I formed a New Mexico LLC last year for a small e-commerce thing. I don't live there and I have zero physical presence, just the registered agent service. Am I going to get flagged or is this actually normal? My cousin keeps telling me it looks sketchy but he also thinks the moon landing was fake, so I'm asking here.
LLC
My New Mexico LLC has no physical office, only a registered agent
Super normal. Tons of people do this this. NM doesn't require a physical office in-state for LLCs, just a registered agent with a NM address. You're fine.
Your cousin sounds fun at parties. But no, you're not sketchy for following the actual statute. The whole point of a registered agent is to have someone in-state who can receive service of process. That's literally their job.
Wait, does the agent address show up on the public record? Because if so, everyone can see it's a commercial agent and not your house. Some people get weird about that.
Yeah, the agent's address is what's listed on the Secretary of State site. I just didn't know if having no lease or utility bill in my name would somehow trigger an audit or something. Sounds like I'm overthinking it.
You're overthinking it. Audits aren't triggered by 'this LLC has no office.' They're triggered by numbers that con't match up. Keep clean books and you're golden.
Not to hijack but I've been looking at NM vs WY for the same setup.The annual report fee in NM is stupid cheap compared to some states. Is there any downside to the no-office thing when it comes to opening a business bank account? That's the part I keep getting stu ck on.
Banks mostly care about your EIN and operating agreement, not whether you have a physical door somewhere. Some fintech banks are easier than brick-and-mortar for online-only LLCs though. YMMV.
Also make sure your registered agent is actually reliable. Cheap ones get bought out or stop forwarding mail and then you miss a service notice. That's a real problem, not the lack of office.
lol @ 'moon landing was fake.' Tell your cousin the LLC is the least suspicious thing about this whole settup.
Appreciate the bank account tip—that was going to be my next question. And yeah, I'll double-check the agent's forwarding setup. Thanks all.
One more thing—if you ever get mail from the state, just read it. People panic abo ut 'no office' but the real killer is ignoring the annual report notice. That's it. That's the post.