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When starting a business, you will learn that looking professional is more important than you think. Getting a business mail address for your limited liability company (LLC) is crucial for drawing this professional image for your business.
Over 627,000 new small businesses are popping up every year! Unfortunately, these businesses don’t always have a physical office. Many business owners start at homes and garages, so you need a virtual address like your physical street address.
Starting a business from your home is a great idea, but you probably still need a business address, and this is what we will discuss here.
Why do you need a business address for an LLC company?
Your business address tells your customers, vendors, and clients where you are so that the business owner can use it for things like:
- Communicating with your customers via mail.
- Receiving your business mail.
- Filing for legal papers like your licenses, permits, contracts, etc.
- Getting listed on Google and other search engines as a business appear in searches made by people in your area.
- Receive mail from your clients and customers.
- Opening bank accounts for your business.
- Registering a business domain name.
- Opening Accounts with your vendors and suppliers.
- Accountants and attorneys wouldn’t recommend using your home address when you need an address for LLC purposes.
Can I use my home address for LLC?
Good question. And the answer is yes, you can, but you shouldn’t.
There are some positives to having your home and office address be the same. First, you already have it, so it’s free.
You don’t need to buy a service or anything. For example, there are no fees for using your home address as your business address.
Your home is where you live, so there is no need to go to work every day. Instead, you can wake up and go to work in your pajamas.
So, it’s a good idea then. But, no, and this should be your absolute last resort.
Using your residential address for your business might seem like a good idea, but if you think about it, it’s not. This is a mistake, so many new businesses do, and it’s costly.
Why?
The first and most important reason is; privacy.
Most small business owners agree that putting your home address and documents online is not good for obvious privacy concerns.
There are also safety concerns, and you don’t want some angry customers yelling at you at your home with your kids upstairs, eavesdropping on the whole situation, do you? Exactly.
It’s not professional.
Banks, merchant services, and vendors are generally unwilling to accept a residential address as the business address of your LLC company.
Some states require a business address.
Some cities and states require a professional address, and some have laws against offices in urban areas, which is probably where your home is located, so you might not be able to use it all as a business mailing address.
Foot traffic and security
This might not sound this important, but we must mention it. A mailing address is used to receive your packages, and some of these packages might be expensive and important.
If you use your home address to receive packages, you risk getting them snapped by package thieves.
Now, I can’t just leave you on the note that it’s a bad idea to use your residential address as a business mailing address without making the picture clear.
Can I use a PO box as a business address?
A PO box is a uniquely addressable locked box located in your post office station or in a place that belongs to it. Each PO box has a unique number assigned to a specific person or organization.
Getting a PO Box for LLC comes with plenty of benefits and mailbox services that make them very appealing to small businesses.
- Flexibility; you don’t need a physical location, and you can move anywhere without having to change your business address
- Security; You don’t have to deal with package thieves and dangers like that; the post office will take security care.
- Convenient; You can get all your mail items at once if you want to, so you can have dedicated time to pick up your mail and go through it. Some post offices even have the PO boxes in lobby locations, so you don’t even come during business hours and can pick them up 24/7.
- Choice; You can choose the size of the mailbox and the plan according to your needs
However, there are also some disadvantages that you should know:
- You have to go and pick up your mail.
- It doesn’t carry the same professional image a real business address has.
- The same state limitations discussed before can apply here.
- You can’t receive any packages from third-party couriers like FedEx.
- Banks don’t accept PO Box addresses as a business address.
- Individual government institutions don’t accept PO Box addresses as your business address in their paperwork.
Can I use a virtual address for LLC?
Yes, using a virtual address for your LLC is completely legal. A virtual address is a real physical address and is therefore acceptable as your business address, even though you don’t have to work from there physically.
Many home-based businesses use LLC virtual address on corporate documents, business cards, flyers, and websites instead of their home address.
A virtual address is an excellent solution to most problems discussed above.
- It is a real street address and displays a professional image of your business.
- You can receive packages from any courier.
- You can use it to register for LLCs and corporations.
- Business owners can use a virtual business address to open bank accounts for LLCs.
- You don’t have to change it when you change the location where you conduct your business.
- It protects your privacy, and no one knows your home address.
- A virtual mailbox is a great time saver.
- The mailbox service can be customizable according to your own needs.
This is why a virtual address is a great way to get a business address for your LLC. So let’s see how you can get one.
First, find out our top six picks for virtual address services.
Best virtual business addresses with Registered agent service:
Incfile
Incfile has been in business for over a decade and offers the lowest cost of LLC, C-Corp, S-Corp, and Non-Profit Incorporation Services, starting at $0 plus state fees. Since launching in 2004, Incfile has helped more than 250,000 business owners get off the ground. Incfile staff is familiar with entity formation requirements in all 50 states and Washington D.C.
None of Incfile’s virtual addresses are PO Boxes, and you will get a real street address that allows you to use it on your incorporation documents.
