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How Do I Find a Company's Registered Agent?

By Krystal Wascher, J.D.

March 16, 2019

Reviewed by Legal Expert

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Registered agents are designated by a business entity to accept legal and tax documents. When a business's actions cause physical or economic injury to another person or business, a registered agent accepts "service of process" on behalf of the company. "Service of process" accompanies a legal complaint and is the first procedural step for filing a lawsuit.

Find Out the Company's Location

Companies, including limited liability companies, corporations, and other legal entities operating under a fictitious business name, must register with their state's business filing office. The fact that a corporation does business in a certain state does not necessarily mean that is was legally created within the state. For example, Amazon.com, which is organized in the state of Washington, has no physical locations, yet operates in all states via the internet. To find out where a company is registered, search for the company's corporate headquarters by visiting the company's website or calling any branch or store associated with the company and asking.

Read More: How to Find a Company's State Registation or Incorporation

Locate Contact Information

Locate contact information for the business filing office in the state where the company is headquartered or registered. Each state has a business filing office that handles and processes business registrations, licenses and other corporate matters such as dissolutions and fictitious names. These state agencies typically operate under the name of "Secretary of State" or "Department of Labor." If you are having a difficult time locating your state's business filings agency, contact your local state senator or representative's office and ask for the name and contact information for the state agency that processes corporate filings.

Contact Business Filing Office

You may call the office directly or check their website for business registration information. If you call, inform the agency that you are looking for the name of a specific company's registered agent. Provide the name of the company. The agency will have the registered agent's name on file if the business was organized in that state.

If you are checking on the agency website, look for a feature that allows you to search for business names. Not all states offer this feature online, but many do. Type the name of the company that you are looking for. A list of possible matches will appear.

Search for the company's name on the list and click on it once it is found. Information about the company will appear, including the registered agent's name and address. The registered agent's office quite often is an attorney's office.

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