Virginia Registered Agent FAQs
Appointing a registered agent is the first thing you must do when forming a business, but it’s not always clear what a registered agent is or does. Here, we’ve answered our more frequently asked questions about the benefits and requirements of registered agents, as well as our own registered agent service. Click on any of the questions below to learn more.
Virginia Registered Agent Benefits
- Why does my LLC or corporation need a registered agent in Virginia?
- How can a registered agent help me maintain privacy?
Virginia Registered Agent Requirements
- What are the requirements to be a Virginia registered agent?
- Can I be my own registered agent in Virginia?
- Do I need a Virginia registered agent if I have a sole proprietorship?
- Do companies that foreign register in Virginia need a registered agent?
- Should I list my registered agent on my company’s operating agreement or bylaws?
Our Registered Agent Services
- How much do you charge to be the Virginia Registered or Resident Agent?
- What do I get when I sign up for registered agent service with Virginia Registered Agent?
- When you’re my registered agent, what information do I need to include in my Virginia Articles of Information?
- Can I switch to having your company serve as my registered agent if I already have a business and a different registered agent?
- What happens if my company is sued?
- What happens if I decide to change my business name?
- What’s your registered agent cancellation policy?
Virginia Registered Agent Benefits
Why does my LLC or coporation need a registered agent in Virginia?
Besides being required by the Virginia Code (§ 13.1-1015 for LLCs and § 13.1-634 for corporations), registered agents serve a critical function—ensuring due process.
LLCs and corporations are separate entities from their owners. If a regular individual is sued, a process server can serve them notice directly. However, an LLC or corporation needs to designate a recipient dedicated to ensuring the company is properly notified. And that recipient is your registered agent.
How can a registered agent help me maintain privacy?
Businesses in Virginia must disclose addresses for a “registered office” and a “principal office.” Here’s what to know:
- Registered Office: Your “registered office” address is where you receive important legal notices and other notifications from the state. It’s publicly available through the State Corporation Commission’s web site. When we’re your registered agent, this is our address.
- Principal Office: Both corporations and limited liability companies must disclose a “principal office” address, which is the address where a copy of your company formation documents are kept. This principal office address is also publicly disclosed on the SCC website.
If you operate from your home and don’t want your home address to be publicly available from the State Corporation Commission, you can hire us as your registered agent and list our address as the “principal office” address so you don’t have to use your own.
Virginia Registered Agent Requirements
What are the requirements to be a Virginia registered agent?
Virginia’s requirements for registered agents is a little more strict that most states. According to Virginia Code § 13.1-634, a registered agent in Virginia must be a resident of the Commonwealth and hold a physical address in the state. A Virginia registered agents can either be:
- An officer or director of the corporation
- A lawyer who is a member of the VA State Bar
- A business entity, such as a: corporation, LLC or LLP
Your registered agent must be available during normal business hours to accept service of process.
Note that while your registered agent may be a business, your business cannot serve as its own registered agent.
Can I be my own registered agent in Virginia?
Yes. According to Virginia Code §13.1-1015 and §13.1-634 you, or someone else in your company, may be your company’s registered agent. However, it might not be the best idea. Your registered agent must be available during normal business hours at the address provided. That address will also become public record. This is why many people choose to hire a registered agent service. Our job is to be available to collect your state and legal mail.
Do I need a Virginia registered agent if I have a sole proprietorship?
No. A registered agent really serves as a publicly listed point of contact. But if there is no separation between the business and the individual, there really is no guesswork: you are your business. Thus the state does not require sole proprietorships to register with the state or secure a registered agent.
Do companies that foreign register in Virginia need a registered agent?
Yes. Any company that registers to do business in Virginia, whether formed in a different state or a different country, must designate a Virginia registered agent who is physically located in Virginia (Virginia Code §13.1-763). As registered agents in Virginia, we serve companies within the state and abroad. We can serve as your Registered Agent, too.
Should I list my registered agent on my company’s operating agreement or bylaws?
Yes, you should. Internal documents like a Virginia LLC’s operating agreement or corporation bylaws detail how a company is run and individual’s responsibilities within the company. Whether you handle registered agent services in-house or hire a third party, you will want to list who is responsible for accepting legal notices and processing them correctly for the company.
