A process agent also called the registered agent, a resident agent or a statutory agent is a person or company assigned by logistics and freight forwarder companies to receive and forward court papers on behalf of the company.

All logistics companies (brokers and direct carriers), after acquiring their MC numbers, are required by law to assign a process agent in every state they’ll be operating. On the website of the FMCSA list of licensed and registered process agents is mentioned and companies should select process agents only from that list, to avoid any trouble later. After you get your MC number, public information of your company becomes accessible to spammers as it is displayed on the website of FMCSA.

You will be getting a lot of calls from different people claiming to be a registered FMCSA process agent able to provide a blanket of coverage. The truth is, registered process agents and companies don’t make any spam calls and you should never accept such phony (pun intended) proposals.

There have been cases reported where people pretending to be process agents from certain logistics companies tried (and succeeded) to collect money in the name of a lawsuit, claiming they were there to settle the matter outside the court. Victims of these frauds were mostly elderly people. No process agent is allowed to ask for or give money on any company’s behalf. Their only job is to receive and timely forward any legal documents that are served to the logistics company.
To select a process agent you should go to the website of FMCSA, select the company you think suits you best (carry out a careful selection process before) and send them an online request form to file BOC 3 with FMCSA on your behalf. Most process agent firms have regular operating timings (9 to 5) and if you send the request in that time window they may immediately file the BOC 3 for you.

Every logistics company is required by law to assign a person, in every state they’ll be operating, to receive and forward court documents in case any legal matter (lawsuit, etc.) arrives. A motor carrier is not allowed to operate until they have a process agent. Apart from the legal requirements, a process agent enables smooth operations for the company. You don’t have to run around all over, if something happens, your process agent will take care of it.

An experienced and advanced process agent company can be a blessing for your logistics business. Some may even provide legal counsel (they charge a separate fee for that) that can be beneficial, especially when you’re a mere startup. If you’re looking for a trustworthy blanket firm, A+ Agents of Process Inc is the perfect choice for you. They are one of the best FMCSA process agents and have been in the industry for a while now.