Mail forwarding service for US LLC

[JustAnotherNomad]

I read somewhere that popular states like New Mexico or Wyoming don't require you to use a mail forwarding service from the same state. While your registered agent obviously has to be in that state, you can just get a prestigious address on 5th Avenue for your business.
Is that really true? Which address would you have to give to banks? I can imagine they wouldn't be cool with sending credit cards to a mail forwarding agency in New York when the business was formed in New Mexico?

 

[Sols]

It becomes a matter of causing not making things unnecessarily difficult for yourself.

It's generally not a problem for a US company to have an out of state mailing address, but if that company is controlled by a non-US citizen/resident and conducts international business it becomes yet one more red flag (albeit small) for the bank's compliance officers to overcome if they want to onboard you.

Unless there are any clear advantages and benefits, I would keep mailing address within the state where the company is formed. If you work with a good registered agent, they can probably forward any letters or packages from the bank to your home address overseas for a reasonable fee.

 

[JustAnotherNomad]

Thanks, that makes sense.
Is it generally difficult to open a bank account when you use one of the big registered agents (Northwest etc.) for mail forwarding?
I know some people in the US, maybe it would be better to form a company in their state and use their address?

 

[Sols]

The address is a relatively small piece in the puzzle. Mail forwarding is in and of itself not a problem. The bank will know where you live anyway as a part of the KYC and onboarding process.

They might make you sign a waiver if you use a mail forwarding service, absolving them of liability in case letters or documents get lost.

 

[JustAnotherNomad]

Thanks.
I have just heard that some credit card companies generally don't send credit cards to mail forwarding agencies etc.
I think I will just go with a local address to be on the safe side.