Virtual Office Georgia LLC
A Guide to Georgia Registered Agent Service
What is a Registered Agent?
Whenever you form a new business entity in Georgia, you need to designate a registered agent on your formation paperwork. Your registered agent is responsible for accepting all legal documents and other official communications from the state of Georgia on behalf of your company. It’s also your agent’s job to make sure that these documents are delivered to you in a timely manner.
You can serve as your own agent, appoint someone you know, or hire a company that provides registered agent service. Unless you choose one of your company’s owners or managers to act as your agent, your registered agent is a third party with no ownership rights or interest in your business and no influence over day-to-day operations.
At Virtual Office Georgia LLC, we provide reliable registered agent service for just $25/year. Learn about how using a registered agent service can benefit your company.
Georgia Registered Agent Requirements
Reasons to Use a GA Registered Agent Service
Georgia Registered Agent
$25/Year
- Complimentary use of our ATL business address
- Same-day digital delivery for all legal documents
- 3 regular (non-RA) mail scans
- Annual Report Renewal Service enrollment
- Library of business forms
Does my business need a Georgia registered agent?
State statutes require that business entities registered with the state of Georgia to have a registered agent located within the state. This includes:
- Domestic and foreign LLCs
- Domestic and foreign corporations (profit and nonprofit)
- Domestic and foreign LPs and LLPs
Why do many companies use a registered agent service?
Companies use registered agent service for three main reasons:
- They want address privacy or don’t have a set office location
Your registered agent address listed on a company’s formation documents becomes part of the public record. The presents a problem for business owners who work out of their homes or travel frequently. - They want to maintain a professional image in front of customers
Many business owners just don’t want lawsuits delivered to their homes or offices in full view of clients, associates, friends, or family. - They want to ensure that they always get legal documents on time
Registered agents are required to be at their street address during normal business hours all year round, making it difficult for self-employed business owners to go on vacation or even attend a meeting across town without putting themselves at risk of missing a legal document delivery.
The Dangers of Serving as Your Own Registered Agent
Being Your Own Agent Vs Using a Registered Agent Service
Serving as your own registered agent can save you a few bucks every year, but doing so can also reduce your privacy and make you more likely to experience negative legal consequences.
Your address will become freely available to the public
Because your resident agent address must be listed on your company formation or foreign registration paperwork, this address will become available to anyone who looks up your business using the Georgia Business Search database. If you list your home address, angry customers, scammers, and anyone else will be able to easily find out where you live and show up on your doorstep.
You may be served a lawsuit in front of clients
Your registered agent’s job is to accept service of process and other legal notices from the state. That means that you will receive lawsuits at your home or office address if it’s listed as your registered agent address. Being served in front of clients can erode their confidence in your business, and being served at home in front of neighbors or family can feel embarrassing and invasive.
You may miss an important legal notice
If someone serves your business with a lawsuit or other legal notice, they will only deliver documents and notices to your registered agent address, and your registered agent must accept them in person. If you’re not there, they will not deliver those documents. So, if you go on vacation, travel to a work conference, or even simply run an errand during the middle of the day, you’re putting yourself at risk of missing a critical documents or receiving them late, which can impact your ability to respond to legal notices as needed.
You may suffer negative legal consequences
First, if you move and fail to inform the state, it’s possible that after being unable to reach you on multiple occasions, the state will administratively dissolve your company. Second, if a process server has been unable to deliver a lawsuit to you, it may be sent another way and marked as delivered by the state even if you don’t receive it, making it possible for the party suing your company to receive a default judgment in their favor when you fail to appear in court. Third, if you miss the delivery of a subpoena ordering you to testify or provide information in court, you may be held in contempt of court when you don’t show up.
Easily avoid all the risks of serving as your own registered agent by hiring a registered agent service.
The Benefits of Our Service
Why Choose Virtual Georgia Office LLC?
Secure document delivery and storage
- Your documents are delivered safely via your online portal, not by email
- Your docs are only handled by authorized individuals
- Your data is never sold to third parties
Convenient solutions for business owners
- Same-day digital document delivery and email notification
- Easy access to your documents, no matter where you are
- Renewal service for Annual Registration filing so you stay in compliance
Exceptional service from real people
- All of your calls, voicemails, and emails are answered by real people
- You can call or email anytime, even if you’re not currently a client
- We don’t charge extra to talk to our experts over the phone
How Our Georgia Registered Agent Service Works
How We Support Your Business From the Beginning
1
Order registered agent service
You’ll need to sign up before you form your company or register your foreign business to operate a Georgia because you’ll have to list our information on the paperwork you submit to the state. After ordering, you’ll be able to access your online account immediately. We’ll also email your registered agent information to you shortly after signup.
2
Get your paperwork filed with the state
Once you have us as your registered agent, you can file your business formation or foreign business registration paperwork with the Secretary of State’s office. In addition to listing us as your registered agent, you can also use our generic business address as your principal business address, so that your company has a professional address in Georgia from the start.
You can also hire us to do the work for you using one of our business registration services.
