Whether you’re starting a new LLC or updating the registered agent for your existing business, it’s important to choose the best Massachusetts registered agent for your needs.

This article will help you to choose the registered agent that best fits your business, go over the basic functions of registered agents, and answer common questions about registered agents.

If you haven’t yet formed your LLC, you can get one year of registered agent services for free if you form your LLC with Northwest Registered Agent ($29 + state fees). (This is a great deal!).

Best Massachusetts Registered Agent Service

When choosing a registered agent service, you want someone who understands the importance of staying compliant and being diligent about legal processes and paperwork. That’s why Northwest Registered Agent is our #1 registered agent service choice for Massachusetts businesses.

We recommend Northwest Registered Agent, which offers everything that you need to form your LLC along with Registered Agent services. The company boasts over 20 years of operations helping small businesses start or grow.

Northwest has a 100% Error-Free Guarantee with outstanding customer support, exceptional services, and high prices to match. If data privacy and access to customer support are top on your list, the extra costs of working with Northwest Registered Agent may be well worth it for you and your business.

What Does a Massachusetts Registered Agent Do?

A registered agent does a few things for a company. Their main task is to be present when or if the company needs to receive tax or legal paperwork. These would be documents that can’t be sent to a mailbox or delivered to a front desk; rather, documents that must be handed directly to the person who represents the company.

A simple example would be a service of process, which is the delivery of legal documents in a lawsuit. These service documents must be delivered directly to the company’s representative – the registered agent – to ensure they are received.

This may seem like a small task, but the caveat that makes this a critical position is that the registered agent is required to be at the documented location to receive these papers during all “regular business hours.” This is the main reason that most people choose to use a registered agent service rather than operating as their own agent.

Other forms that your registered agent may receive on your behalf are:

• Tax forms
• Legal documents
• Official government correspondence
• Service of process

Another function of a registered agent is to file official documents with the state in which the LLC or corporation is established. In most states, businesses are required to file an annual report once per year to keep the business in “good standing” with the state.

Can I Be My Own Registered Agent in Massachusetts?

The short answer is yes, you can be your own registered agent.

Whether or not that’s the best plan for you or your company is another question entirely. If you are looking to spend the absolute, bare minimum amount of money on your business, then being your own registered agent may not be a terrible choice. Still, even in that scenario, we don’t recommend it.

Benefits of Using a Registered Agent Service

There are only a few realistic options when it comes to whom you file as your registered agent:

• Yourself
• An attorney
• A registered agent service

As mentioned above, being your own agent has pitfalls and isn’t recommended. What’s more, an attorney in this position would be quite expensive and is generally only a viable option if you had them form your business for you.

So, that leaves you with the option of using a service. Here are the biggest benefits of using a professional registered agent service:

Privacy

When you form an LLC or corporation, your formation data goes into a state database which is open and searchable to the public. The information in this database can include:

• Business name
• Formation date
• Registered agent name
• Registered agent address

While you can’t stop the state from publishing this information, you can retain the privacy of your name and your address by using a registered agent service. Since this information is public, marketing companies use these databases to gather information to market their products and services to business owners. Your mailbox will thank you for keeping your business address private.

Another major privacy benefit is having legal documents delivered to your agent and not you personally. If, for some reason, someone brings a lawsuit against your company, would you rather have your agent call you with these documents or have them served to you in front of your customers, clients, or employees?

Easy Compliance

Along with privacy, another of the main benefits of using a registered agent service is that they will help to keep your business in “good standing” with the state.

Some states require LLCs and corporations to file annual reports or other timely documents. While these generally aren’t difficult tasks, they are often easily forgotten or lost in the day-to-day work that your business hands you.

Your registered agent will send you reminders that this work needs to be completed, and some will even provide you with the proper documents to make your work even easier.

How Do I Elect a Resident Agent in Massachusetts?

All Massachusetts LLCs are required to have a resident agent, known as a registered agent in most states. Resident agents act as the official contact for a business.

A resident agent must have a street address where documents and service of process can be delivered. The agent should be available to receive documents during business hours, and they should be comfortable doing so. It’s also important to choose a reliable business or individual, as you don’t want someone that will forget or misplace delivered documents.

To form an LLC in the state of Massachusetts, a resident agent is selected when filing your LLC’s Certificate of Organization. An LLC formation service can take care of the filing for you, or you can complete the filing yourself. You will need the name and street address of your resident agent.

If you want to file the Certificate of Organization yourself, there are online, mail, fax, and in-person options:

1. File online with the Secretary of the Commonwealth Corporations Division. The online LLC Certificate of Organization requires a resident agent’s name and address in Section 5. Immediately following the section, the resident agent must sign to grant their consent.
2. File via hard copy with the print Limited Liability Company Certificate of Organization. The three-page form can be downloaded from the Corporations Division, and answers can be typed before printing. The bottom of page 2 has a place for the resident agent to sign that they grant consent.

The form can be submitted to the Secretary of the Commonwealth using one of the filing addresses found below. You can also fax the form along with a Fax Voucher Cover Sheet to the number below. You can also drop off the form at the mailing address during business hours. Payment for the filing fee should be included.

The Massachusetts LLC filing fee is $500 regardless of your filing method.

How Do I Change My LLC’s Resident Agent in Massachusetts?

To change your LLC’s registered agent, a two-page form should be submitted to the Corporations Division. There are both online and print forms, with distinct print forms for LLCs.

File Change of Registered Office or Registered Agent

The forms can be filed the same way as the Certificate of Organization. There are online, mail, fax, and in-person options:

1. File online by logging into your business’s account on the Corporations Online Filing System. You’ll be able to access and fill out the form once logged in. There is no fee if making the change online.
2. File a hard copy with the Limited Liability Company Statement of Change of Resident Agent/Resident Office form. Section 2 is where the current resident agent’s details are entered, and Section 3 covers the new agent’s details and signature.

You can fax the form along with a Fax Voucher Cover Sheet or submit the form to the applicable address during business hours. The filing fee is $25 when filing using mail, fax, or in-person.

If you choose to use or switch to a registered agent service, they should complete and file the changes for you. For more information about our recommended Registered Agent service for your LLC, check out our Northwest Registered Agent review.

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth Contact Information

Mailing Address

William Francis Galvin
Secretary of the Commonwealth
One Ashburton Place, Room 1717
Boston, Massachusetts 02108-1512

Physical Address

Secretary of the Commonwealth
Corporations Division
McCormack Building
One Ashburton Place, 17th floor
Boston, MA 02108

Hours: Monday – Friday, 8:45am – 5:00 pm

Phone: (617) 727-9640

Fax: (617) 624-3891

Email: corpinfo@sec.state.ma.us