Guide 04 · The address your LLC cannot live without
What a registered agent actually does — and what happens to your mail
Every US LLC must name a registered agent in its formation state: a person or company with a physical address in that state, available during business hours, whose legal job is to receive official mail and service of process for your company. If you live abroad, you cannot sensibly be your own — so this page explains the job, and then follows one piece of mail through Sethhost's actual process, limits included.
The job, precisely
- Receive state correspondence, tax notices, and legal process (lawsuit papers) addressed to your LLC at the registered office.
- Be findable and staffed at that address during normal business hours, so process servers and the state can always deliver.
- Pass documents on to the company — this is the step where cheap agents fail quietly, and the step to interrogate before you buy any formation package.
A registered agent is not a mailman for your business generally, not your accountant, and not a US business address you can put on invoices. A registered office address is not a business mailing address — general business mail is not covered by registered agent service, at Sethhost or anywhere else, whatever the marketing implies.
Who your agent is under Sethhost
Your registered agent of record is CorpNet, Incorporated, Sethhost's wholesale registered-agent partner in all states, named in your service agreement. Sethhost itself is operated by PA Registered Office Services, LLC, a licensed Pennsylvania commercial registered office provider (PA DOS #0015295203). CorpNet receives your official mail and legal process as agent of record; Sethhost operates your client relationship, portal, and calendar around it.
One piece of mail, followed honestly
| Leg | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1. Delivery | A state notice or legal document arrives at CorpNet as your agent of record. |
| 2. Upload | CorpNet uploads the scan to its own portal. CorpNet promises no timeframe for receipt, scanning, or upload, and does not undertake to forward documents. |
| 3. Mirror | Sethhost checks that portal each business day and mirrors retrieved scans into your client portal. |
| 4. Alert | Sethhost sends you an email alert the same business day a scan is retrieved. Alerts are best efforts, not guaranteed. |
That is the whole chain, including its weakest link (step 2's lack of a promised timeframe), printed where you can read it before you pay — because a legal notice you learn about late is a real liability, and you deserve to know exactly how the pipe works. If a document is time-sensitive, the portal and your email are both worth checking routinely; no alert system replaces that.
What Sethhost does — and does not do
Hosted includes registered agent service through CorpNet and the mirror-and-alert process above. Sethhost does not receive general business mail, does not act as your mailing address, and does not guarantee delivery timeframes that belong to the agent of record or the postal system. The full terms are in the service agreement.
Sethhost is not a law firm and does not provide legal or tax advice. This guide is general information, not advice about your situation. Tax filings are performed by a qualified tax preparer engaged for that service or by your own CPA; legal questions go to your own attorney.
Reading is step one. The paperwork is the rest.
Sethhost handles formation paperwork, the EIN workflow, registered agent service, official mail handling, your website, a US number, and a compliance calendar — one company, one bill. Launch is $499 one-time; Hosted is $79 per month; the state filing fee is always shown separately.