The role of the outsourced process agent isn’t always immediately understood by a party that might be obliged to appoint such a local representative in order for a given contract or transaction to be finalised. 

So, it should be no great surprise that a few myths and misconceptions have arisen over the years in relation to the exact nature of process agents and the work they carry out. 

For today’s blog post at London Registrars, we decided to take readers through some of the most frequent mistaken beliefs about process agents, and where the truth lies in each case. 

• Myth #1: process agents actively serve legal notices on behalf of their clients 

It is important not to confuse the role of the outsourced process agent with that of the process server. The latter is a professional whose role entails delivering legal documents to people involved in court cases. 

By contrast, a process agent’s primary role is the receipt of legal notices on behalf of a client that may be physically located outside of the jurisdiction (for example, the UK) where the given legal action is taking place. When the process agent receives a legal document in this way, they will then need to forward it to the appropriate client. 

An outsourced process agent, then, is a crucial point of contact and an easily accessible representative of an individual or institution that may be party to a particular contract. This makes it a simpler process for the counterparty to initiate legal action against the appointing party in the event of a dispute occurring between the two. 

• Myth #2: a process agent’s services automatically apply to all the client’s contracts  

It is crucial for individuals and organisations that are looking to appoint a process agent to realise that this appointment will not be a one-time-only event (unless, of course, they never again enter any agreements for which a process agent is required). 

To put it another way: their outsourced process agent, once put in place, is not able to automatically act on their behalf as a standing local representative covering any and all of the client’s contracts. 

Instead, it will be necessary for a process agent to be engaged for each new agreement or set of agreements, as they occur. Each contract will require its own process agent agreement, as any previous process agent appointments will only cover previous contracts. 

• Myth #3: the process agent is a party to a contract in which it is named 

We have referred in this article to the “appointing party” and the “counterparty”: 

• The appointing party is typically obliged to appoint a process agent in order to finalise a particular agreement, such as when it is attempting to raise a loan. 
• The counterparty may need to enforce the contract by serving legal notices on the process agent in the event of a dispute. For example, they may be the lender that commences legal action in response to the appointing party defaulting on the loan. 

It is critical to emphasise in all this, that the process agent is neither the appointing party, nor the counterparty. The process agent is not a party to any contracts that mention its name, and it will not have any involvement in any legal disputes that arise. Its legal obligations in such a situation will be limited to receiving and forwarding legal documents. 

If you are seeking to appoint such a local representative and you have questions about any aspect of the role of the outsourced process agent, please don’t hesitate to contact London Registrars. We can take on the role of your comprehensive and cost-effective process agent in the UK, to help give you and/or organisation the utmost peace of mind.