How Can I Hide My Home Address From the public?
Starting a new business is an exciting time, and there are a great many things to do to get it up and running. Consulting with an accountant to decide on a business structure is important. Whether you set up a sole proprietorship, S Corporation, or LLC, one thing required on forms besides your business address is your home address.
The government agencies tasked with regulating and taxing your business and pass-through income all want to associate you with the business, including where you live. Depending on how much privacy you want to maintain, there are two levels in the CMRA process. CMRA stands for Commercial Mail Receiving Agency.
Though their services and the costs vary, a CMRA can be set up to receive your business mail, including packages. You can pick up some or all your mail, have it forwarded, and/or take advantage of their scanning and email services. If you authorize it, they can open and scan your letter type mail, emailing the scanned content to you. They provide you with a street address for the business, and you can even operate out of another state if you want.
Often this type of service is more convenient and provides faster delivery than if you must wait until you get home or return to the office to check mail. With much of the mail arriving as letters, you’ll often be reading the content via scan and email sooner than getting physical receipt. You can instruct the service about whether to shred, hold, or forward individual mail pieces. They can also forward packages. The cost of services varies but can be as little as $10/month with a limit on the number of free scans and you pay postage and packaging for forwarding.
Of course, at this level, the CMRA is still going to have your home address. Federal law requires that the get some form of identification, usually your driver license, and they also need an address for forwarding mail. You may consider this level of home address protection enough, but there is one more thing you can do to make it very difficult for anyone to knock on your personal residence door by tracking from your business. It’s using a Registered Agent Service.
The Registered Agent Service becomes the registered agent for your business. Their services include:
- Receives Service of Process for potential lawsuits and Plaintiffs
- Receives Legal Notices IRS Notices from the secretary of State your entity is registered in
- Able to act as your Registered Agent in all 50 States with a legal street address per Secretary of State Requirements
- Maintains a digital record of all notices received as your Registered Agency in your personal client file
- Registered Agent name and address to be used only in the designated slot with the Secretary of State
The Registered Agent is the customer and government face of your business, and you can use this entity to set up your CMRA. Now you can sit at home at night knowing your home is just that, your place away from the business.