New York Registered agent

A New York Agent or New York Registered Agent Service is required by law for every business entity in the state of New York. A registered agent is an individual or business entity that will accept legal papers (documents) on your behalf if it is sued. The registered agent or registered agent service must have a physical street address in New York and be available during regular business hours.

In my New York Registered Agent guide, I’ll walk you through the detailed process of when you should get a registered agent or registered agent service for your New York business, how to pick one, if they are required and how to change one if needed. Typically you’re getting a registered agent when you setup your New York LLC. Check out my guide on how to setup a New York LLC so you can make sure you’re following all the right steps in the process. If you are just looking for the professional service to help you – use Northwest Registered Agent or ZenBusiness.

Best New York Registered Agent Service

ZenBusiness will be the best option for setting up a registered agent service in New York. They can also help you with getting your LLC formed so if you’re looking for the best option, check them out today!

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The best New York Registered Agent for your New York LLC is going to be setting up with ZenBusiness. That team will set your business up and get you a registered agent that will operate during normal business hours and help you accept legal documents that you’ll be required to have. A registered agent company is something that will do this for you and is required by law.

They have been cleared by the New York Secretary of State’s office who is the the group / team that makes sure the registered agent service you’re using is setup well for you your Limited Liability Company, domestic LLC, foreign LLC or whatever other type of business you’re thinking of setting up.

Whether you’re looking for a new registered agent or if you’re changing your New York registered agent to a new group – they are the best registered agent service you’ll be able to find.

I have been using a registered agent service based out of Oregon and I love what they do. There are options for looking at a local law firm but typically the best, fastest and easiest way to get setup is to always use an LLC formation service vs. acting as your own registered agent.

What is a New York Registered Agent?

A New York Registered Agent is no different than any other state. A registered agent is an individual or business entity that will accept legal documents on your behalf, have a New York physical street address and will always be open during normal business hours.

This is required by New York law to have a registered agent (statutory agent) and be clear about having a registered agent’s address in the state they are operating.

The registered agent requirement to operate in New York is typically:

The registered agent must have a physical address in New York
The registered agent must be available during normal business hours
The registered agent should be able to receive documents via fax, email or traditional mail.

Note: there are times you may want to use a PO Box as your mailing address but that is not your Registered Agent’s address. You must have a service or a physical address that is not a PO Box.

When you’re forming your New York LLC – you’ll need to list the name and address of the registered agent on the New York Articles of Incorporation. The New York registered agent requirement is important to maintain the liability protection that your New York LLC provides.

Why do I need a New York Registered Agent?

The biggest reason you need a registered agent is because it’s required by law. It’s required by law in every state and a New York Registered Agent Service must have a physical address in New York. It’s also important to realize that everything related to your registered agent is public record. Anyone can go into the Secretary of State’s search portal to look up a business entity here. This means that if you decide to be your own registered agent, you’d have your own address on record for anybody to look up in New York. If you’re in New York or traveling and someone needs to serve you legal papers – they will go to the address on file. You’ll need to have someone that’s there to accept these papers and if you’re not – that is going to be an issue with the New York Secretary of State’s office.

The New York Secretary of State’s office has a portal like we talked about but that also means that you’ll need to be careful what you decide to do. It’s important to make sure it’s not an address of your home or a place you want people coming to.

If you’re going to setup a New York registered agent service help you with this, you may also want to have them setup some type of mail forwarding services for your mail. It really shouldn’t be much and it may be overkill but it’s something to ask about.

When should I obtain a New York Registered Agent?

It’s important to understand when you’re setting up a New York LLC that whether it’s a foreign LLC, domestic LLC or just a Limited Liability Company that you should get a resident agent setup at the same time. You’ll need to transact business and in order for you to do that in New York you’ll need a registered agent on file.

You’ll want your New York registered agent’s name to be something that you’re going to use for the business entity that you’ve setup in New York.

You’ll also be responsible for making sure you’ve submitted an annual report you’ll need to follow and compliance deadlines that do come up on an annual basis. This will all start at the beginning of your business formation process so focus on doing this in the beginning phases of setting up your business.

I would also highly recommend that you understand the state fees associated with the registered agents. There are going to be New York registered agent / registered agent services you can use that are not national providers either.

There are local law firms that will have offices in the state that you’ll be able to find if you don’t want to use a national provider like Northwest Registered Agent.

Can I Be My Own Registered Agent In New York?

Yes of course you could do this but like we’ve talked about – I don’t recommend it. Being your own New York registered agent is going to cause you issues in the long term. It may seem like a good idea at the beginning of your adventure on this LLC formation journey but you’re really going to want to have some protection between you and the rest of the world. It’s just as important if you’re going to have official mail that is related to a business owner so you’ll want to make sure your New York registered agent service is going to accept legal documents on your behalf.

If you’re deciding to be your own registered agent then you will have people showing up at your New York home. If you go with a national or even state/local law firm – you’ll have some protection. You will need to be at your home or whatever address you provide during normal business hours so I would also recognize that too. It’s required by law and if you’re going to try and be your own registered agent – that is one of the main requirements.

How Much Does a Registered Agent Cost?

The cost of a registered agent is going to depend and range on what type of service you do. If you’re going to do it on your own that is going to be around $0. If you’re going to use a registered agent service you can get the first year included with the LLC formation service at Northwest Registered Agent.

If you want to go another route it can lead you up to ~$300/year so just make sure you understand the service you’re getting into and what your expectations should be for their service.

How Do I Elect A Registered Agent In New York?

When looking at the process for electing a registered agent in New York – it’s actually pretty easy to do.

The first thing you’ll need to do is decide which individual or business entity you want to be as the service provider. After you’ve been able to decide what that is, it’s a matter of completing the paperwork and submitting it with the Secretary of State’s office.

The right paperwork can be found on the New York Department of State website which is a ~$200 filing fee. Here is the direct link to figure it out.

How Do I Change My Registered Agent In New York?

To change your registered agent it’s pretty simple. You’ll need to complete a Certificate of Change form and send it back to the New York Department of State with the $5 filing fee.

The form must follow the requirements of Section 805-A(b) of the Business Corporation Law.

Once you’ve filled it out you can submit it to:

New York Department of State

Division of Corporations

One Commerce Plaza

99 Washington Ave

Albany NY 12231