London Registrars (https://www.london-registrars.co.uk/) is a corporate and legal support firm offering a range of services, including process agency services. Here, London Registrars looks at exactly what process agency services are and how they may be able to help your company.

Process agency services are legal support services from a business which is registered in the United Kingdom to accept legally binding services of notices, proceedings or other legal documents on behalf of clients located overseas. Such situations normally arise because the client (due to contractual obligations) cannot be served these documents abroad. A process agent is sometimes also known as a registered agent, registered agent for service of process, resident agent, service agent or agent for service of process, but the services provided remain the same no matter which term is used.

The reason the role of process agent is so important is that UK law stipulates that court papers must be served correctly in the eyes of the law in order for court proceedings to commence in a legal and correct fashion. Should one or more of the parties be located overseas without a registered address in the UK, the serving of court papers has to happen in the overseas country in which they are currently located. This can be a costly, lengthy and complex process, which is why the overseas party usually elects to use process agency services to ensure all court procedural requirements are met in the most reliable and straightforward way. In cases where a UK party is supplying a service or loan to an overseas party and the serving of court papers is involved, it is often required by UK law to use the services of an approved process agent.

Process agency services are particularly valuable for overseas businesses that have UK suppliers or tenders, for instance when the overseas party secures a loan with a UK financial institution. While in the latter case this is a legal requirement of the lending institution, a process agent can also be hired to receive arbitration documents and contractual notices. No matter what the reasons for hiring these services, it is vital that an experienced, reputable and reliable company or agent be used, partly due to the legal ramifications and partly to expedite what can otherwise be a lengthy and complicated process.

London Registrars offers comprehensive process agency services, along with a range of other support services, from company compliance to company secretarial services. For more information on the full range of services available, go to https://www.london-registrars.co.uk/.