Are you unsatisfied with your South Carolina registered agent? Or perhaps you’re currently serving as your own registered agent, but would rather hire a professional registered agent service instead?
The state of South Carolina makes it rather easy to change your registered agent, but there are some details involved in the process that are worth reviewing.
In this guide, we’ll discuss all the relevant details of changing a registered agent in South Carolina.
Guru Tip: If you would prefer to have a professional service deal with the paperwork and take over registered agent duties, hire a South Carolina registered agent service. It’s just a small annual fee.
What Is a South Carolina Registered Agent?
Why is a registered agent required for every limited liability company (LLC) or corporation? It all comes down to the fact that the state needs to be able to contact an official representative of your business if they need to deliver important documents to you, especially service of process.
Without a registered agent, you could remain unaware of a lawsuit against your business progressing through the court system.
Who Can Be a South Carolina Registered Agent?
If you’re looking to change your company’s registered agent, it’s a good idea to know who is eligible to serve as one.
The South Carolina Secretary of State dictates that a registered agent may be either a qualifying business or an individual resident of the state. Whether a company or a person, the registered agent must have a physical street address within the state at which service of process may be delivered if necessary.
How to Change Your Registered Agent in South Carolina
If you would like to change your registered agent for any reason, the process is simple.
Those wishing to make a change are simply required to complete and submit the appropriate change document. Depending on whether you operate a corporation or an LLC, this will either be the Notice of Change of Registered Office or Agent for Corporations or the Change of Designated Office, Agent for Service of Process, or Address of Agent for LLC. The completion of either form will require the following information:
- Name of the corporation or LLC
- Indication of whether the business organization is foreign or domestic
- Street address of the registered agent
- Name of the current registered agent
- Name of the new registered agent
- Signature of an officer
Change of Registered Agent Fee: $10
Should You Hire a Professional South Carolina Registered Agent Service?
Hiring a registered agent service like Northwest Registered Agent has some distinct advantages. First and foremost, compared to serving as your own agent, professional registered agent services allow you to keep your personal address private. They’re also much less expensive than hiring a lawyer or accountant to provide registered agent service.
An often-overlooked benefit is how easy it is to expand your South Carolina business into other states if you choose a professional registered agent. They typically have offices in all 50 states, so if you begin transacting business in an additional state, your same registered agent service can handle that for you.
If you’re interested in hiring a professional registered agent service, take a look at our guide to the top service providers.
Conclusion
The process for changing a registered agent in South Carolina isn’t a complicated one, but it’s certainly advisable to know exactly what you want to do ahead of time. If you know what you want going in, you’ll find that the process is really quite painless.
We hope this article answered your questions about changing your South Carolina registered agent!