Hopefully, you’ll never need to deal with a lawsuit filed against your business. They’re costly and time-consuming, and they can ruin relationships and a business’ reputation.
Conformitate08 iulie, 2025
What happens when your business gets sued or otherwise served service of process?
When you receive notice that your business has been sued, it is crucial to understand what service of process means and why it matters. Service of process is the formal procedure by which an individual, corporation, LLC, or other kind of organization is notified that legal action has been initiated against it, ensuring that the individual, corporation, LLC, or organization has a fair opportunity to respond in court. If your business operates as an LLC or corporation, legal documents—such as a summons and complaint—are typically delivered to its registered agent, whose role is to receive these documents on behalf of the company and promptly forward them to the company. Proper service of process is not just a procedural step; it is a legal requirement that establishes the court’s authority over the party being sued. Failing to appoint and maintain a reliable registered agent, and keep that registered agent up to date as to who to notify when it’s served and who to forward the documents to, can result in severe consequences, including default judgments or administrative penalties, making it essential to keep your contact information current and appoint a trustworthy registered agent who will handle all legal notifications with diligence.
Understanding service of process: What it is and why it matters
If your LLC or corporation is sued, it will have to be served with process in order for the court to have jurisdiction over it. This also provides the court with the power to render a decision and to order the LLC or corporation to pay money damages to the plaintiff or take other actions.
Service of process refers to the delivery of the legal documents that gives a defendant notice of the legal action filed against it and the opportunity to respond. Valid service of process on a defendant is required by the U.S. Constitution.
Service of process must be accomplished by the plaintiff pursuant to the rules or statutes of the appropriate jurisdiction. These rules include how process documents can be delivered (such as in-hand delivery or certified or registered mail) and to whom that delivery can be made.
Identifying who can be served with process in a business lawsuit
If you own your business in your own name, and you are named as the defendant in the business lawsuit, process can be served on you. But if you formed an LLC or corporation to own the business, and it is your LLC or corporation that is the defendant in the business lawsuit, it is that LLC or corporation that must be served. When you formed your LLC or corporation, you designated a registered agent in its formation document. That registered agent can be served with process by someone suing the company.
The documents served to initiate a business lawsuit are usually called a summons and complaint. The summons provides notice of a legal action against your corporation or LLC, as well as the time period it has to respond. The complaint states why your company is being sued. Other documents that can be served on your registered agent include a subpoena for company records and documents and wage garnishments. Service of process can be delivered to the registered agent at the registered office (the registered agent’s address) during normal business hours.
Why a reliable registered agent is essential for your business
When appointing a registered agent, you should consider a professional service provided by a corporate service provider. A corporate service provider is a company in the business of assisting business entities with their compliance needs. Using a professional registered agent, you have someone trained to handle legal documents and who will be physically present at the registered office address during normal business hours.
Another benefit — particularly for businesses with customers on the premises or home-based businesses — is you won’t need to deal with the negative connotations associated with being served versus when the plaintiff chooses to serve the registered agent at the registered office. A sheriff or process server delivering lawsuit paperwork in front of customers is not good for a business’ image.
And something to consider if you’re thinking of naming yourself as registered agent is that there are privacy and security concerns for anyone who is a registered agent. Particularly if your home address would be the registered office. Registered agents can expect process servers, sheriffs, delivery persons, and other unfamiliar people knocking on their door in order to serve them with the documents. And there are security concerns. The registered agent’s name and address are public information. Anyone can search the name of your LLC or corporation on the filing office’s website and find this information – and not only people legitimately looking to serve process, but people looking to harass, steal someone’s identity, or for other less than legitimate purposes.
Steps to take after being served: What to do next?
Once your company’s registered agent has been served with process, the next step is for the registered agent to notify and forward the legal documents to the appropriate contact in your organization.
You can instruct your registered agent who should receive the documents. Time is of the essence. Generally, an answer or response must be filed within 20 days of the receipt of service. It is therefore very important that you notify the registered agent immediately if there is a change in the person or persons you want to notify and/or receive the forwarded documents.
Another advantage of having a professional registered agent is that if your company is served, you have the peace of mind of knowing that legal documents will be delivered to a person who knows exactly what they are and how important it is that your business receives the service of process documents as quickly as possible.
The necessity of a registered agent for service of process: Key reasons
What happens if a corporation or LLC is being sued and it doesn’t have a designated registered agent on record with the state? For one thing, that’s grounds for administrative dissolution in some states.
But aside from the statutory penalties, it also means the plaintiff may be able to serve your corporation or LLC by alternative methods, which often results in untimely, or worse, no actual notice of a lawsuit.
In a worst-case scenario, a default judgment can be entered against a corporation or LLC with no knowledge of it being sued! Having a reliable registered agent, such as the services offered by CT Corporation, is critical so that a company can receive notice of any legal action in a timely manner, affording it the opportunity to defend itself.
Learn more
Understanding what makes a good registered agent can help protect your company against missed legal notices or default judgments. Whether you are starting a new business or reviewing your compliance practices, learning about registered agent services and how they support service of process is a crucial step. Taking time to research and choose the best registered agent for your business needs will provide peace of mind and guard against unexpected legal issues.
Learn how to determine if your registered agent has the qualities needed for your custom service of process needs. Contact CT Corporation today.
Related articles
Four key steps in end-to-end service of process (SOP) management
How much do you know about service of process and registered agents?
Appoint a registered agent or contract agent for service of process in a private contract?
Related services