A Wyoming Registered Agent is a person or business entity appointed by an LLC as its official contact for service of process, legal documents, and compliance issues.
Service Of Process And The Necessity Of A Registered Agent
It is mandatory for every LLC in Wyoming to appoint and maintain a registered agent in the state. If no registered agent is appointed, the Wyoming Business Division won’t accept an LLC’s Articles of Organization.
Similarly, if an LLC fails to maintain a registered agent, it can have legal and administrative consequences. These include losing the status of good standing with the state, losing liability protection, and even involuntary dissolution of the LLC.
Service of process involves legal documents like the notice of a lawsuit, summons, subpoenas, etc. For the reliable delivery of these documents and to track their receipt, the legal system must know a reliable street address where they can be delivered.
Therefore, a Registered Agent (RA) must maintain a physical street address where service of process is delivered. Additionally, the state may send important communication to this address. This includes tax notices, payment reminders, and more.
The Legal Requirements And Responsibilities Of A Wyoming Registered Agent
The state of Wisconsin requires that a few requirements be met for anyone to qualify as a registered agent. As with other states, these requirements are straightforward and practical.
- A Registered Agent must maintain a physical street address in Wyoming. PO Box addresses and similar aren’t accepted.
- If the agent is a person, they must be capable of accepting legal documents.
- If the agent is a business, it should be in good standing with the state and have permission to conduct business in Wyoming.
These requirements are simple and give the LLC plenty of room in choosing its RA. It’s worth noting that while many businesses qualify for the role, the biggest share of the pie belongs to commercial registered agents. These businesses offer their services as registered agents for a fee. And they are largely favored by several LLCs because of the convenience, professionalism, and reliability they represent.
Noting the legal requirements listed here, it might seem easy to pick an agent. It actually is. However, there are responsibilities for an agent to fulfill. And that should be the guiding principle that brings you to your decision. At the minimum, your Wyoming LLC Registered Agent should handle the following responsibilities.
- Maintain a physical address for the LLC. This is the registered office of the company and where service of process and certified mail is delivered. This cannot be a PO Box address.
- Be available at the registered office during normal business hours.
- If/when service of process arrives, the agent must receive it and notify the LLC quickly.
- In case communication from the state is received, the agent should inform the company.
The points listed above are all essential. If your RA can’t handle even one of these aspects, it’s time to rethink your choice.
Who Can Be Your Wyoming LLC Registered Agent
Thoughts On Time Sensitivity And Reliability
While it might not seem so on the surface, the core responsibilities of an agent often come down to reliability and time sensitivity. You want your agent to be reliably available if and when service of process arrives. Also, it is important that you’re notified of the service of process as soon as possible.
If an agent somehow causes delays in notifying the LLC of service of process, there is potential for several problems. An LLC wants to be aware of possible lawsuits as soon as possible.
Communication from the state falls under a similar category. For example, if the state sends any communication related to license tax or annual reports, the LLC would like to receive them as soon as possible.
A Wyoming registered agent isn’t necessarily a full-time employee of the company. Yet, you want someone who can reliably man the registered office of the LLC and be capable of understanding the time-sensitive nature of their job.
Being Your Own Registered Agent In Wyoming
Considering the requirements and responsibilities, an LLC will have plenty of leeway in choosing its registered agent. That said, most Wyoming LLCs usually choose one of these options:
- You can be your own registered agent.
- Appoint family members or friends.
- Hire a commercial registered agent.
Hiring a commercial agent costs money. On the other hand, you can be your own registered agent for $0. The same logic also applies to appointing family members and friends. Besides, you’d think that since you and your family/friends as registered agents are more trustworthy.
Those are all true points and important considerations. Yet, more things need to be handled. Appointing yourself, or friends/family shouldn’t come at the cost of reliability. Additionally, the appointee might have concerns about privacy. These shouldn’t be taken lightly either.
Let’s consider reliability first. As we know, the RA must be available at the registered office during normal working hours. It seems simple enough. But for an individual, who’s your non-commercial registered agent, this can become a Herculean task.
People often want to go on vacations or take a break. There are errands to run, family and professional issues to handle, and other such requirements. If service of process were to arrive at times like these, there could be problems. The chances of this happening are low, but they are real and worth a thought.
Privacy could be an important point too. The address of the Wyoming Registered Agent becomes part of the public record. This means it is freely available to anyone who bothers to look for it. And, of course, many people and businesses use information like that.
If you (or your choice of RA) are capable of handling these considerations, there should be no problems in handling that role.
The Registered Agent Approach For Foreign LLCs In Wyoming
For foreign LLCs (companies not domestic to Wyoming) looking to start a business in Wyoming, the options available for registered agents can reduce drastically.
As an example, you cannot be your own registered agent. You may not have a physical address in the state and thus not qualify for the role. You may not know anyone well enough or trustworthy enough to be your registered agent.
Usually, that leaves you with just one option, which is hiring a commercial registered agent. This might also be a better option logistically if your LLC is operating in multiple states.
Having a reliable, national company as the RA could make it easier to expand to other states. It will also be more expensive, but at least you won’t have to worry about the logistics of maintaining separate registered agents and managing communication.
Of course, the other options are still available to foreign LLCs. You just have to be sure to find one that works the best for your company.
Hiring A Commercial Registered Agent
A lot of Wyoming LLCs, whether domestic or foreign, choose to go with commercial registered agents. That stays true, even when there are plenty of non-monetary options available (like being your own registered agent or appointing friends/family). The key drivers for this choice are the convenience, professionalism, and reliability of hiring commercial agents.
Besides, Wyoming is a very popular state for forming LLCs. Plenty of entrepreneurs, even those who live in other states, often choose Wyoming as the favored place of setting up a domestic LLC.
Amongst other things, this means that there are plenty of commercial registered agents available to hire. With the large variety of options, comes a good range of services. For example, apart from companies that offer classic registered agent services, you might also find those that offer other services.
This may include assistance in registering your LLC, handling paperwork, assistance with licensing, and more. The cost of hiring commercial services varies with the company and the services on offer.
For conventional registered agent services in Wyoming, you can expect to pay anywhere between $50-$300 annually. This is a general figure for most commercial registered agents. You might find those that offer their services for different amounts as well.
Wyoming Registered Agent Services LLC Review
An LLC should put plenty of thought into choosing its commercial registered agent. This shouldn’t be a purely monetary decision, but one informed by the services offered, and their suitability for the LLC.
So, even if you find a big-name commercial registered agent, don’t undersell your own due diligence on the matter. You could, for example, look online for Wyoming registered agent services LLC reviews to see how well the potential candidate performs.
If possible, you should also consider speaking to current and/or previous clients of the agent to see their impression of the agent and any recommendations they might have.
It is okay to expect more from your commercial registered agent. At the very least, your agent must offer the following:
- Professional Service
- Reliability
- Convenience
- Discreet
- Privacy
Convenience is often an overlooked factor. It shouldn’t be. By moving the registered agent role to a different entity, you should expect greater convenience. You can focus on your business and its immediate requirements, rather than having to worry about service of process and other responsibilities that being a registered agent entails.
Changing Your Registered Agent In Wyoming
Change of your registered agent in Wyoming requires filing a “Change of an Entity’s Registered Agent and Office” form with the Wyoming Secretary of State. There is no filing fee for this form. The agent must provide express consent for their acceptance of the role. The form includes a section for this purpose.
It’s also possible for an agent to resign from their duties. The agent must deliver this form to the Secretary of State and the company they were representing. Once the agent delivers these forms, the company has 30 days to appoint a new Wyoming Registered Agent.