Features:
- Real street address
- Business entity filings
- Registered agent service
- File business taxes
- Trademark registration
- Online access to incorporation documents
- Preparing & filing the articles of organization
- Setup business banking account
*Start Your Company for $0 Plus State Filing Fees!
Northwest Registered Agent
Northwest Registered Agent is a high-rated US virtual address and a virtual office service provider. The company offers a registered agent address, physical mail forwarding service, and a virtual phone line for your business. You can choose locations, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and others.
Features:
- Registered Agent service
- LLC, corporation, or nonprofit formation
- New State Registration
- Effective customer support
- Mail forwarding & Virtual office
- VoIP Business phone number
- Free legal forms
- Zero hidden fees
Northwest Registered Agent registers LLCs, corporations, and nonprofits for just $39. Including mail forwarding, registered agent services, a virtual address, and all the legal documents required for your new business.
My Company Works
MyCompanyWorks was founded in 2001 with one simple mission: to make starting a business as simple, fast, and inexpensive as possible.
My Company Work offers a virtual address service starting at $39/month, including a physical mailing address in Nevada or Wyoming. The service enables you to forward your mail weekly, discounted shipping rates for packages, and phone and fax numbers for your business.
The company can also help business owners file the necessary documents to form an LLC or corporation within minutes. It’s perfect for online companies without a physical presence or home-based businesses that want to separate personal and business addresses.
Features:
- 100% Satisfaction Guarantee
- Virtual Office Services
- Free Tax Consultation
- Easy-to-Use Startup Wizard
- Mail Forwarding Every Week
- Phone and Fax Numbers
- Great Customer Support
Alliance Virtual Offices
Alliance Virtual Offices is a virtual address and virtual office address service with 40+ countries to choose your address (United States, Mexico, United Arab Emirates, Netherlands, and UK). In addition, they got 1200+ locations in the US (New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and many others) and other global locations.
Alliance provides proper business address, mail handling, forwarding, virtual office space, meeting room space, live receptionist services, business phone numbers, and a virtual phone system.
With a virtual office plan, postal mail arrives by onsite receptionists and is stored securely for local pickup, including the monthly virtual office fee. Clients can collect mail as often as possible at no additional charge, or various forwarding options are available.
A virtual address through Alliance is used for other functions besides mail. For example, one of the significant benefits of using an address at a recognized commercial building is that you can use it on business license applications, credit agreements, entity formation, and other purposes.
Features:
- Locations available in most major big cities
- Business address
- Mail handling and mail forwarding
- Dedicated live receptionist
- Private offices and hot desks
- Choice of either a local or a toll-free number
- Low-risk pricing options
iPostal1
iPostal1 is one of the leading names in digital mailbox technology; it was the first to introduce the service back in 2007 at its shipping store, but it has had its fair share of ups and downs.
View and manage postal mail and packages from anywhere, 24/7, and they currently offer more than 2500 real street addresses worldwide.
It’s worth mentioning that you can get a mailbox address with iPostal1, not only a PO box address. The difference is that you can’t register your company or receive deliveries from carriers with PO boxes, which is not the case with the real street address you get with iPostal1.
You can get a virtual business address that can be used as your business mailing address for your office and manage your mail 24/7 using your computer or mobile device.
Features:
- Real U.S. street address
- Flexible shipment scheduling
- Free App for Android and iPhone
- 24/7 digital access to all your mail items, 4 GB secure cloud storage
- For business, up to 4 recipient names plus one company name per address
- Consolidation of letters into one package for mail forwarding
- Discard mail items service
PostScan Mail
Whether a business owner or entrepreneur with a home-based business, startup or online business, PostScan Mail is a virtual address service that allows you to view and manage your postal mail online from anywhere. In addition, PostScan Mail gives you complete control online through a virtual mailbox with options to open and scan, forward mail, recycle, or shred your unwanted junk mail.
PostScan Mail ensures that all virtual addresses are located in major cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, etc., to help your business reach a broader market.
PostScan Mail offers unlimited access to all your scanned mail items for as long as your account is active, meaning that you get entirely free online mail storage, whether they are scans of the documents or envelopes.
Features:
- Mail forwarding
- Real street address
- Free storage for 30 days
- Mail scanning
- Multiple recipients
- Virtual offices and business address
How to get a virtual address for LLC formation?
Getting a virtual address or office address for LLC formation and registration is effortless and straightforward.
You may need an extra document or two if you are from other places than the U.S., but the process remains remarkably similar worldwide.
- Claim your physical street address at one of the virtual address providers.
- Pick the right plan that fits your business needs.
- Complete your US Postal Form 1583*
- Complete a change of address with the USPS
- For LLC registration, you will need to apply for Federal Tax Identification Number (FTIN)
- Use your new virtual address on your articles of organization.
After this, the virtual business address for your LLC should be up and running in a short period.
If you get this out of the way, you might consider getting a virtual office service to help your business operate smoothly. Virtual office services also make it easy for remote teams to work efficiently.
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