Registered Agents and Your Georgia Corporation

Your Georgia corporation needs to have a Registered Agent. They’re chosen by you and can accept legal notices and other correspondence for your Georgia corporation on your behalf. There are some rules on choosing Registered Agent:

• If you choose a person, he or she must reside in Georgia
• If you choose a business, it must be able to conduct business in Georgia
• They must have a physical street address (not a P.O. Box)
• They must be available in person to sign for any delivered correspondence during normal business hours

Form your C Corporation or S Corporation through us. Our Registered Agent service includes a dashboard where you can review documents received, get automatic notification of correspondence and get free forwarding of all official, legal correspondence.

Incorporate your S Corporation or C Corporation through us to get your first year of Registered Agent services for free.

Georgia Registered Agents: What Type of Legal Notices Might They Receive?

A Georgia Registered Agent may receive, on behalf of your corporation:

• Correspondence from the Georgia Corporations Division
• Service of process notices (e.g., if your corporation is sued or required to appear in court)
• Official Georgia state and federal government correspondence and notifications
• Tax forms and requests to complete permits, company filings and reports

Note that the Georgia Corporations Division does need the address of your Registered Agent, and it needs to be a street address, not a P.O. Box.

Acting as Your Own Registered Agent for Your Georgia Corporation

If you live in Georgia, you might choose to be the Registered Agent for your corporation. Be aware that there may be some drawbacks to this:

• The Registered Agent must have a physical street address in the state where you are forming the company. Some people establish companies outside of the state they live in and will need to use a Registered Agent service to provide the address.
• You always need to have someone on hand to receive important documents for your business during business hours (typically 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday). A person must always be available to sign for legal correspondence. If you can’t always be around, consider using a third-party Registered Agent service like Incfile.
• The Registered Agent’s name and address are part of the public record and available through the Georgia Corporations Division's website. If you would prefer your name and address aren’t published, you might choose a Registered Agent service.
• If you change your Georgia business address or move out of state, you don’t need to file additional documentation with the Corporations Division for the new address of your Registered Agent. You will need to set up a new Registered Agent service in the new state.

There are more considerations, but this should help you with your decision to use a Registered Agent service.

If You Don’t Have a Registered Agent for Your Georgia Corporation

Failing to have a Registered Agent in Georgia can cause your business issues. These include:

• Getting served or sued and not finding out about it. If your business is sued and you don’t know about it, you could lose to a default judgment in your absence.
• Georgia corporations need to remain in good standing with the Corporations Division. If correspondence is undeliverable, certain states may revoke your right to do business.
• A Registered Agent “proves” to the state that your business exists. Without it, you could lose your business entity protections and your Georgia corporation may be dissolved.

Incfile Will Provide a Registered Agent for Georgia on Behalf of Your Corporation

Here at Incfile, we have a reliable Registered Agent Service. We provide the first year of this service completely free if you choose to form your corporation with us. After the first year, it’s only $99 per year — a small price for your peace of mind. Here’s what our service provides:

• An always available Registered Agent service that can receive correspondence, documents and legal proceedings on your behalf
• A digital dashboard where you can access, store and retrieve any information we’ve received for your business
• Email notification whenever we receive documents for your business
• Automatic forwarding of all legal correspondence, documentation and information directly to you

Form your C Corporation or S Corporation with us today to get your first year of a Registered Agent service for free, including easy access to our comprehensive online dashboard.