How to Get a Registered Agent in New Jersey

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Swyft Filings is committed to providing accurate, reliable information to help you make informed decisions for your business. That's why our content is written and edited by professional editors, writers, and subject matter experts. Learn more about how Swyft Filings works, our editorial team and standards, what our customers think of us, and more on our trust page.

Carlos Serrano
Written by Carlos Serrano
Written byCarlos Serrano
Updated September 11, 2023
Edited by Alexis Konovodoff
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Businesses must meet many requirements to receive authorization to do business in different states. Of all these requirements, one of the easiest to overlook is having a designated point of contact or registered agent to handle sensitive communications.

Learning why you need a New Jersey registered agent can be crucial to your company’s successful incorporation. In this article, you’ll find out what a registered agent does, how to elect one, and how to appoint someone new if your current one isn’t working.

Key Takeaways

  • New Jersey law states that domestic and foreign companies can serve as a company’s registered agent as long as they’re authorized to do business in the state. However, a company can’t be its own New Jersey registered agent.

  • Leveraging a third-party registered agent service gives New Jersey small business owners the freedom to focus on growing their businesses and create their own schedules without worrying about fulfilling an agent’s requirements.

  • Selecting a registered agent in New Jersey occurs during the initial formation filing, whether you’re forming an LLC, corporation, or nonprofit.

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What Is a Registered Agent?

A registered agent is a business or individual designated to receive various legal documents on behalf of a client. New Jersey state laws mandate that any corporation, limited liability company (LLC), partnership, and other business entities in the state use a New Jersey registered agent.[1]

Both domestic and foreign organizations and companies doing business in New Jersey must have a registered agent with a New Jersey registered office. Think of it as an elected person or company that receives subpoenas and lawsuit papers and handles all service of process.

Registered Agent Responsibilities

A New Jersey registered agent provides a long list of services, offers advice, and streamlines legal communications between clients and state authorities such as the Secretary of State.

According to the state, registered agents must fulfill a specific list of obligations to clients and the state of New Jersey, including:[2]

  • Maintain a physical address in the public record, known as a registered office

  • Keep regular business hours to receive mail on a client’s behalf

  • Accept, sign, and forward critical legal documents and other business documents to clients

Business owners should ensure that their elected registered agent can fulfill all of the above requirements to be in good standing with the state.

Choosing Your New Jersey Registered Agent

Becoming a New Jersey registered agent isn’t difficult. The requirements are easy to meet for individuals and corporations or limited liability companies. Therefore, searching for the right fit is vital for ensuring a company remains compliant with the state.

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New Jersey Registered Agent Requirements

Domestic and foreign companies can serve as New Jersey registered agents if they meet specific requirements. First, they must be allowed to do business in the state.

Additionally, companies wishing to act as registered agents must maintain a registered office at a physical address in the public record.

Regular business hours are also mandatory, whether the New Jersey registered agent is an individual, corporation, or LLC. In addition, registered agents must be in good standing with the Secretary of State. A New Jersey registered agent that isn’t in good standing may lose their business license.

Individuals looking to be New Jersey registered agents must be state residents and over 17 years of age. Meeting the requirements as an individual is more manageable than meeting them as a company. Still, individuals must make more significant sacrifices when serving as a resident or registered agent. That’s why third-party registered agent services are popular for dealing with legal documents and state communications.

Can I Be My Own Registered Agent in New Jersey?

Business owners often want to know if they must go outside the company to get a New Jersey registered agent. The simple answer is no. Business owners, company officers, employees, and family friends can serve as registered agents if they meet the state requirements. You can nominate an agent in-house, provided you trust their abilities.

Advantages of Being Your Own New Jersey Registered Agent

  • No intermediary parties will see or go through your legal paperwork

  • Notifications come in much sooner because they don’t exchange multiple hands

Drawbacks of Being Your Own New Jersey Registered Agent

  • Selecting your own company as a New Jersey registered agent is prohibited

  • Foisting extra responsibilities on yourself or an employee can hurt productivity

  • Placing your home or office address in the public record hurts your privacy

  • Forcing your company into regular business hours cancels out flexible work scheduling

  • Having a public address invites junk mail from advertisers and other organizations

Benefits of a Third-Party Registered Agent

The best New Jersey registered agent service can significantly benefit a New Jersey business owner. Electing a registered agent in-house may be fine at first. Eventually, however, companies need more attention and expertise from specialized providers like Swyft Filings. Everyone needs a reliable point of contact for important documents.

1. More Privacy

Making your address available to the public throws your privacy out the window. As a company’s primary point of contact, a New Jersey registered agent opens themselves up to advertisers, prospects, and anyone else. Naturally, this can compromise and overwhelm mail communications.

In addition, papers can come at any time during regular business hours, including in the middle of a client meeting. Seeing someone suing your company can make certain parties wary of doing business.

Third-party registered agent services can give you some privacy. All critical legal documents and other mail go through the registered office. The elected individual or company receives and reviews the paperwork before forwarding the essentials.

2. Compliance

Managing a heavy influx of mail is difficult. The sheer volume can make it challenging to sift through junk mail to get to the important legal paperwork. This can lead to awkward situations and missed deadlines, hurting your company’s good standing with the state.

A New Jersey registered agent service can sort through mail communications to ensure your business receives vital legal documents and other notifications on time. Thus, you won’t miss filing deadlines with the state.

3. Scheduling Freedom

Not all businesses operate on a 9-5 schedule. Some need to keep different business hours, accommodate clients in other time zones, or have hybrid workplaces. Using the office address as a registered office can make scheduling unfeasible and complicate everyone’s lives.

Fortunately, a New Jersey registered agent can accept legal notices and other mail on your behalf during regular business hours. You can defer communications to an elected agent and structure your small business’s working hours separately.

