A Kansas Registered Agent is the official, appointed contact of a Kansas LLC for service of process and other official mail. Kansas officially calls this position the Kansas Resident Agent.
Despite the different nomenclature, the resident agent is essentially the same as the registered agent. Most states call this role as the registered agent, a few (including Kansas) use the term resident agent, while a few others use the term statutory agent. Practically, all of these mean the same thing and may be used interchangeably.
Service of process involves legal documents like notice of a lawsuit, summons, and subpoenas. These are delivered by process servers, so the Kansas Resident Agent must maintain a physical address to receive these documents.
Apart from legal documents, the state may also send official notifications to the registered agent. These include tax notices, payment reminders, and more.
Who Can Be A Kansas Registered Agent?
An LLC’s Kansas resident agent can be a person or a business entity. Either way, they must fulfill some legal requirements to qualify for the role. The requirements are pretty broad and give the LLC plenty of room in choosing who to appoint as the resident/registered agent.
- The agent must have a physical street address in the state of Kansas. This is the registered office of the LLC and cannot be a PO Box or similar service.
- If the agent is a person, they should be a resident of the state and capable of receiving legal documents.
- If the agent is a business entity, they should have permission to do business in the state. Generally, this includes commercial registered agents (commercial resident agents).
Commercial resident agents are businesses that offer their services as an LLC’s resident agent for a fee. While there is a monetary element involved, many businesses find it more expedient to hire a commercial agent.
You don’t necessarily have to hire a commercial agent. You could save money by appointing yourself as the agent of your LLC. Considering the requirements listed above, there are plenty of options available to you for choosing the registered agent.
- You can be your LLC’s resident agent in Kansas.
- You can appoint a family member or friend to that role.
- Hiring a commercial resident agent is possible.
Though there are money savings to be made by appointing yourself or a family member/friend, you should also consider the ability of the agent to execute their responsibilities.
Responsibilities Of A Resident Agent
When an LLC appoints a resident agent, it should expect the agent to perform these duties.
- Maintain a physical street address as the registered office of the Kansas LLC.
- Be available at the registered office during normal business hours (9 am to 5 pm).
- Accept service of process on behalf of the LLC and notify the company immediately.
- Receive any official communication from the state and inform the LLC.
The official communication means documents or mail sent by the state. You could use the resident agent for other, conventional mail too, but it’s not always productive. It’s usually better to leave the service of process and official mail to the agent, while business communication flows through other, more appropriate channels.
In light of these responsibilities, it’s also worthwhile to consider if you should be your own registered agent. Appointing yourself, or family/friends, is fine, but remember the responsibilities of the agent.
Individuals might find this quite hard to accomplish. You might be away on vacation or have stepped out for some errands when service of process arrives. This could be troublesome, even though the chances of this happening are low.
Privacy is another concern as the address of the registered agent becomes part of the public record. That means the address of the resident agent will be freely available to anyone who bothers to look for it.
If you think you can manage the responsibilities, it’s okay to be your own registered agent. But keep in mind that reliability is a very important part of the agent’s job.
Who To Appoint As The Kansas Resident Agent?
Now that we understand the requirements and responsibilities of a Kansas registered agent, it’s worth weighing our options to see what’s the best fit. At the basic level, there are two options. You could take the DIY route and be the agent yourself or ask family/friends to do it. Alternatively, you could hire a commercial registered agent.
Taking the DIY route will save you money as the commercial resident agent will charge a fee for the service. However, choosing to DIY this position may have lower reliability or put more work pressure on you.
Another point to consider is that you may not have any reliable family/friends to appoint as the agent. Or, you might be setting up a foreign LLC in Kansas. In this case, there’s a chance that you’re not a resident of the state and don’t know anyone who could be the agent. In this scenario, hiring a commercial agent would be the practical choice.
There is nothing wrong with being your own registered agent in Kansas. However, you must be legally qualified for the role and prepared for all its nuances.
Hiring A Commercial Resident Agent In Kansas
Hiring a commercial resident agent in Kansas can be useful in several ways. There are several Kansas commercial registered agent services available to hire. These include local as well as national companies.
The pricing varies depending on the company and the services they offer. But you can usually expect the pricing to be between $50 to $300 annually.
At the heart of hiring a commercial registered agent is their implied ability to handle their duties responsibly and with professionalism. It is important to hold commercial agents to a standard. You should consider asking for reviews from current and former clients of the agent. It is also useful to do a search and see what others are saying about the agent. Apart from fulfilling the duties of a registered agent, a commercial agent should also have the attributes listed below.
- Reliable
- Professional service
- Convenient
- Privacy
- Discreet
Changing Your LLC’s Kansas Registered Agent
Changing your Kansas registered agent and registered office is relatively simple. You’ll have to file the appropriate form with the Kansas secretary of state. The simplest way to go about this is to file the change online. The relevant payment can be completed using credit/debit cards.
If you prefer paper forms, you’ll have to file for Change of Registered Office/ ROA Resident Agent. A separate form is available if it’s being filed by the resident agent. The filing fee is $35 for for-profit entities and $20 for non-profits.
These, and other relevant forms are available on the Business Entity Forms section of the SOS website.