Our Registered Agent Services
How much do you charge to be the Virginia Registered or Resident Agent?
Our registered agent fee is $125 per year. We don’t charge extra fees, throw in unnecessary add-ons, or regularly increase our costs year after year. We believe in high-quality service that isn’t complicated to understand, so our $125 price tag is a flat rate.
What do I get when I sign up for registered agent service through Virginia Registered Agent?
We offer a boutique registered agent service with high-quality customer care, professional handling of service of process, and ongoing support for the lifespan of your business. But our service doesn’t stop there. When you hire Virginia Registered Agent, you automatically get:
- A professional business address
- A secure online dashboard
- Access to Virginia filing experts
- Mail forwarding (10 pieces of non-legal mail)
- Phone service (90-day free trial)
In addition to handling service of process on your behalf, our registered agent service gives your business a public presence. So you won’t have to use your personal address or device when running your business. From a mailing address to a phone line, we can provide a business profile for you.
When you’re my registered agent, what information do I need to include in my Virginia Articles of Information?
When drafting your own Articles, it’s important to make sure the information you include is correct. One of the benefits of getting registered agent service with us is that you can use our address on your formation papers instead of your own. Whether you use our service or not, here’s the information you should include:
- Name of registered agent
- Address of registered office
- Status of registered agent (for example, a domestic or foreign stock or nonstock corporation, limited liability company or registered limited liability partnership authorized to transact business in Virginia)
- County of physical location
Can I switch to having your company serve as my registered agent if I already have a business and a different registered agent?
Of course. Virginia SCC requires that you always have a qualified Virginia registered agent appointed for your company, but that doesn’t mean you can’t change who’s appointed. In Virginia, there isn’t a filing fee to submit the Change of Registered Office and/or Registered Agent of a Corporation.
It’s fast and simple to file online with the SCC—here’s how to change registered agents on your own. Or if you prefer, you can elect to hire us to file the change for you when you hire us for registered agent service. We charge an additional $25 to file the change of agent on your behalf.
What happens if my company is sued?
In the case your business is involved in a lawsuit, the registered agent listed on the state record for your company will be served. This means a physical copy of the lawsuit will be delivered to your registered agent, an act known as “service of process.”
When we’re your registered agent, we will accept the service of process whether it is mailed or hand-delivered, and promptly scan the full document (without per page or add-on fees) to your secure client account as a .pdf. Once the full document is uploaded, you will receive a service of process email notice, as will your attorney, if you have enrolled in that option. From there, clients may view, download, and/or print the document to move forward and handle as necessary. Please note that if the service of process remains unread, clients will receive additional notifications to help ensure nothing important and time-sensitive is missed.
What happens if I decide to change my business name?
When you purchase a year of Virginia registered agent service for your company, we represent that company, regardless of its name. That said, if you decided to change your Virginia LLC or corporation’s name without notifying us, we may receive documents under your new business name and have no idea that they’re yours. This means you may not be notified of important documents in a timely manner. Here are the most common name change situations and how to handle them:
- Name Rejected by SCC: Your original business name that you hired us under before registering the company in Virginia is rejected/unavailable so you have to choose a different business name.
- Easy. Just reach out through the authorized email address associate with your client account and provide the new company name. We need it written to ensure the exact spelling.
- Name Change Amendment: After registering your company in Virginia, you decide to file an amendment and officially change your business’s name.
- If you opt to hire us to file the amendment for you, we’ll update our own records so nothing is missed.
- If you file your own change, update us as soon as it’s processed so we always have the business name covered with service on your account.
- Fictitious Name: You maintain your legal business name, but file for and then operate under a fictitious name (what’s also known as a DBA).
- Even if you operate certain aspects of your business under a separate, fictitious name, it’s still the same company. Your company just has an official nickname that you may do some or all of your business under.
- Again, simply reach out to make sure your fictitious name(s) are added under your Virginia business so everything sent to you, gets to you.
What’s your registered agent cancellation policy?
We want our clients to work with us because they trust us, we’re helpful, and our services are fairly priced. We don’t want our clients to work with us because they got trapped into a contract. We invoice services based on an annual rate, but clients can easily cancel with us with the click of a button inside their online account at any time. We’re proud that all of our clients are with us because they actively choose to enlist our services.