Very simply put, service of process or SOP is the action of hand delivering important legal and tax notices to individuals and businesses alike. All have a right to receive notification in writing if they are being sued or summoned.

To ensure receipt of this notification, process servers locate individuals and business entities in order to complete this hand delivery. Per LawGlossary.net, a process server is “a specially licensed person who is authorized to serve certain types of legal documents.”

In terms of businesses, service of process is pursued through a company’s registered or statutory agent. This party will receive all legal notices through due process. The process server will research through the Secretary of State or other corresponding State agency with whom statutory agents are registered. Once the proper authority i.e. statutory agent is located, the personal delivery of summons or other legal notice ensues.

In the event that service of process cannot be completed, a business entity may miss a court filing, hearing, or other important information. Keeping a business running efficiently means having a reliable registered agent (if the business owner or other executive does not take on this role).

Without this reliable party a company could fall short when it comes to necessary legalities and may in turn need to spend unexpected finances on legal fees that would have never been required had the appropriate statutory agent been registered and available for service of process.

It goes without saying that not having a registered agent (who has a local physical address and is available during normal business hours) can literally make or break a business. In short, you should not avoid spending the money on a statutory/registered agent.

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