A registered agent is the person or company designated to receive legal documents and official state correspondence on behalf of a business entity. Every LLC and corporation must continuously maintain one, at a physical street address in the state of formation. A post office box does not satisfy the requirement.

Maine uses 'clerk' for corporations and 'registered agent' for LLCs. Massachusetts calls it a 'resident agent'. The role is the same in each case: the address of record for service of process and official notices.

Usually yes, provided you have a physical street address in the state and are available there during normal business hours. Two things push owners to use a service instead: the address becomes part of the public record, and being served with a lawsuit in person at home or in front of staff is not how most people want to learn they are being sued.

The state can administratively dissolve or revoke the entity. Beyond that, if you cannot be served, a case can proceed without your knowledge and a default judgment can be entered against the company.

A statement of change is filed with the Secretary of State naming the new agent. We prepare and file it for you, and we pay the state's change fee. You do not need permission from your current agent.

No. Your charter number, formation date, and standing are unchanged. The only thing that changes is the address the state has on file for notices.

The form takes about five minutes. State processing time varies — typically a few business days. We confirm once the state has recorded the change.

Nothing beyond the annual service fee, which starts at $129 per entity per year. The state charges to record the change — $35 in Maine — and we pay that ourselves.

On the Compliance and Shield tiers, yes — we prepare and file it every year and send you the state's confirmation. The state's filing fee is billed to you at cost. On the Agent tier we send deadline reminders but you file it yourself.

Maine: June 1, currently $85. New Hampshire: April 1, currently $100. Massachusetts: the anniversary of your formation date, currently $500.

No. None of the states we serve mail annual report forms or invoices. Maine specifically warns that official-looking mail about annual reports is often a scam solicitation from a third party rather than anything from the state.

A late penalty attaches — $50 in Maine — and the entity eventually falls out of good standing. That tends to surface at the worst time: during a financing, a sale, or when a bank asks for a certificate of good standing.

Anything served on your company is scanned and emailed to you the same business day it arrives. We hold the original and can forward the physical document if you need it.

Not as your registered agent address — that becomes ours. Bear in mind that other filings, such as your annual report, may separately list a principal office address, which is public record regardless of who your agent is.

We receive and scan what is delivered to the registered address so it can reach you the same day. This is a legal-notice address, not a general mail forwarding service.

Electronically, on auto-renew. The service fee is charged at signup and on the same date each year. State filing fees are billed separately at cost, when the filing is actually made. No paper invoices.

Yes, any time before your renewal date, with no cancellation fee. We remain as agent until you appoint a replacement, because leaving an entity without an agent puts its standing at risk.

No. State filing fees are passed through exactly as the state charges them and shown as their own line item.

No. Apex Corporate Services, LLC is a corporate services company. It is not a law firm, does not provide legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created by using this site or these services.

We currently accept appointments in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. If your entity is elsewhere, tell us and we will say so plainly rather than take on something we cannot service properly.