What does a registered agent do?

A company’s registered agent receives legal and government communications on their behalf. All Delaware corporations must name a registered agent in their certificate of incorporation for this purpose. Registered agents can be responsible for receiving franchise tax notifications, court-related notices, and other government communications. Your company’s registered agent will then forward these communications on to your company’s business address. Note that registered agents typically do not offer general mail forwarding and return other mail to sender.

Some registered agents may also act as a company’s filing agent and file documents with government agencies on a company’s behalf. Many registered agents also offer services that help startups with state compliance matters, such as annual report filings and franchise tax payments. These services typically incur additional fees.

This information is also in Legal Concepts for Founders: Registered Agents.