3
View documents in your portal
Whenever we receive a legal document or notice for your company, we’ll scan and upload that document into your online portal the same day it’s delivered.
Once your document is available in your online portal, we’ll email you a notification and you can access it immediately. With your permission, we can even give your lawyer document access.
4
Enjoy easy Annual Report filing
To help protect you from late fees or from falling out of good staying with the state, we include enrollment in Renewal Service for your Annual Registration filing with Registered Agent Service.
Before your report is due, we’ll email you a reminder and let you know that we’ll be filing the report on your behalf soon. After that, we’ll file your report so you stay on top of the state requirement without having to do a thing.
Renewal service is $100 plus the state fee. If you prefer to file your own report, just cancel the service in your online account.
5
Renew your service
We act as your registered agent for a year, accepting all legal documents and notices delivered by the state on behalf of your business during that time.
As the end of your year of service approaches, we’ll email you a reminder so that you can renew.
Registered Agent Versus Virtual Office
What’s the difference?
If you’re new to starting a business, but you know that you want to register your business under a professional business address and protect your privacy, you may not be sure if you should get a virtual office or registered agent service. The truth is, you may need both.
Get Registered Agent if you need:
- Someone (who isn’t you) to receive legal documents and notices from the state on behalf of your business
- A professional business address to list on business registration paperwork with the state of Georgia
- Access to set-it-and-forget-it Annual Registration filing service to help keep you in compliance with the state
Get Virtual Office if you need:
- A professional business address to list on your business registration paperwork that’s specific to your company
- A non-binding month-to-month lease that you use as address verification for your business
- Mail management services with unlimited mail digital mail forwarding and junk mail filtering
- A dedicated business phone number with unlimited calls, SMS texts, and call forwarding (VoIP phone service)
Get Registered Agent & Virtual Office Service
If You Need It All
Protect your privacy and establish a professional business presence in Georgia with Registered Agent + Virtual Office Service.
Just add Virtual Office Service to your order at checkout.
Frequently Asked Questions
Learn more about registered agents
Do I need to have a registered agent for my LLC in Georgia?
Yes, having a registered agent is required for all LLCs and other registered business entities in Georgia, including profit and nonprofit corporations. This includes domestic and foreign companies.
What’s the purpose of a registered agent?
A registered agent’s purpose is to ensure that you receive all essential legal notices and state communications sent to your company without delay.
What are the requirements for a registered agent in Georgia?
If you appoint an individual to serve as your registered agent, that person must be at least 18 years old. All registered agents need to have a physical street address in the state of Georgia. You cannot use a PO Box for a registered agent address.
What happens if I don’t have a registered agent?
If the state discovers that you are in violation of the registered agent requirement, your company may be administratively dissolved by the Secretary of State’s office.
Is my registered agent considered a member of my LLC?
Your LLC members and your registered agent are two separate positions. Your LLC members are the owners of your LLC, while your registered agent is the person or company that you appoint to receive legal notices from the state on behalf of your business.
It’s possible to appoint one of your LLC members as your registered agent, in which case, your registered agent will be a member of your LLC.
However, appointing someone who is not already a member of your LLC does not make that person one of your LLC members—your registered agent is simply a third party who accepts legal documents on behalf of your company.
How much does a registered agent cost?
If you serve as your own registered agent or appoint someone you know, you won’t pay anything for your registered agent (though you may sacrifice privacy and convenience).
The prices for Registered Agent Service vary. National services can charge $100, $125—even $200 or more.
Our Registered Agent Service is $25/year—that’s only about $2 for each month.
Do I sign up for service before or after I form my company?
You need to sign up for Registered Agent Service before forming your company, because you must list your registered agent’s name and address on your formation documents. If you do not list a registered agent on your formation paperwork, it will be rejected by the state.
Can my spouse serve as my registered agent?
You can appoint your spouse as your registered agent. However, remember that you must list an address for your registered agent, so if you’re planning to appoint your spouse and use your home address, your home address will end up on the public record. Additionally, if you plan to go on vacation with your spouse during any weekdays, your spouse will not be able to fulfill their registered agent duty of being available at their registered address during normal business hours.
Will my agent file my business registration paperwork?Â
Your registered agent is not responsible for filing your business registration paperwork. If you hire Virtual Office Georgia LLC as your registered agent and you would like us to file your business registration paperwork, we offer both Company Formation Service and Foreign Business Registration Service to meet your needs.
What is Renewal Service and how does it work?
Enrollment in our Renewal Service for annual report filing is included with registered agent service.
The goal of Renewal Service is to prevent your company from missing its annual report filing so that you don’t end up paying late fees or having your business administratively dissolved by the state due to a missing filing.
With Renewal Service, we email you a reminder about your Annual Registration well in advance of the due date. In the email, we let you know that we’ll be filing on your behalf soon.
Then, we file your report so that you can stay in good standing without lifting a finger. Renewal service is $100 plus the state fee, charged at filing. To file your own annual report, just cancel the service in your online portal.
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