Wyoming Registered Agents: Wide Open for Business
The main thing a Wyoming registered agent can offer you that other states may not be able to offer: Privacy. Wyoming has laws that protect business owners and their identities, which makes it a popular place to form a business and a popular place to find a registered agent. On this page we’ll tell you what a registered agent is, why you need one, and where to find the good ones.
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What is a Wyoming Registered Agent?
A Wyoming registered agent is a person or entity who receives official correspondence on the behalf of a business. A person acting as a Wyoming registered agent must be 18 years of age or older with a physical address and is able to receive mail during all normal business hours. According to Wyoming § 17-28-101 the following business entities, whether foreign or domestic, are required to have a registered agent:
- corporation
- nonprofit corporation
- limited liability company
- limited partnership
- cooperative marketing association
- statutory trust
- statutory foundation
- registered limited liability partnership
When it comes to selecting a Wyoming registered agent, you have a few options. You can find and hire a small, regular Wyoming registered agent, act as your own registered agent, or hire a commercial registered agent. Our recommendation is to hire a commercial Wyoming registered agent.
What is a Commercial Registered Agent?
Many people refer to regular Wyoming registered agents and commercial agents generically as “registered agents.” A commercial registered agent does everything a regular registered agent does, but they have 10 or more clients. The number of clients is an important distinction. Commercial registered agents must be registered with the state and re-register with the Wyoming Secretary of State every year. Commercial registered agents are also subject to compliance audits. In short, a commercial agent is more reputable and reliable than someone who is a registered agent for fewer than 10 businesses. For the purposes of this page, we will be talking almost exclusively about commercial registered agents (though we will cover how to be your own registered agent in the FAQs below). Commercial registered agents are, for the most part, established professionals who treat being a registered agent as a business and provide additional related services for their clients.
Why Hiring a Commercial Registered Agent is a Smart Business Move
Lots of Wyoming registered agents are extensions of a CPA office or law firm that offer registered agent and business formation as extra services. But buyer beware: Someone who offers registered agent services as a side gig will often lack the best qualities you’ll find with a commercial registered agent service. Likewise, you might decide to act as your own registered agent to save money. Again, be careful—fulfilling the duties of a registered agent looks easy on paper. Wyoming commercial registered agents who have been around for a while know how to navigate the system and protect your privacy while keeping your business in good standing with the state.
A Wyoming Commercial Registered Agent Protects Your Privacy
A reputable commercial registered agent will advertise their commitment to privacy.When you register a business in Wyoming, you are required to name a registered agent. If you decide to be your own registered agent, you are listing your address, your name, your contact information. All that information becomes public record. But you can protect your privacy by hiring a commercial registered agent. When you hire a commercial registered agent they will list their address, their name and their contact information on public record documents like business formation papers and annual reports.
Hire a Wyoming Commercial Registered Agent For Your Home Business
Many business owners with a rented storefront or office decide to be their own registered agent—a move we don’t recommend. If you run a business like a consulting company out of your home, we absolutely do not recommend being your own registered agent. Listing yourself as the registered agent will make your personal information exceedingly vulnerable to solicitors. In the event you have an upset client, they will be able to find your address on within seconds. If your business and your home have the same address, we can’t stress it enough—hire a registered agent, preferably a Wyoming commercial registered agent.
A Wyoming Commercial Registered Agent Can Form Your Business
Lots of lawyers and CPAs will offer business formation services at premium prices. We’ve seen lawyers charge as much as $2,000 to file business paperwork. With many lawyers and CPAs the focus is not privacy. When you hire a commercial registered agent to form your business, you are protecting your privacy. When a professional handles filing your Wyoming Articles of Organization, they leave your name and information off the document and list theirs instead. (See our FAQs below for more information on forming an anonymous Wyoming LLC.)
Pro tip: In addition to handling your Wyoming Articles of Organization, many reputable registered agents can also obtain your Employer Identification Number (EIN). In Wyoming you can obtain an EIN with or without a Social Security Number.
A Wyoming Commercial Registered Agent Can Help with Compliance and More
Most good Wyoming registered agent services offer business support with privacy protection in mind. Instead of hiring out multiple service providers to perform different tasks, you can simplify your business by selecting a Wyoming registered agent that offers a variety of services that fits your needs. Here’s some of our favorite services offered by commercial registered agents:
Compliance
Once a business is formed, the paperwork doesn’t stop. One key piece of paperwork for business entities is the annual report. An annual report is a required document the state uses to update their business records. Every domestic business must file an annual report by first day of their company’s anniversary month to remain in good standing with the state of Wyoming. If your business is delinquent, the Wyoming Secretary of State could assess a late fee, and your business will risk being dissolved by the state. Many Wyoming businesses that formed anonymously will compromise their privacy when filing compliance paperwork. Using a Wyoming registered agent to file your compliance paperwork ensures your anonymity and protects your privacy.
A commercial registered agent service is already set up to receive correspondences from the state, so expanding into mail service is a natural extension of something they already do. Our favorite Wyoming registered agent services will receive your mail, discard the junk mail, scan the important documents, and upload them to a secure online portal. In our opinion, mail service offers the most added value and the best privacy protection a Wyoming registered agent can offer as an extra service.
Legal and Business Templates
Another handy extra that many good commercial registered agents offer is document templates. If you’re confused by what an operating agreement looks like or you need to create share certificates, a registered agent service might be able to help. Many registered agents offer free templates for basic business documents to their clients. The same documents created by a lawyer could come with a hefty price tag.