4. Incorporate From Out of State

Not all New Jersey businesses have their home offices in the state. You may want to do business in New Jersey without moving your company from a different state or country. But you can’t do that without having a real New Jersey street address or registered office.

Again, this is where a third-party registered agent service can prove helpful. A New Jersey registered agent is often enough to allow foreign and out-of-state domestic companies to obtain licenses to conduct business in the state.

You can sidestep the trouble of opening a branch in New Jersey and still do business there.

5. More Time and Better Productivity

Sorting through the mail is a time-consuming activity. Sometimes it isn’t enough to serve as your own registered agent or elect someone from within your company for the position.

Accepting and processing legal communications can take time away from a person’s other responsibilities. That can disrupt workflow and lower productivity.

Using a third-party registered agent service means outsourcing one of the most tedious administrative tasks. Someone else acts as a point of contact and forwards vital legal documents when necessary and at a convenient time.

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How To Set up a New Jersey Registered Agent

Appointing a New Jersey registered agent isn’t hard. But small business owners must know the proper procedures for electing or changing a New Jersey registered agent and the best time to do both. While slightly different in some cases, the process is similar for a New Jersey LLC, corporation, nonprofit, and other organizations.

Our registered agent service will take the paperwork out of your hands and fulfill your registered agent requirement so you can focus on your business. If you’d rather file your paperwork on your own, view the steps below on how to elect or change your current registered agent in New Jersey.

Electing a New Jersey Registered Agent

Electing a new registered agent is easiest during the formation filing process.[3] For example, an LLC formation requires a Certificate of Formation in New Jersey. You can do this online if you create an online account on the State of New Jersey website and pay $125 in state fees.[4] All initial submissions have a standard filing fee.

Alternatively, you can mail your formation documents to form an LLC. You must send it to the Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services of the New Jersey Department of the Treasury. Note that the paperwork requires the registered agent’s name and address.

New Jersey Secretary of State Mail Contact Information

If you want to file your formation documents via mail, you can do it at the following address:

New Jersey Division of Revenue

Corporate Filing

P.O. Box 308

Trenton, NJ 08625-0308

New Jersey Secretary of State Over-the-Counter and Fax Filings Contact Information

If you want to go in person to file paperwork and pay, you can do it at this address:

33 West State Street, 5th Floor

Trenton, NJ 08608-1213

Alternatively, you can fax documents to (609) 984-6851.

Changing a New Jersey Registered Agent

Changing your registered agent in New Jersey is cheaper than appointing one. Compared to the formation documents filing fee, changing your agent costs only $25. The paperwork requires the registered agent’s address, name, and other details.

The form you need is the Certificate of Change — Registered Name or Address, or Both. You must file it with the New Jersey Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services. Business owners can do this online or via mail at the following address:

New Jersey Division of Revenue

Corporate Filing

P.O. Box 308

Trenton, NJ 08625-0308

Why Choose Swyft Filings as Your New Jersey Registered Agent
  • Avoid Penalties: Every business is legally required to have a registered agent in any state where it operates.

  • Prioritize Your Privacy: We go on record with the government so you don’t have to, meaning any legal actions come to us, not your home or office.

  • Stay Flexible: We are always available at a physical address during business hours, so you’ll never miss an official notice.

Secure My Registered Agent

FAQs

Who can be a New Jersey registered agent?

State residents over 18 and corporations or limited liability companies authorized to transact in New Jersey can serve as New Jersey registered agents. However, a company can’t act as its own registered agent despite having an office that may qualify as a registered office. Only company officers may represent a business in a registered agent capacity using the office address as a registered office.

How much does a registered agent in New Jersey cost?

You can expect to pay anywhere from $50 to $300 per year, depending on the extent of services you need. Swyft Filings charges a standard $149 annual fee for its New Jersey registered agent service.

How can I change my registered agent in New Jersey?

You can change your company’s registered agent in New Jersey by filing a Certificate of Change with the New Jersey Division of Revenue of the Treasury Department. The document requires the contact information for the prior agent and new appointee, along with a standard $25 filing fee. You can do this process via mail and online.

How can I find a registered agent in New Jersey?

One of the best ways to find a registered agent in New Jersey is to do a business search with specific parameters. The State of New Jersey portal has a Business Entity Name Search function that can yield good results. Alternatively, you can seek registered agents using your favorite search engine. The latter also gives you a chance to check some reviews.

What is a New Jersey registered office?

A New Jersey registered office is any home or business address with a real street address at which a registered agent receives documents on behalf of their clients. Registered offices must keep regular business hours and may have an extra P.O. box. However, a physical street address is mandatory. Mailing services and standalone P.O. boxes don’t qualify as registered offices.

What’s the difference between a registered agent and a resident agent or statutory agent?

There are no differences between these terms. While some states may favor one over the other, a registered agent, resident agent, and statutory agent refer to the same role. It’s a company’s point of contact for legal communications, elected to receive and sign documents on its behalf.

What is a registered agent service?

A registered agent service is a third party that fulfills the registered agent requirements on behalf of the business. Swyft Filings offers a reliable registered agent service that maintains your privacy, provides immediate access to vital documents, and gives you more time to focus on your business.

Bibliography

  1. New Jersey Legislature. “Chapter 50.” Accessed on December 15, 2022.

  2. New Jersey Department of State. “Registering to Do Business in New Jersey.” Accessed on December 15, 2022.

  3. Business.nj.gov. “Register Your Business.” Accessed on December 15, 2022.

  4. New Jersey Treasury. “Getting Registered.” Accessed on December 15, 2022.

Originally published on March 20, 2023, and last edited on September 11, 2023.
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