Business and Registered Agent Service

Field guide for serving a business or registered agent: confirm the name, record who accepted, and send uncertain questions to the office.

Office service turns on the right name on the door and a clear record of who took the papers. Confirm the location, then write what the recipient told you. Confirm the business name and address Match the entity name on the papers to the signage, directory, or suite plate. Confirm the street, suite, and floor before you hand anything over. Clients pack this work on a separate request page. Your job is the visit: the authorized office, not a home address you found on your own. Reception, security, suite, hours, and agent details Note posted hours, a security desk, and how you identified the suite. If the file names a registered agent, record the agent line you used and whether the office presented itself as that agent. If the suite is empty or the directory lists a different name, write that and stop. Do not substitute another company on the floor. Record the name and title the recipient supplies Ask who is accepting and what title they give. Write the words they used. If they refuse a name, describe the person briefly and say they declined. Do not invent a title because it would look better on the affidavit. The note should show what you were told at the counter. Facts are not legal conclusions You can record that papers were accepted, refused, or that the office was closed. You cannot decide whether that visit counts as valid service. That question belongs with the office and with counsel. When acceptance is unclear, stop and ask If staff say they cannot accept, or they accept and then push the papers back, do not argue the lawsuit. Write the exchange and contact the office before you try a different method. What if reception says they are not the registered agent? Record the statement and the name given. Do not leave papers at a different suite unless the office authorizes that address in writing. Can I serve the owner at home instead? Only if that home is the authorized address on the assignment. Do not switch locations on your own.