Every state requires a registered agent for any corporation, LLC, or other entity. A registered agent is a person or entity that has a street address (cannot be a post office box) in the state of filing who can accept service of legal papers for the entity or who receives essential documents or mail on behalf of the corporation from the state Corporate Filing Office.
The purpose is simply to designate a person or business on the secretary of state’s records as the party responsible for receiving information, legal papers, documents, etc., on behalf of the entity. The registered agent is most commonly the person who is forming the new entity. Some companies act as registered agents and can be used for this purpose, but they charge annual fees ranging from $100 to $300.
Larger companies, who must register in many different states as foreign corporations doing business in that state, often use one of the larger national registered agent companies for that purpose. Although more expensive, a company can be helpful if you are gone a lot or don’t have a physical address to receive legal services or mail.