California Registered Agents: Everything You Need to Know
Confused on where to start looking for a good, reliable, reputable California registered agent? On this page we explain what a California registered agent is, why you really should have one, and how to find the right one for your business.
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What is a California Registered Agent?
A California registered agent is a person or a registered 1505 corporate agent who receives a company’s official correspondence. A registered agent must be 18 years of age or older with a physical California address (no P.O. boxes or UPS drop points). The agent must be able to receive mail during normal business hours.
According to California Corporation Code Section § 1700-1702 all corporations, LLCs, and business entities must have a registered agent. Only sole proprietorships don’t need a California registered agent.
What is a California Agent for Service of Process?
When talking about California registered agents you’ll hear a few different terms used including “agent for service of process,” “statutory agent,” and “corporate agent.” Any of those three names means the same as “registered agent.” The state of California’s statutes use the “agent for service of process” as their preferred term. For the purposes of this page, we’re going to use the term most people use all over the United States—registered agent. Whatever you call them, the more important thing is to find a good, professional California registered agent because not all agents are the same.
Why You Should Hire a Professional California Registered Agent
While it is possible to be your own registered agent in California (more on that below), we recommend hiring a professional California registered agent. We prefer registered agent services that advertise registered agent services as the main thing they offer. They tend to be the most reliable agents because being a registered agent is how they make a living. Plenty of law offices offer registered agent services as only one part of a laundry list of things they do. A good California registered agent service knows the ins and outs of the Golden State and its business laws. And a bunch of our favorites are located just down the street from the Secretary of State—which has some distinct advantages, like a close relationship with the state, reputability, and ease of access when you’re trying to meet a deadline.
Hire a California Registered Agent Because They Understand California
It should go without saying, but the registered agents who spend 100% of their time dealing with their home state have a better base of knowledge than the registered agent services that claim to be experts in all 50 states. Being a registered agent is easy on paper, but there are lots of ins and outs to forming a business, keeping it compliant, and—this is important—protecting the business owner’s privacy. It is a crucial job that can become complicated in a hurry.
Hire a California Registered Agent Who Cares About Your Privacy
In California, you must name a registered agent when you form a business. The registered agent’s name, address, and information become part of public record and completely available to solicitors and people with too much time on their hands. The major benefit to hiring a professional registered agent is that all of their information becomes public record and your information is protected. People who decide to save a few dollars and act as their own registered agent compromise their privacy. Best case scenario, they get a ton of annoying junk mail; worst case scenario, they open themselves up to identity theft. If privacy protection were the only benefit to hiring a professional registered agent, we’d still recommend it. Luckily, the benefits go beyond privacy protection.
Hire a California Registered Agent to Form Your Business
A full-service registered agent will be practiced in how to form your California LLC, corporation, and, in some cases, nonprofit organization. The best of the registered agents form business entities for their clients and then they become a trusted resource for the business owner. Best of all, registered agents form businesses for half—sometimes even just 10%—of what a lawyer or CPA might charge. With a professional registered agent service, you can rest assured your identity is protected from the start because they will list their name, address, and information on the formation paperwork. When someone sends a piece of junk mail or service of process, they’ll end up at the registered agent’s office instead of your place of business.
Hire a California Registered Agent to Keep Your Business Compliant
Every year California business owners unknowingly fall out of good standing with the state because they don’t file the proper paperwork or they file their paperwork incorrectly. Getting a business reinstated is time and money that could be going toward anything else. A good California registered agent knows how to keep a business compliant and in good standing with the Golden State.
Statement of Information
The Statement of Information is a report a business must file confirming or updating basic business information with the California Secretary of State. The Statement of Information is due to the Secretary of State by the end of the anniversary month in which a business was originally formed. If a business is delinquent, it could be assessed fines by the California Franchise Board. Ultimately a delinquent business could be dissolved by the state.
A good registered agent—a good registered agent based in California—will be familiar with Statements of Information (other states have annual and biennial reports or business renewals). Chances are, a national registered agent service will treat all compliance the same, which is not in the best interest of the business owner. Again, our advice is to find a registered agent in California for your California business.
What We Like to See in a California Registered Agent
When we look into registered agents in California, we like to see a business address in the state’s capital, Sacramento. Ideally, the registered agent will be close to the capitol building. Why? Registered agents deal with the Secretary of State a lot.
It might sound old fashioned, but a registered agent who is in the same town and can physically show up at the Secretary of State’s office, if needed, is a powerful tool. Additionally, there’s expediency. A local registered agent can always file paperwork on paper instead of email.
Lastly, a reputable registered agent isn’t afraid to have an office close to the capitol. There’s a lot of shady registered agents who represent scammers. Generally speaking, they are hidden away and have short client lists. You won’t find them on the same street as the state government. In short, when in doubt, look for good, reputable registered agents located in proximity to the Secretary of State.
How Much Does a California Registered Agent Cost?