What to Look for When Hiring A Commercial Registered Agent
When we are looking into what makes a good registered agent in Wyoming, we can narrow down our search quickly by checking on two things right away:
1. See if the Wyoming registered agent is a commercial registered agent. Although a commercial registered agent is subject to compliance audits, they don’t actually have more regulations than a regular Wyoming registered agent. In fact, the compliance audits by the state help ensure your privacy is never compromised by a registered agent’s carelessness. To be clear: both regular and commercial agents have the same privacy protection protocols—but the state only checks up on commercial registered agents to make sure they are following the protocols to protect your privacy.
2. See how long the commercial registered agent has been around. There’s something to be said about longevity in the registered agent business. We like to see Wyoming registered agents with a few years under their belts because it means they are established and trusted.
How Much Does a Commercial Registered Agent Cost?
Generally, a reputable Wyoming Commercial Agent will cost $50 – $250 per year. When reading about pricing on a Wyoming registered agent’s website, make sure you read the fine print. Many of the more economical commercial agents add on costs or hook a customer with an introductory price only to have their rates skyrocket the next year.
Wyoming Registered Agents We Recommend
The Secretary of State has a list of registered agents on their website. The list is not comprehensive, but it is really lengthy and doesn’t provide much context. Here are three commercial registered agents we have vetted and recommend:
Best Wyoming Registered Agent for Privacy Protection
If not you’re located in Wyoming and you’re forming a business in Wyoming, chances are you already know about the state regulations that protect your business from taxation and invasion of privacy. Now, if you’re looking to boost your asset protection or transfer assets and want to keep any and everyone away from your holdings, we recommend Buffalo Registered Agent’s The Firm LLC package. Many lawyers and estate attorney’s purchase The Firm LLC, tweak it and upsell to their clients. If you’re scouting out who is going to take your privacy and security most seriously, these are the go-to guys.
Best Budget Wyoming Registered Agent
The most economical of registered agent services is Wyoming Registered Agent Services LLC. Their yearly price of $25 is half of most of their competitors. Best of all, you won’t notice a difference in service between them and their closest competitor, Awesome Wyoming Registered Agent ($40/year). At first we were dubious, but after checking both of these budget options out, we can say you won’t find hidden costs or second-year surprise bills.
Best Wyoming Registered Agent for White Glove Service
For $125 per year you can have the top-notch registered agent service, Northwest Registered Agent. While their registered agent price is a bit more than the competition, it might be the best value overall. They offer a full range of services including business formation packages and plenty of add-ons, like digital mail forwarding. Best of all, they practice Privacy by Default® (their trademark, not ours). It’s rare to find a business that takes privacy more seriously than one based in Wyoming, but they’ve managed to do it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Having a registered agent is required for every Wyoming LLC and corporation. It’s the law. While you can list yourself as a registered agent (more on that below), we don’t recommend it. Remember, hiring a professional registered agent service is the best way to protect your privacy.
You’re in the right place. Scroll back up to see our top picks. Or, do your own research by reading through the Wyoming Secretary of State’s list of registered agents. When you find a registered agent, be sure to read customer testimonials (and see if the registered agent responded to any criticism). Also, pay attention to pricing structures and hidden costs. Lastly, check their address to ensure they are physically located in Wyoming. You do not want to sign up with a service that is not located in Wyoming.
No. Many reputable registered agents have a physical building they do not own; sometimes they own a building outright. Either way, the most important thing is that they have a physical presence and someone who can accept documents from the state and/or services of a process. Personally, we like when a registered agent owns a building because it means they have an established presence in the state and they are familiar with Wyoming laws. Whenever you’re researching registered agent services, make sure they have an actual address. If you see a PO box, they should not be considered legitimate.
While it is possible to be your own registered agent, we caution against doing so. Part of being a listed as a registered agent means your name and address will be a part of public record—available to every set of prying eyes including solicitors. But, if paying someone else $25-50 per year sounds like too much and you want to be your own registered agent, you’ll need to fulfill three requirements:
1. You’re 18 years old.
2. You have a physical Wyoming address (not a PO box).
3. You are willing to be available to receive legal documents and service of process during all normal business hours.
If you meet these requirements, all you have to do is provide your name and physical address on the registered agent portion of your formation documents. Alternatively, you can file a Consent to Registered Agent form and file it with the Wyoming Secretary of State. But think carefully before you decide to go this route. Once your name and address are listed in public record, it’s nearly impossible have them removed.
If you already have a registered agent and want to switch, you have a couple options. The first option is to see if the registered agent service you want to switch to will do it for you. Many services offer to waive the switch fees if you hire them. The second option is to do the work yourself by filling out an Appointment of New Registered Agent and Office form, which requires a $5 processing fee.
Wyoming invented the LLC as a business structure in 1977 and has been protecting business owners ever since. The Wyoming Limited Liability Company Act specifically shields LLCs from creditors and protects the company’s assets. The state has also cultivated a business-friendly environment by keeping their corporate tax rate at 0% and capping their sales tax.
You might hear someone refer to “an anonymous Wyoming LLC” like it is a special type of LLC. Truth is, the anonymity of your LLC’s owners is dependent on how you set it up and who you registered agent is. When you form your LLC in Wyoming, here are some ways your privacy is protected:
- LLC members and managers are not listed with the statement
- Your LLC Operating Agreement is not required to be stored with the statement
- You have the option to form a closed LLC
- You can open a bank account anywhere
The most important thing to keep in mind is that all of your LLC’s built-in privacy protections can fall apart if you choose the wrong registered agent.