Oklahoma Registered Agent
Contents
[ show ]
What Is an Oklahoma Registered Agent?
A registered agent acts as a point of contact for the state of Oklahoma on behalf of a business. They receive all legal communication, including service of process. Once they receive a document, they’ll immediately upload it to a digital server where those at the business can easily access it. Registered agents are also known as resident agents and statutory agents. In Oklahoma, businesses are required by law to have a registered agent. This is because having a specific point of contact prevents confusion and makes it easy for the state to reach out. Registered agents are typically elected upon a business’s formation.What Are the Requirements to Be a Registered Agent in Oklahoma?
Almost anyone can be a registered agent in Oklahoma. The requirements are that you must be 18 or older, maintain a physical address in the state, and keep regular business hours. This means that you, a business partner, an employee, or even a friend or family member could be the registered agent for your business. Many companies, however, prefer to hire registered agent services, and we’ll talk more about why in our next section.Why Businesses Need an Oklahoma Registered Agent
As we explained, the law in Oklahoma requires businesses to have a registered agent. However, registered agents can be beneficial to businesses in many different ways. Let’s talk about how registered agents can help businesses as well as why hiring one can be preferable to being one yourself.
Compliance
It’s important for businesses to remain compliant with the state of Oklahoma in order to retain their good standing. Remaining compliant means meeting deadlines such as those for filing annual reports. If a business misses too many important deadlines, it may lose its good standing with the state. If this happens, the business could also lose its limited liability protection. In the worst-case scenario, Oklahoma could ban the business from operating within the state. Similarly, businesses need to respond to service of process by the given deadline. Failing to do so could incur fines and certainly won’t help the business win a case in court. Registered agents help businesses avoid these negative consequences by keeping calendars of important dates. They will then send reminders so that businesses have ample opportunity to meet deadlines.Privacy
A registered agent’s address is public record and can easily be found on the Oklahoma Business Entities Search. Many business owners would rather not have their address so accessible, so they prefer to hire a registered agent instead. Another option would be to use the physical location of your business as an address if you want to be the registered agent for your company. However, there are some disadvantages to this that you should be aware of. First, legal mail will get mixed in with any other junk that gets sent to your business’s address. Second, you’ll need to be careful about who is bringing in and sorting through the mail so that state communication doesn’t get misplaced. The third and most important disadvantage to consider is service of process. Should you get served, it would happen at your business’s location, potentially in front of clients and employees. This would not only be embarrassing but could also lower the morale of employees as they worry about a lawsuit affecting their job security. Hiring a registered agent means that service of process will happen away from the eyes of customers and employees. The agent will be served at their location, and you will be notified discreetly.Online-Only Business
The internet reaches billions of people every day. In the US, 85% of households reported having an internet subscription in 2018. As such, it is more than possible for businesses to operate completely online and be successful. One of the downsides to this is that if you were hoping to be your own registered agent, not having a business address may complicate things. This is especially true if you value your privacy and do not want to use a home address. Hiring a registered agent can solve this problem, and they are often relatively affordable to hire.Irregular Business Hours
One of the few requirements to be a registered agent is to keep regular business hours. However, working 9 to 5 isn’t realistic for everyone. Aside from that, as a business owner, you may need to take trips or visit other company locations. Doing so would prevent you from keeping regular business hours at a specified location. In this situation, it’s often best to hire a registered agent service. There will always be someone available to receive important communication from the state, and you’ll be free to work whenever you want from wherever you want.Organization
A registered agent’s duties include organization. They must keep both paper and digital files well organized so that it is easy for businesses to peruse them. Not only that, but registered agents keep track of important deadlines and create a schedule of reminders. This is all clerical work that technically anyone could do. However, registered agent services specialize in these kinds of tasks and are able to get to documents immediately, whereas you, as a busy business owner, may not be able to do the same. Of course, it’ll also save you time to hire someone else to handle legal correspondence.Locations in Different States
If your business will operate in several states, then you will need a registered agent in each state. It’s often beneficial to hire a registered agent service that has locations in several states. This way, you will only need to manage one service rather than many.What To Look For When Choosing an Oklahoma Registered Agent
Now that you understand the many ways a registered agent can benefit your company, you may be considering hiring one. But how do you choose when there are lots of options? We recommend considering the price, services provided, and the amount of time you’ll save.