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No hedging
Questions, answered plainly
Some of these answers point away from buying anything. That is on purpose. A customer who understood the choice sticks around longer than one who was talked into it.
The basics
Registered agents in New York
Is a registered agent required in New York?
No. Section 301 of the Limited Liability Company Law makes the Secretary of State your agent for service of process automatically, and the Business Corporation Law does the same for corporations. Naming a private agent under Section 302 is optional. The long version is on this page.
Can I be my own registered agent?
Yes, with a physical New York street address and someone there during business hours. The address becomes public, and a process server can arrive at it unannounced.
Can I use a PO box?
No. A registered agent address has to accept in-person delivery, so a post office box does not qualify.
Does my registered agent have to be in the same county as my business?
No. Anywhere in New York State works. Our Manhattan office can serve a company operating in Buffalo.
What is the difference between a registered agent and a statutory agent?
Vocabulary. New York says registered agent. Arizona and Ohio say statutory agent. Anyone selling you a New York statutory agent copied their page from another state.
Our service
Price and what is included
How much does it cost?
Forty nine dollars a year, flat. No setup fee. No charge per document. The renewal price is the signup price, and we will tell you before that ever changes.
What do I get for it?
Our Manhattan address on the public record as your agent, service of process accepted in person on business days, a scan emailed the same day anything arrives, and reminders before your Biennial Statement and publication deadlines. Full detail on the service page.
How fast do you send documents?
Same business day. If something is served on us at two in the afternoon, the PDF is in your inbox before the day ends.
Do you forward my regular business mail?
No. We take legal documents and official state correspondence. A registered agent address is not a mailing address, and treating it as one gets messy fast.
Can I cancel?
Any time. We do not refund a part-used year, and we will not stay on the public record as your agent once you have appointed someone else.
Do you give legal advice?
No. We are not a law firm. When something needs a lawyer we say so.
Switching
How to change your agent
How do I switch to you?
We file a Certificate of Change with the Department of State naming us. The state fee is $30, passed through at cost. Full walkthrough on switching your agent.
Do I need permission from my current agent?
No. One signature from an authorized person is all the state wants. Your outgoing provider is not part of it and cannot hold you.
How long does the switch take?
We prepare the paperwork the same day. The state usually posts it within a few business days, or the same day for a $75 expedite fee.
Will my old agent know?
Not from the state. Cancel their renewal yourself, or you will be paying two companies for one job.
Publication
The newspaper requirement
Can a registered agent lower my publication cost?
No, and this is the most common false claim in the New York market. Publication is priced by the county of office on your Articles of Organization. An agent's address sits in a different field. Ours is in Manhattan and it neither raises nor lowers your bill.
How much is publication?
Published estimates run from about $100 in the cheapest upstate counties to $2,650 in New York County, plus the $50 Certificate of Publication. The sources disagree, and all 62 counties are compared on this page.
Do you handle the publication for me?
No. We are a registered agent, not a publishing service. What we do is email you before the 120 day window closes so it does not creep up.
What if I miss the deadline?
The Department of State can suspend your LLC's authority to do business. The LLC survives, and the cure is to publish late and file the certificate. Newspapers do not discount for lateness. See the publication requirement.
Do corporations publish?
No. Section 206 is LLC-only. See incorporating in New York.
Ongoing
Good standing and ongoing filings
Does New York have an annual report?
No. There is a Biennial Statement every two years, for $9, in your formation anniversary month.
What if I miss the Biennial Statement?
No fine, but the company is marked past due on the public record, which shows up when a lender or a buyer searches you.
Does the LLC Transparency Act apply to me?
Almost certainly not. It reaches only non-US LLCs authorized in New York. Every LLC formed in the United States is exempt. See the Transparency Act page.
Something else?
Write to us. We answer questions from people who end up not buying anything, and we are fine with that.
Put a real office between you and the process server
Forty nine dollars a year. About two minutes to set up.