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Before filing your Certificate of Organization to create your Massachusetts LLC, you need to select a Registered Agent for your LLC.
A Registered Agent is a person or company who agrees to accept legal mail on behalf of your LLC in case your business gets sued.
In Massachusetts, a Registered Agent will also serve as a general point of contact for receiving business and tax notices, payment reminders, and other documents.
Your Registered Agent must have a street address in Massachusetts (PO Boxes are not allowed).
Your Registered Agent must also be available during normal business hours (9am – 5pm) in case Service of Process arrives. Service of Process for an LLC includes delivery of documents such as complaints, summons, and/or subpoenas.
Note: Most states use the term “Registered Agent”, but Massachusetts uses the term “Resident Agent”. We will use both of these terms to mean the same thing.
Special offer: If you hire Northwest to form your LLC ($39 + state fee), they’ll include their Registered Agent service free for the 1st year.
Who Can Be Your Registered Agent in Massachusetts?
When forming an LLC in Massachusetts, you have 3 options:
Option 1: You can be your own Registered Agent.
Option 2: A friend or family member can be your LLC’s Registered Agent.
Option 3: You can hire a Commercial Registered Agent.
Important: If your Registered Agent is going to be an individual (you, a friend, or a family member), that individual needs to be a resident of Massachusetts.
How Do I Know Which One to Choose?
If you have a street address located in Massachusetts (such as a home or office), and are available during business hours, you can list yourself as the Registered Agent.
If you don’t have a street address in Massachusetts, you can use a friend or family member’s address. They need to have a street address in Massachusetts and be available during business hours.
If you don’t have a street address in Massachusetts, and you don’t have a friend or family member’s address that you can use (or prefer not to), you can hire a Commercial Registered Agent.
Using a Commercial Registered Agent offers more privacy and is usually a more reliable setup.
Commercial Registered Agent
If you need to hire a Commercial Registered Agent, we recommend Northwest Registered Agent ($125 per year).
Why we recommend Northwest Registered Agent
Northwest Registered Agent is our personal recommendation (and the service we use ourselves) because they’ve been in business for over 20 years, have great customer service, and they let you use their address in your entire LLC filing in order to keep your address off public record.
How to keep your address off public records:
Many filers in Massachusetts start businesses from their home. For this reason, it’s important to know that all addresses that are on your LLC’s Certificate of Organization get listed on public record and may appear in google searches.
If you were thinking of using your home address, but would rather keep it off public records, you can hire a Registered Agent that will allow you to use their address throughout your Certificate of Organization. Northwest Registered Agent provides this unique service at no additional cost. They offer Registered Agent services for $125 per year and they’ll let you use their address throughout your Certificate of Organization.
Any mail that is sent to your LLC will be scanned by them and uploaded into your online account.
Special discounted pricing for LLC University® readers
Northwest usually charges $100 + state fees to form an LLC. However, we’ve negotiated a discounted rate (60% off) for LLC University® readers.
Special offer: If you hire Northwest to form your LLC ($39 + state fee), they’ll include their Registered Agent service free for the 1st year.
(Check out our Northwest Registered Agent review to learn more)
Are there risks if you, a friend, or family member are your LLC’s Registered Agent?
In short, there are risks. They are not likely to occur, but if they do, you could lose your liability protection.
For example, if Massachusetts is unsuccessful in reaching your LLC’s Registered Agent, you may lose your good standing status, and the state has the authority to dissolve your LLC.
Additionally, if a process server is unsuccessful in reaching your LLC’s Registered Agent about a lawsuit (they’ll try a few times), a court case can proceed in your absence and you might not even know about it. Worse, the court could enter a default judgment against your LLC if you aren’t there to defend yourself.
A few reasons a process server might not be able to reach your LLC’s Registered Agent:
- you, your friend, or family member are not there during business hours
- you/they are on vacation
- you moved and forgot to file a Change of Registered Agent with Massachusetts
Hiring a Commercial Registered Agent is a more reliable setup and gives you the freedom to take vacations and not worry about changing your Registered Agent address if you move.
Many Commercial Registered Agent will also help keep your Massachusetts LLC in compliance by sending you reminders of annual reporting requirements.
Next Step
Once you determine who will serve as your Massachusetts LLC’s Registered Agent, you can then proceed to the next Lesson: Massachusetts LLC Certificate of Organization.
If you need to hire a Commercial Registered Agent, please do so before going to the next step.
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References
Massachusetts LLC Act: Section 5
Massachusetts LLC Act: Section 5A
Massachusetts Secretary of State: LLC Information
Massachusetts Secretary of State: LLC Registered Agent Forms
Matt holds a Bachelor's Degree in business from Drexel University with a concentration in business law. He performs extensive research and analysis to convert state laws into simple instructions anyone can follow to form their LLC - all for free! Read more about Matt Horwitz and LLC University.
MASSACHUSETTS LLC GUIDE
Follow the lessons below to form your Massachusetts LLC.
If I were to hire a Commercial Resident Agent for a Holding Company, do I still need to put my own information into the states records? Basically, I’m looking for anonymity, just to be cautious.
Hi Bruce, to get anonymity for a Massachusetts LLC, you’d want to look into a Parent/Child LLC setup. For example, forming an LLC in Wyoming first. Then forming and LLC in Massachusetts and the Member will be your Wyoming LLC. You’ll want to hire a Commercial Resident Agent (aka Commercial Registered Agent) in both states and use a filing company so they can sign as LLC Organizer. We recommend using Northwest Registered Agent to form the LLC and act as Registered/Resident Agent. They’ll let you use their office address throughout your Articles of Organization, they’ll be the LLC’s Registered/Resident Agent, and they’ll sign as Organizer. Any mail that is sent to your LLC will be scanned by them and uploaded to your online dashboard. Hope that helps.
How can I make this strategy work if the Massachusetts LLC is a preexisting LLC and is going to be my Holding Company?? Wouldn’t my name have to be in the paperwork to set up the business bank accounts and other banking products??
Can you change the resident agent at any time? My LLC has 2 managers, one of which is the resident agent. Can I change it to the other manager during the annual the annual report?
Hi Mary, yes, the Resident Agent can be changed at any time and as often as needed. And yes, you can change the Resident Agent via the Massachusetts LLC Annual Report or by filing a Statement of Change of Registered Agent/Registered Office. The Statement of Change of Registered Agent/Registered Office can be found here: Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts: Domestic Profit Forms. Hope that helps.
It does. Thank you so much!
Hi Matt,
If I hire the same commercial registered agent for multiple LLCs, do I pay the annual fee once for all LLCs?
For an example, I pay Northwest registered agent $125 once for all of my LLC’s since they use the same registered agent.
Thanks!
Hi Joe, no, the price is per LLC. Some Registered Agents do offer discounted pricing if you have multiples LLCs, but you’ll need to contact them for that pricing.