Commercial registered agent: what it is

Handing over the lawsuit is called service of process. Service of process is the formal delivery of a lawsuit. The Secretary of State is the state office that registers businesses. Washington uses that office. What the person does all year is in What is a registered agent for an LLC? Whether your own name can go on the line is in Can I be my own registered agent? This page is the paid company.

What is a commercial registered agent

It is a person or company in the business of taking those papers, and you pay them for the seat. In Washington, the statute gives that job a specific name. RCW 23.95.105 says a commercial registered agent means a person listed under RCW 23.95.420. In that section, person includes an individual or a company. A registered agent, in that section, includes both a commercial registered agent and a noncommercial registered agent.

A noncommercial registered agent is someone who is not on that commercial list. That can be you. It can be a friend who agrees. It can be an office title at your company. It can be a government office. They still need a street in the state, and they still need to agree. They are not a commercial registered agent unless they file the commercial listing.

The DIY, lawyer, or commercial page sets the three choices side by side. The cost guide is the bill. The methodology page is how the grades on a state scorecard are built. This page is what the commercial seat is.

You, a friend, a lawyer, or a company

The lawsuit still has to land on a person at a street. The difference is whose name is on the public list, and who gets paid.

• You Your own name can be the agent when you qualify in that state. You keep the street. You have to be there to take the papers. That is the do-it-yourself choice. It is not a commercial listing.
• A friend A friend who agrees is still a person at a street. In Washington, RCW 23.95.415 says an agent cannot be appointed without prior consent in a record. That consent is filed with the Secretary of State. A friend who never files the commercial listing is a noncommercial agent.
• A lawyer A lawyer can sit the job if they agree and they qualify in that state. You are buying a person with an office, if that is the deal. You are not buying a national scan screen. Ask what they charge. The page does not publish that fee.
• A commercial company The company is in the business of serving as agent. You pay it. In Washington, its place of business in the state goes on the commercial listing. If you name that listed company, the filing names the company. Your house stays off that line.

What to check before you hire

Ask these five things before you type a company name on a state form. Washington and Texas show what the words mean. Another state can use different words. Read that state’s scorecard.

1. A physical in-state street address The street is in the state that lists the agent. A P.O. Box is a mailbox at the post office. It is not that street. Washington’s Secretary of State registered-agent page, read October 11, 2026, says the agent must maintain a physical address in Washington. P.O. Boxes or PMBs are prohibited. A PMB is a private mailbox. RCW 23.95.410 says a record that must state an address states a street address in this state, and a mailing address in this state if it is different. Texas Business Organizations Code § 5.201(c) says the registered office is a street address where process may be personally served. It may not be solely a mailbox service or a telephone answering service. The Wyoming scorecard is that state’s street rule. This page does not copy it.
2. Someone there during business hours A street with nobody in it cannot take a lawsuit. The Washington page says the registered office is the office address where the agent must be located during business hours. It does not print a clock such as 9 to 5. The page does not publish one. Texas § 5.201(d) says an organization that is the agent must have an employee available at the registered office during normal business hours. Any employee may take the papers. The Texas scorecard is the longer rule. Florida Statutes § 48.091 prints the hours, and it says a registered foreign limited liability company shall designate a registered agent in Florida. The Florida scorecard is that page. This guide does not copy the clock.
3. How legal papers are forwarded Taking the papers is only half the job. The company has to get them to you. RCW 23.95.455 says the agent’s duty is to forward any process, notice, or demand to the address you most recently gave the agent. That is the job. It is not a promise to scan catalogs. Ask which address they will use, and what counts as a lawsuit versus junk mail.
4. How fast you are told RCW 23.95.455 tells the agent to forward the papers. It does not print a number of hours or days. Ask the company how fast they notify you. Get that answer in writing. The page does not publish a same-day promise.
5. How the company is listed with the Secretary of State In Washington, a commercial company files a commercial-registered-agent listing statement. After that, your filing can name that company. RCW 23.95.415 says the filing states the name of the commercial registered agent. If you have no commercial agent, the filing states the name and address of the noncommercial agent instead. The Secretary of State page says listed commercial agents appear on a public list in the Corporations and Charities Filing System. Confirm the live name before you treat a marketing page as the public list. The Nevada scorecard writes Nevada’s own commercial-agent rule. It is not Washington’s listing sentence. The California scorecard is that state’s page for a company agent.

