FAQs
A “statutory agent” is an individual or entity designated to receive official legal and state documents on behalf of a business. This includes service of process, such as lawsuits, and important state correspondence like annual report reminders, notices and business law updates. The agent has a physical address in the state where the business is registered and is responsible for promptly forwarding these documents to the company.
There is no difference between a “registered agent” and a “statutory agent”. Most states use the term “registered agent” instead of “statutory agent”. Arizona and Ohio are the only states that use the term “statutory agent”.
“Service of process” is the formal delivery of legal documents to any party in a lawsuit to notify them of the legal action against them, like a summons and complaint at the beginning of litigation. This process is crucial for upholding due process by providing the recipient with official notice and an opportunity to respond. Proper service is required before a court can establish authority over any party to a lawsuit. It is considered “proper service” to send or deliver documents to your business’ statutory agent.
Any business operating in the state of Arizona including companies not formed in Arizona, foreign, doing business in Arizona. Businesses requiring a statutory agent include: Limited Liability Companies (LLCs), Professional LLCs (PLLCs), corporations, professional corporations, Limited Partnerships (LPs), Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) and Limited Liability Limited Partnerships (LLPs). Sole proprietors do not require a statutory agent as they are not a business entity formed with a state agency.
Yes, you can. There is no special requirement to be a statutory agent other than you are over 18 years old and have a physical address in the State of Arizona. If you are not going to be your own statutory agent, you should use a company that only handles service of process. You should not be your own statutory agent if you travel or are not available at your physical location consistently and regularly. You should also consider using a statutory agent service company if you move frequently as with each move you are required to change your physical address with the state authorities and will be responsible for doing so.
You can, but it is an EXTREMELY bad idea. Employees may leave and ultimately have no responsibility for the business. The employee may also not understand the need to ensure a timely response to legal documents so you may not be notified until it is too late. Employees have no insurance to cover you if you do not receive legal documents in time for you to properly respond. If an individual is going to be your statutory agent, it should be an owner of the company.
If service of legal documents is attempted at an address where you are no longer located, the party serving the papers may ask the court for permission to serve you by publication or serve the state agency on your behalf. If either of those things happen, you likely will not know about it and you could have a default judgment entered against you. It is no excuse to say that you forgot to update your address with the appropriate state agency.
Companies that only handle legal documents on behalf of businesses have processes to ensure that you get timely notice of the receipt of documents no matter where you are actually located.
Be sure that the company is insured. Make sure that the company has procedures to give you notice of any documents it receives by multiple methods to ensure that you get notice in a timely manner. Ask if the company shreds any junk mail that you receive so that your information is kept confidential. Many other statutory agent service companies have a portal for you to log into to check to see if you have received any documents and that is all they do. Be sure that you are being notified multiple ways so that you never have to be concerned that you missed something.
Your CPA or other tax professional should not be your statutory agent. CPAs and tax professionals are not set up to handle service of process. They do not handle legal matters and should not be accepting legal documents on your behalf. In addition, they likely do not have insurance to cover any mistakes that happen if you do not receive the documents so you would be out of luck if that happens.
You could have a default judgment entered against you. It is NOT an excuse to say that you did not receive the documents sent to your statutory agent. Once your statutory agent receives the legal documents on behalf of your business, the law considers you to have received them whether you did or not. This is why it is CRITICAL to either be your own statutory agent or have a trusted statutory agent company act as your statutory agent.
Tons and tons of junk mail, credit card offers and scams from fraudsters pretending to be the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) asking for personal, confidential information or payment for one thing or another. The ACC sells the list of all new businesses formed or amended for each quarter, so it is easy to obtain the address of the statutory agent.
Don’t worry. The only mail of a legal nature must go to your statutory agent so if we have not contacted you, it is likely not legitimate. However, if you have a question, feel free to call or email us and ask.
“Service of process” is when we receive documents from the court. Legitimate “business mail” is any mail we receive that is directed to your business that requires your attention.
No, we do not provide that service. We recommend obtaining a PO Box for your business mail or if your business has a physical location, use that location. LLCs in Arizona are not required to use a physical location as their “principal place of business” and may use a PO Box for that purpose. Also, consider using a UPS store postal box for your business mail as you can sign up to have the mail forwarded to you if you do not want to stop by or you are out of state. If you choose another statutory agent company that allows you to use their address as your principal place of business address, understand that you will receive no mail for your business directly and you should be sure that you agree with the statutory agent company’s policies for handling all of your business mail. Again, you may not use My Stat Agent AZ’s PO Box or physical address as the address for your company’s business address. If you do so, we will resign as your company’s statutory agent.
There are options that will allow you to maintain control of your company’s mail without using your home address. If you are looking for confidentiality in both your name and your address, there are ways to structure your company to do so. Contact a qualified business attorney to discuss alternatives. Additionally, consider using a PO Box if you are an LLC or if there are no significant tax ramifications to converting to an LLC, consider doing so. Also, consider using a UPS store postal box for your business mail as you can sign up to have the mail forwarded to you if you do not want to stop by or you are out of state. If you choose another statutory agent company that allows you to use their address as your principal place of business address, understand that you will receive no mail for your business directly and you should be sure that you agree with the statutory agent company’s policies for handling all of your business mail.
NO, when My Statutory Agent AZ is your statutory agent you NO longer need to pay to publish changes to your business in a newspaper.
Yes, we provide a 50% discount for nonprofit organizations (those with a letter from the IRS providing tax exempt status) on our Basic and Executive services. Enter Nonprofit50 as your discount code on the check-out page. We may contact you for a copy of your tax-exempt letter after you sign up. The 50% discount remains in effect so long as My Statutory Agent AZ, LLC remains your statutory agent.
Yes, we provide a 50% discount for veterans or spouses of veterans on our Basic and Executive services. Enter Veteran50 as your discount code on the check-out page. We may contact you for proof of service after you sign up. The 50% discount remains in effect so long as My Statutory Agent AZ, LLC remains your statutory agent. Also, thank you and your family for your service.
The pricing is per business entity. However, if you have multiple business entities that have common ownership, we are able to give you a break in pricing. Please contact us or give us a call to discuss.
Yes, we do have bulk pricing based on the circumstances. The work for each business entity is the same. There is no reduction in work for us as the statutory agent when there are multiple, commonly owned LLCs. However, because we want to help small business owners, we will do what we can to help with the bottom line. Please contact us or give us a call to discuss.
Yes, you may cancel your services at any time. We charge annually so we do not pro-rate refunds, but upon your cancellation, we will cancel your auto-renew and no longer charge you annual fees.
If you want to cancel your services, you may do so by contacting us via email and we will promptly email you a cancellation link. We charge annually so there is no prorated refund. Once you cancel your services with us, we will resign as your statutory agent. It is your responsibility to obtain a new statutory agent and have that statutory agent appointed for your business on the Arizona Corporation Commission or Arizona Secretary of State’s websites as appropriate. Failure to maintain a statutory agent will result in the administrative dismissal of your business entity.