Industry standard pricing for a registered agent across the country is $50 to $250. Then there’s west coast prices, which nudge those numbers a little higher like everything else in California. When researching prices on a registered agent’s website, remember that they are providing a service similar to other states. A reputable registered agent won’t charge you San Francisco prices for your Bakersfield business. Also, look over the agent’s terms of service and fine print. No one wants to read a Terms of Service page or a Privacy Policy, but it really is worth giving those a look when you’re hiring a California registered agent. Many agents can keep their prices low by selling their client’s data to third parties—something they will bury in their Privacy Policy. Before you sign with an agent, it’s good to know if you’re paying to have your information compromised or if they are in the business of keeping your information private. Also look over the fine print around their pricing. Unfortunately, many registered agents like to advertise a low up-front cost only to upcharge the client down the line or tack on lots of ancillary fees.
Should I be My Own Registered Agent?
The pitfalls of being your own agent boils down to one big issue: Privacy. Being your own registered agent means your name and address will be public record. That means solicitors, nosy neighbors, your business’s competition, and scammers will all have easy legal access to who you are and your personal address. Paying someone $49 to protect your privacy is a bargain compared to the headaches any one troublemaker can cause you.
What do I need to do to be my own agent?
If you still want to be your own registered agent, you’ll need to fulfill three requirements:
1. You’re 18 years old or older.
2. You have a physical California address (not a P.O. box).
3. You are willing to be available to receive legal documents and service of process during all normal business hours.
If you meet these requirements, you only have to provide your name and physical address on the registered agent portion of your formation documents. Remember, once your name and personal information becomes public record, it’ll be nearly impossible to remove it. Being your own registered agent is a big decision, so think it over.
California Registered Agents We Recommend
California has a ton of registered agents, and it would take you weeks to get through a list of them. While it might be tempting to Google “California registered agent” and click on the first one that comes up, we think a more researched approach will yield better results. That’s why we did the leg work for you. Below are five recommendations for California registered agents. We’ve done the Googling, read the business reviews, talked with past clients, and corresponded professionally with each of these services ourselves.
Depending on what you are looking for in particular, these are our top picks:
Best California Registered Agent Overall
For the best service in the Golden State, we recommend California Legal Scriveners. The depth of experience sets Legal Scriveners apart from the rest. Their founder, Kelly Frost, started as a registered agent with the education, legal training, and experience that most lawyers can’t touch. Legal Scriveners is truly full-service with templates for business documents, business formation services, and the best customer service we’ve seen in all of California. When you call Legal Scriveners, you won’t have an automated service. Instead, an actual person answers and that person can answer your question. We’ve heard stories from clients about how Legal Scriveners stayed on the phone and worked through a complication in real time. For $50 per year for registered agent services, it’s a great deal.
Best Budget California Registered Agent
It’s hard to find any service in California for less than 50 bucks, but we found two! The tie for the best budget California registered agent goes to California Registered Agents and California Agent for Service of Process—both of them are only $49 per year, which is a great deal for what they offer. Both offer a full suite of services and are located in Sacramento.
Best California Registered Agent for White Glove Service
For $125 per year you can’t go wrong with Northwest Registered Agent. Yes, they are priced higher than the other agents, but we’ve done our research and they are one of the few big, national names that does well in all fifty states. Plus they have a Sacramento office. They hire bona fide experts to staff their business and they offer a full range of services including business formation packages and plenty of add-ons like digital mail forwarding. If you’re looking for a registered agent based completely instate, we like California Corporate Agents (CCA). They are smart, professional, and they’ve been around since 2002 with a client list of 9,000 businesses. They know what they are doing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, in accordance with California Corporation Code Section § 1700-1702 every California corporation and LLC must have a registered agent. It is possible to be your own registered agent, though it’s an option we don’t particularly recommend. Hiring a professional California registered agent is the best way to make sure your business stays in compliance and your information is protected.
Two big extras we really like to see registered agents provide their client are mail forwarding (or more accurately in most cases, mail scanning and uploading) and paperwork templates.
The best California registered agent services (like the ones we recommended above) receive your mail, throw away junk mail, scan your important documents, and upload them to a secure online portal. In our opinion mail service is the best “extra” a registered agent can offer a client.
Paperwork Templates
If you’ve ever dealt with the California Secretary of State, you know it’s a big organization with lots of ins and outs. Trying to find a document or submit your paperwork to spec can be a challenge. Our favorite California registered agents gather up documents, templates, and forms and have them on hand for their clients. You’ll save hours by having the resources in one place.
A lot of perfectly good California registered agents work from an office they don’t own. Others have a building they own completely. The main thing you want to check is that the agent is physically located at that address. We prefer the local California registered agents because they are familiar with the state and its laws. Always check a registered agent’s address. If you see a P.O. box, they should not be considered legitimate.
If you already have a registered agent and want to switch, you have two options. The first and best option is to see if the registered agent you want to switch to will do the paperwork for you. The cost is usually around fifty dollars, but you’ll know it’s done correctly. Many services offer to waive the switch fees if you hire them. The second option is to change the agent on your Statement of Information and file it (along with the filing fee).
Again, we caution against filing the Statement of Information yourself. Many business owners who use a registered agent for privacy unwittingly compromise their personal information by filing the Statement of Information themselves. The bottom line: Hire an agent to handle switching and filing your compliance papers.