Washington commercial registered agent

Washington’s definition is a listing, not a head count. RCW 23.95.420 says a person may become listed by delivering a commercial-registered-agent listing statement. The statement is signed by that person. The Washington scorecard is the longer page.

The Secretary of State page, read October 11, 2026, adds the office’s own words. The listing statement has the agent’s name, a physical address in Washington, and an email address. If your business has no physical Washington address, that page says you may hire a commercial registered agent from the public list. RCW 23.95.405 is why the seat exists. A domestic entity, and a registered foreign entity, shall designate and maintain a registered agent in this state. A domestic entity is one formed under Washington law. A registered foreign entity, in RCW 23.95.105, is a company from somewhere else that has registered to do business in Washington.

The listing may also say the agent will accept service in a form other than paper. RCW 23.95.420 points at RCW 23.95.450 for that line. Section 23.95.450 says service on a registered agent must be in a tangible medium, but service may be made on a commercial registered agent in other forms the agent stated it will accept. Tangible medium means a writing on paper or other physical material. You serve the registered agent. If the company has no agent, or the agent cannot with reasonable diligence be served, the same section has backup paths, including the Secretary of State. Read the section for those paths. This page does not shorten them into a new rule.

Changing the name is a statement of change. RCW 23.95.430 says the new agent’s consent goes with that statement. The owners do not have to approve the filing. The order of the filing is in How to change a registered agent on an LLC.

A commercial agent can leave the list. RCW 23.95.425 says a termination statement takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the 31st day after the day it is delivered for filing. The agent must promptly tell each company it represented. When that statement takes effect, the agent is no longer the agent. Until the company names a new one, service may be made under RCW 23.95.450. The forward duty in RCW 23.95.455 still applies while they are your agent: send the papers to the address you last gave them, and keep the listing information current.

Do I need a registered agent in every state

You need one in each state where the company is registered to do business. Forming in one state does not fill the form in another. Registering to do business in a second state is called foreign qualification. The agent for that registration has to be in that state.

Washington is one example. If a company formed somewhere else registers to do business in Washington, it is a registered foreign entity. RCW 23.95.405 says that company shall designate and maintain a registered agent in this state. “This state” means Washington. A commercial listing in some other state does not satisfy that sentence.

Delaware writes the same idea for a foreign limited liability company. 6 Del. C. § 18-902 says that before doing business in Delaware, the company shall register with the Secretary of State. § 18-904(b) says each foreign limited liability company shall have and maintain in Delaware a registered office and a registered agent for service of process. That agent’s business office is the same as the registered office. The section lists who may serve, including a Delaware resident and a Delaware or foreign company. The foreign limited liability company itself may not be the agent. The Delaware scorecard is the street rule next to that statute.

A Washington agent does not fill the Delaware line. A Delaware agent does not fill the Washington line. Each of those states wants its own in-state agent.

Other states write their own version. This page does not paste every state. The New York scorecard is that state’s own page. A Washington listing does not fill a New York registration. Read the scorecard for the state named on the registration. Do not assume the home-state agent travels.

Questions people ask

Is a commercial registered agent a mailbox?

No. The agent is who can be handed a lawsuit. Washington prohibits a P.O. Box or a PMB as the street. Texas says the office may not be solely a mailbox service or a telephone answering service. A mail scan of catalogs is a different product.

Can my lawyer or a friend do this instead?

Yes, if they agree and they qualify in that state. In Washington they are a noncommercial registered agent unless they file the commercial listing. Get the consent in a record before you name them. A lawyer’s price is whatever you agree. The page does not publish it.

What if the commercial agent quits the list?

In Washington, the termination takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the 31st day after it is delivered for filing. Until you name a new agent, service may follow RCW 23.95.450. Do not wait for that day to start the new filing.

If you hire a company for this seat, these buttons open that company’s own page. The state’s filing is still separate. The yearly price is on the cost guide.