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Compliance
What is a registered agent?
Every LLC and corporation is required to name a registered agent. It sounds official and complicated, but the job is simple: be the reliable address where your business receives legal and government mail.
What a registered agent does
A registered agent is the official point of contact for your business. They receive service of process (legal documents like lawsuits) and official state mail on your company’s behalf, then pass it to you. Every state requires you to name one when you form your business.
The requirements
- A physical street address in the state where you’re registered (no P.O. boxes).
- Availability during normal business hours to accept documents in person.
- Someone 18 or older, or a company authorized to act as an agent.
Can you be your own agent?
In most states, yes. But there are real trade-offs: your address becomes part of the public record, you have to be physically present during business hours, and being served a lawsuit in front of customers is no fun. If you work from home, move often, or value privacy, a service is usually worth it.
Why founders use a service
- Privacy — the service’s address goes on the public record, not your home.
- Reliability — you’ll never miss a legal notice because you were out.
- Flexibility — travel or move without updating the state every time.
Filerra does not currently provide registered-agent service. For a Florida filing, you may appoint yourself if you meet the requirements, or hire an independent provider and obtain its consent before filing.
Already have a consenting Florida agent?
Use that agent's exact legal name and Florida street address in the filing intake. We will never substitute Filerra as your agent.
Start my Florida filingFree download: The LLC Formation Checklist — every step from idea to compliant LLC, printable.
General information, not legal advice. Requirements vary by state. Filerra is not a law firm.