How to Change Registered Agents
Starting a business in Florida is an exciting prospect. With no income tax and very favorable treatment of businesses, it’s a great place to set up shop. But, now that you’ve finished filing all the paperwork and made your first dollar, you might start to notice something… Things don’t always go the way they should. If it’s your first business, that’s perfectly normal. You’ll be learning as you go, no matter how well prepared you may have felt. You may have to change this or that with your business as it grows. But finding out how to change registered agents can be less trouble than you’d think.
For a variety of reasons, one of those things might be your registered agent. Maybe your registered agent relocated out of state, saw a career change, or it just didn’t work out. If you registered yourself as the agent, you might be too busy to handle everything yourself. Business might be booming!
There’s good news: Changing your registered agent is pretty simple.
What Is a Registered Agent?
Registered agents are liaisons between your business and the state to simplify things. They receive communications, reports from the state, and mail related to your business. As business owners are often busy operating the business, the registered agent is the physical point of contact where the business is reached. It’s a vital role.
How to Change Registered Agents in Florida
The simplest way to put it is that you change registered agents by filling out a bit of paperwork. Normally you change registered agents as part of your annual report. However, you can also fill out a “Statement of Change of Registered Office or Registered Agent or Both” form. This is also just known as a “Statement of Change” form. You file this form with the Florida Department of State. While your Annual Report can be filed online, the Statement of Change can only be filed by paper, either in person or mail.
Florida’s Annual Report is only available online. The Division of Corporations provides detailed FAQs and instructions for filling out this form. There is a $138.75 filing fee for LLCs, which is more expensive than the $25 Statement of the Change fee. The convenient thing is that since you have to file a report annually anyway, you don’t have to pay two fees.
Why Change Registered Agents?
As we mentioned, there are many reasons a person might change their registered agent. For example, you may be moving your business to new states, and your registered agent may not be able to perform their duties there. It’s also perfectly normal to change registered agents you aren’t happy with. You could also move from an individual agent to a registered agent service. This is a preferred choice for many people.
While anybody 18 or older with a physical address in Florida can be a registered agent, there are responsibilities individuals may not want. For example, registered agents must be available between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays. You can also be your own registered agent, as long as you’re in the office through those hours. But, of course, your registered agent has to be available physically, too – A phone call won’t do.
You can visit our website to learn more about registered agents, small business laws, and Florida laws. If you need help with any of this, give us a call – We can probably help.