registered agent

A person who, following state requirements, maintains a registered office within the state of incorporation for a corporation. A registered office may be at an address that is different from the corporation’s business address. Often, companies act as their own registered agents, as long as the address provided to the state is in the state of incorporation. An attorney may serve as a registered agent. The main purpose of a registered agent is to give anyone who is suing a company a location where legal documents can be served, or where governments may mail tax or other official documents. Post office boxes cannot be used for a registered agent’s address.