What is the difference between a registered agent and a virtual mailbox?
Registered agentPrivacy
A registered agent is a legal appointment that receives lawsuits and state notices at a fixed address in the state your company is registered in. A virtual mailbox is a commercial service that receives your everyday business post at an address you choose and scans it to you. They solve different problems and you may well want both.
Where people get this wrong
The common mistake is assuming an agent hides your address. It only replaces the registered agent line on your filing. Most states also ask for a principal business address, and that goes on the public record too. If you are working from home and put your home address there, an agent has not kept it private.
The other direction
A mailbox cannot be your registered agent in most states, because mailbox providers are generally not authorized to accept service of process and the address may not satisfy the physical presence requirement. Naming one is how companies end up with a filing the state rejects, or an agent who cannot legally take delivery of a lawsuit.
- Registered agent: legal and state mail, fixed to the state, required by law
- Virtual mailbox: everyday business mail, an address you pick, entirely optional
A virtual mailbox is coming to Arabella. Until it does, the agent covers the legal and state mail and nothing else.
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Written by the lawyers who built Arabella. This is legal information, not legal advice for your situation, and reading it does not make us your lawyers. For a real dispute or a high-stakes decision, talk to a licensed attorney. More questions.