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Spring 2014
IN THIS ISSUE
d&G Lawyer News
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Tampa, FL 33602
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Do You Know the Requirements for the Registered Agent of Your Company?
By: Daniel J. McBreen
Most business owners know that a registered agent is the person designated by the
company to accept service of process (i.e. the documents that initiate a lawsuit)
on behalf of the company. Pursuant to Florida law, every corporation and limited
liability company doing business in Florida is required to designate a registered
agent and registered office. Many owners of small businesses do not know the requirements
for the designation of registered agents and registered addresses, which may result
in serious adverse consequences to the company. 
Florida law requires that every corporation and LLC appoint a registered agent
whose business office is identical with the registered office1. With respect to
corporations, Florida law further requires that the corporation keep the registered
office open from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. each day except Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays,
and keep one or more registered agents on whom process may be served at
the office during these hours.2
The corporation must also keep a sign posted in the office in some conspicuous place designating
the name of the corporation and the name of its registered agent
on whom process may be served.3
Corporations and LLCs are required to provide the name and address of their registered agents
to the Department of State and to file with the Department
a statement of any changes concerning that information.4
It is clearly the intent of these statutes that the corporation or LLC maintains a
physical office for its registered agent to be served. A post office box address is
not permitted and will be rejected by the Department if designated. However, many corporations
and LLCs designate private mailboxes, such as home residence mailboxes, or mailboxes
at UPS stores or other mailbox stores where the designated registered agent usually
cannot be found during business hours. Companies do this at their own risk.
Where the address provided for the registered agent, officer, director, member or
manager is a residence or private mailbox, if certain
requirements are met5,
substitute service may be made by leaving a copy of the process with the person
in charge of the private mailboxes. As one can imagine, this often causes many
problems. For instance, sometimes companies do not check their private mailboxes
on a daily or even weekly basis, and many times the individuals in charge of the
private mailboxes at the mailbox stores do not notify the mailbox holder (i.e. the
company) that a legal document has been left with them. Thus, the company may not
even be aware when a lawsuit has been brought against it. In most cases, a company
only has twenty days to file a response to a complaint brought against it. If a
timely response is not filed, defaults and then default judgments can be entered
against the company, which can be difficult and very expensive to overturn or vacate.
The best practice for a corporation or LLC is to designate a licensed Florida attorney
as their registered agent to accept service on their behalf. Most attorneys’ offices
have agents at their offices at all times during business hours to accept service of process.
This assures that not only the company but the company’s attorney has early notice of
the lawsuit and that valuable time is not wasted while the complaint sits in a private
mailbox unbeknownst to the company. Many attorneys do not charge a fee to act as the
registered agent of a corporation or LLC.
If you would like de la Parte & Gilbert, P.A.
to act as your registered agent, please do not hesitate to contact Dan McBreen so we can
discuss that option with you.
1 §607.0501(1), Fla. Stat.; §608.415(1), Fla. Stat.
2 §48.091(2), Fla. Stat.
3 §48.091(2), Fla. Stat.
4 §607.0502, Fla. Stat.; §608.416, Fla. Stat.
5 See §48.031(6), Fla. Stat.
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