An Oklahoma Registered Agent is a person or business entity designated to receive service of process on behalf of an LLC. Appointing and maintaining a registered agent is mandatory for every LLC in the state. Failing to do so can have legal and administrative consequences.
In fact, the Oklahoma Secretary of State will not accept your Oklahoma LLC’s Articles of Organization if a registered agent hasn’t been appointed.
Service of process involves receiving legal documents like notice of a lawsuit, summons, subpoenas, etc. The agent should immediately inform the LLC if service of process arrives.
An Oklahoma Registered Agent also functions as a general point of contact between the state and the LLC. As such, your agent may receive documents from the state, including tax notices, reminders for Annual Certificate, and so on.
Requirements And Necessities Of An Oklahoma Registered Agent
Legal Requirements For Oklahoma Registered Agents
To be appointed as a registered agent in Oklahoma, a person or business entity must fulfill the following obligations:
- An Oklahoma Registered Agent must have a physical street address. This is called the registered office of the Oklahoma LLC and this is where service of process is delivered. PO Box addresses or similar can’t be used here.
- If the agent is a person, he or she should be a resident of the state and qualified to receive legal documents.
- If the agent is a business entity, they must have permission to do business in the state. Additionally, the entity must maintain an office in Oklahoma.
Who Can Be A Registered Agent In Oklahoma
Now that we know the legal requirements, we can consider who to appoint as the Oklahoma registered agent. While the business entity mentioned is relevant to most businesses operating in the state, it generally leads to commercial registered agents.
Commercial agents are businesses that act as registered agents for your Oklahoma LLC for a fee. Interestingly, Oklahoma also allows the LLC to be its own registered agent. Most states don’t allow LLCs to act as their own registered agents. This can be quite useful.
And yes, you can be the registered agent of your own LLC. Appointing yourself, the LLC, family members, or friends as the Oklahoma Registered Agent can save you some money when compared to appointing a commercial registered agent.
To sum up:
- You can be your LLC’s registered agent in Oklahoma.
- An LLC can be its own registered agent.
- You can appoint family members or friends as the registered agent.
- You can hire a commercial registered agent.
The key to hiring an agent isn’t just their eligibility. It’s also important to consider if they would be able to handle the responsibilities of the role. At a minimum, a registered agent should handle the following requirements:
- Maintain a registered office (physical street address) for the LLC.
- Be available 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 notices/communication from the state and inform the LLC.
The registered agent will receive this necessary communication for the LLC. However, you should consider keeping the business correspondence through a separate channel, especially if you hire a commercial registered agent.
Are There Caveats To Being My Own Registered Agent?
Being your own registered agent or appointing family/friends to that role can save you money. Before you take this route, remember that reliability of the agent is very important. So think of reliability before thinking of monetary terms.
The Oklahoma Registered Agent should be available at the registered office during normal business hours. This can be tough for individuals. You could be away on vacation or be otherwise unavailable when service of process arrives. The chances of this happening are low, but it is a distinct possibility.
Privacy is a concern too. The details of a registered agent form part of the public record. This means anyone willing to search will have your information. Many websites, services, etc. copy this information for their use.
Many people aren’t comfortable with their details being so easily accessible. So, privacy is something to consider.
If you’re comfortable with these situations, there shouldn’t be a problem being your registered agent. Since Oklahoma allows the LLC to be its own registered agent, you could use it to get around these problems. Using the Oklahoma LLC’s name and its business address could be helpful in these scenarios.
Another option, and one that’s seemingly more popular, is the use of commercial registered agents. These companies take on the role of a registered agent for a fee. And they’re well-equipped to handle the related requirements.
Hiring Commercial Registered Agents In Oklahoma
Hiring a commercial registered agent often turns out to be a more convenient option. Commercial agents are well-equipped to handle the needs for receiving service of process and can handle the responsibility reliably. Besides, it is more convenient to have a commercial agent handle these requirements, while you focus on your LLC.
Several businesses offer their services as registered agents in Oklahoma. Before you hire one, be sure to check their reviews and see how existing and previous customers rate them.
At the very least, a commercial registered agent should offer:
- Professional service
- Reliability
- Convenience
- Discreet service
- Privacy
Changing Your Oklahoma Registered Agent
Oklahoma makes it fairly easy to change your registered agent. You can do so by filing a form with the Oklahoma Secretary of State. This can be done online or by submitting a paper form. The filing fee for either method, and for domestic and foreign LLCs, is $25.
The relevant form for the filing is Change or Designation of Registered Agent and/or Registered Office and/or Principal Office. This, and other relevant forms are available on the Downloadable Business Forms section of the Secretary of State website. The listing helpfully includes links to downloadable forms as well as for online filing.
This form is the best method to change your Oklahoma Registered Agent (should you need to). It is also possible to change the agent by filing an amendment, though that is unnecessary.