Last updated September 30, 2020

New York LLC Registered Agent

What is a New York Registered Agent (and why is it so confusing)?

When it comes to forming an LLC, New York is a state with a lot of quirks (things that are outside of the norm).

The biggest quirk is the newspaper publication requirement, which is a major expense for most people if they don’t follow a publication strategy. The state requires that all LLCs in New York publish 2 ads in the newspaper within 120 days of formation.

And the 2nd biggest quirk is about Registered Agents, or more particularly, the delivery of service of process.

In most states, a Registered Agent is required to form an LLC. A Registered Agent is a person or company who agrees to accept legal mail (known as “service of process”) on behalf of your LLC in case your business gets sued. A Registered Agent can be a person, like the owner of the LLC, or a professional Registered Agent company, also called a Commercial Registered Agent.

However, Section 301 of the New York LLC Statute states (among other things):

The Secretary of State shall be the agent for every LLC upon which process may be served. No LLC may be formed in New York unless its Articles of Organization designates the Secretary of State as the agent for service of process.

Said another way, the Secretary of State acts as the agent for all LLCs in the state.

To further complicate things, the state will allow an LLC to also have a Registered Agent listed.

So if the state acts as the agent for all LLCs (and requires it), what would be the point of hiring a Registered Agent for your New York LLC?

How it works:

The answer is the newspaper publication requirement.

Since the county location of the LLC’s office dictates where the newspaper ads must be published, hiring a Registered Agent (one located in an affordable county, like Albany) who will let you use their address can save you a lot of money.

For people in the 5 boroughs, this can save you $1,000 or more on newspaper fees.

In order to publish your ads in an Albany county, we recommend hiring Northwest Registered Agent ($125 per year).

This will allow you to use their Albany address and publish your newspaper ads in that county. A few months later (once all the publication requirements are met), you can change your address if needed.

Also, Northwest Registered Agent will let you use their address throughout your Articles of Organization (county location/office address, address for forwarding of service of process, organizer’s address, and filer’s address) in order to keep yours off public record.

This privacy feature is offered at no additional cost. We find this particularly helpful, since so much junk mail gets sent to the address you list in the Articles of Organization.

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.

They won’t publish your ads for you (we’ll show you how to do that here), however, they’ll help save you money on your newspaper fees and they’ll keep your address off of public records.

(to learn more about Northwest, check out our Northwest Registered Agent review)

Matt Horwitz

Founder & Educator, LLC University®

Forming an LLC shouldn't be so complicated. Our step-by-step guide will make the process a breeze – and no complex legal jargon! LLC University® teaches people how to form an LLC for free in all 50 states. We hope you find our free guides and resources helpful in your business journey.