letting everyone know that they’re the owner of the business. Once a business is registered, information like this can become public and easily found online. Working with a registered agent service helps maintain privacy, as the registered agent’s name and contact information will be on the paperwork, not the owner’s. This helps prevent things like people figuring out who the owner is, finding their personal information, and calling their personal line, or showing up at their house. While this situation might not happen frequently, it’s worth being proactive to make sure it doesn’t happen at all.

Keep Address Private

Along the same lines as maintaining privacy, just keeping the business address private can be important. Many small business owners work out of their homes but sell products or services elsewhere, like online. Though their home is the base for their business, they won’t want everyone knowing where they live. They won’t want customers coming by the house, especially late at night, if they have a complaint or are unhappy with the business. By using a registered agent service, the address listed will be for the registered agent, not the business owner. This helps to keep the address confidential and safe.

Receives and Forwards Mail

One of the benefits of working with a registered agent service is that the company will be able to accept mail on the business’s behalf. The registered agent is available during regular business hours, so they can accept the mail easily. Mail that might be accepted includes just about anything, from legal notices to compliance reminders to junk mail. Once the mail is received, the service forwards the relevant mail to the business so it can be easily viewed. This prevents the home mailbox from filling up with business advertisements and makes it easier to go through all of the mail at once.

Remain in Good Standing

When legal documents are received, fast responses are necessary. If it takes too long to respond, the results can be devastating for the business. With legal documents, for instance, a failure to respond could mean losing the case automatically, which could mean thousands of dollars in penalties or other major issues for the business, such as trademark-related issues and having to change the name. By having a registered agent, it’s easier to keep on top of legal documents as they’ll all be uploaded to the account and stored, making it easy to access them as needed and respond. Being able to accept legal documents quickly and easily can help the business stay on top of them, allowing the business to remain in good standing.

Register Out-of-State Business

Business owners who live out of state will need a local address to receive documents as well as someone at the address during regular business hours. This is difficult to do without using a registered agent service. Since the business owner does not live in the state, they cannot be at an office in the state each weekday during business hours, so they won’t be in compliance. This will lead to the registration being denied since the business owner cannot meet the requirements of being the registered agent in Missouri. Using the service allows business owners to ensure they meet all of the requirements to register the business with the state of Missouri and to avoid any potential issues with the registration.

Reminders for Compliance Issues

A failure to comply with state regulations for businesses can mean significant penalties, large fees, or having the business dissolved. Usually, the business being dissolved is the last penalty after many others, but it is something that happens if businesses do not update their information or stay in compliance with the state. By working with a registered agent service, business owners can receive compliance-related reminders. These include reminders for annual reports, making sure the registered agent information is current, and a lot more. All of these can help the business owner avoid being out of compliance and the penalties that could happen as a result.

Get Help Handling Complaints

The state of Missouri requires businesses to have a way for customers to reach out when they have complaints. In Missouri, this means having someone available during regular business hours at an office so customers can easily find them. Having a registered agent through a service satisfies this requirement. When a customer has a concern or complaint, they can look up the contact information for the registered agent and contact the business through the agent. This makes it easier for customers and ensures there is just one avenue for complaints, making it easier for the business to stay on top of everything and respond to the complaints quickly.

Accept Legal Documents

As mentioned, legal documents may be served to the business at some point. Many of these documents must be served in person, though some can be sent through the mail or taped to the business’s door. Without a registered agent, business owners may be served at the office in front of clients or at home when they’re with their family. A registered agent is able to accept legal documents on behalf of the business, allowing the owner to prevent a potentially embarrassing situation. Once legal documents are received, the registered agent will upload the documents and let the business owner know that they’re ready to review.

Avoid Penalties and Fees

Penalties and fees are common if a business is not in compliance, misses the chance to respond to legal documents, or has other issues. However, most penalties and fees can be avoided. Business owners working with a registered agent have peace of mind that they’ll always receive compliance reminders, will have easy access to all mail received, and will be able to access and view legal documents quickly and easily. All of this allows for faster responses, which means avoiding costly penalties and fees.

Make Sure Everything is Done Right

It’s hard tackling everything alone. Business owners can take advantage of the services of a registered agent to help make sure everything is done right. With mail being accepted and forwarded, compliance reminders being sent as needed, and more, business owners have the help needed to stay on top of everything and avoid potentially costly mistakes. Business owners who already have a little too much on their plate will love the help available from a registered agent, along with all of the other benefits. It’ll just make accepting and handling mail and other issues faster and easier, giving them peace of mind that nothing is forgotten or missing.

Why Work With Us?

When choosing a registered agent, it’s important to make sure the service offers everything needed, is going to be on top of everything, and is going to provide the necessary help for the business. Our team works with you to make sure you receive everything that’s needed. We offer worry-free compliance assistance, can help you avoid embarrassing situations or penalties and fines, can help keep you anonymous, and help deal with the hassle of junk mail for your business. When you work with us, you’ll get the help you need at a low rate, making it easier for you to handle it all and stay in compliance with the state of Missouri. We make sure you’re taken care of and that you get everything needed from a registered agent without the work of doing it on your own.

If you’re ready to register your business, consider working with a registered agent service to get all of the help you need with none of the hassle. Missouri Registered Agent Service provides a number of services designed to help you stay on top of everything and in compliance. Call us today to learn more about how to get started using our team as your registered agent.