If you’re incorporating your business in the state of Delaware, a common question that may arise is: Do I need a Delaware address to incorporate in Delaware?
The quick answer is no, you do not need to have a business address or physical office in the state of Delaware for a Delaware Incorporation of a Delaware LLC formation.
Although this business address does not to be in the State of Delaware itself, you do need a physical address for business that will be known as your principal place of business. This principal state of business is often referred to as the headquarters for where business decisions are made or where the business is operating from. However, this doesn’t necessarily have to be the case, especially for remote companies without physical office spaces. Instead, a Delaware Company may consider using a Delaware virtual address or a Delaware virtual office instead.
So if you're asking yourself "Do I need a physical address to incorporate?" The answer is yes.
If you don’t run your business from a physical space in Delaware, your business address can be anywhere else in the United States or even another part of the world. For instance, if you’re operating out of California, you can use a California address while forming an LLC in Delaware. Similarly, if you’re not operating within the United States, you can also use your address in Australia while incorporating a company in Delaware — however, some actions like opening up a US bank account will require a US address. If you’re having trouble deciding what your business address should be, here are several popular options to think through:
Even if your physical business address is not in Delaware, you’ll automatically be opted into Delaware laws once you file to incorporate or form your LLC in Delaware. One of these requirements is that you must have a Delaware registered agent. Delaware registered agents are businesses or individuals with physical street addresses in Delaware and must be available during regular business hours to receive official papers for your business. These official papers can include court notices if your business is being sued (also known as "service of process" papers), business registration renewal reminders, and tax notices.
For more information on this, you can read more about Registered agents and how to get one here (This is particularly useful when you are currently in the process of forming an LLC in Delaware or forming a corporation).
Many Delaware corporations and LLCs are not actually operating out of Delaware although your entity may have been formed there. This is common practice in order to have your internal business affairs governed by Delaware law — so although you may not need a business address in Delaware in order to form a corporation or an LLC, it’s important to note that you will be subject to Delaware laws once you do so. This includes having a Delaware registered agent with a physical street address in the State in order to accept official business mail on behalf of your company.
Outside of that, you are free to use your home address, your physical office location, or a virtual address on your incorporation documents, regardless of whether or not it is in the state itself!
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At Stable, we provide permanent virtual addresses and mailboxes so you never have to worry about mail or changing addresses again. We’ll digitize all mail that you receive here, and you’ll be able to scan, forward, shred, (and even deposit checks!) from anywhere in the world.
Get started with Stable here if you’d like a virtual business address + mailbox in less than 3 minutes.
Disclaimer: Stable is not a legal or accounting firm, therefore we cannot provide legal or tax advice. You should consult legal and tax professionals for advice on how to meet ongoing obligations that apply to you and your company.
