The hidden obligations of a US LLC: addresses, mail, state filings and Amazon duties

In short

• Your company has at least three addresses: the registered agent address in its state, the mailing address on the state record, and the IRS address of record. When one goes stale, that agency's letters go missing.
• A virtual mailbox (CMRA) requires USPS Form 1583. Your signature is confirmed either by the mailbox provider or by a notary authorized in the US, and the address must carry a PMB or # designation.
• Not receiving a state reminder is not an excuse. Keep annual report and tax deadlines on your own calendar.
• Under the INFORM Consumers Act, Amazon verifies the details of sellers above a certain sales volume; at a higher volume, a physical address is shown to buyers.
• Buyer messages and FBM return requests need quick replies. Plan for the time difference between your country and the US from day one.

Three addresses, three agencies

These addresses don't have to match, but each one tells an agency where to find your company. Keeping a simple table of which address is on file where makes sure you don't miss one when you move.

Does your registered agent forward your mail?

A registered agent's legal role is to accept service of process and the state's communications to the company, and to pass them on. Delaware law spells this out: the agent accepts service of process and other communications directed to the LLC, and forwards annual tax statements. Under the same law, the agent cannot perform this role solely through a virtual office, and the LLC must give the agent a communications contact. If it doesn't, the agent may resign.

In Delaware, an agent can resign without naming a successor. The resignation takes effect 30 days after it is filed, and if the LLC doesn't appoint a new agent in that time, its certificate of formation is canceled. Forgetting to renew the agent's fee or missing the agent's emails can put the company's standing directly at risk.

Wyoming's commercial registered agent form requires a physical address; a mailbox alone is not accepted. We could not verify the current statutory text on whether a Wyoming agent must forward general mail, so your contract with the agent is what counts here.

General mail such as IRS letters, bank cards and customer returns falls under your contract, not the agent's legal duties. Many agents offer mail scanning and forwarding as a separate paid service or as a package with a set quota; once the quota runs out or the package lapses, mail may stop reaching you. The other option is a dedicated virtual mailbox service (below). If the business receiving your mail operates as a USPS-registered Commercial Mail Receiving Agency (CMRA), it will ask for Form 1583; if it doesn't, ask why.

• Does the contract say which mail is forwarded (state, IRS, bank, other)?
• How quickly, and through which channel (scan, email alert, physical forwarding), does it reach you?
• Is the communications contact and email you gave the agent current?
• Is the agent's renewal date on your calendar?

Virtual mailboxes (CMRA) and USPS Form 1583

In USPS rules, virtual mailbox services are Commercial Mail Receiving Agencies (CMRAs). For a CMRA to receive mail on your behalf, you complete USPS Form 1583.

Your signature is confirmed in one of two ways: in the presence of the CMRA owner, manager or an authorized employee, in person or over a real-time audio and video connection; or before a notary authorized in a US state, territory or the District of Columbia, again in person or over a real-time video connection. Remote witnessing was written into the rules by a change that took effect on May 1, 2024. Because the rule refers to a notary authorized in the US, a notary in Türkiye does not meet it.

You need two current, unexpired forms of ID. A foreign passport is accepted as the primary photo ID. The second document is meant to confirm your address; the USPS list doesn't explicitly cover documents issued in Türkiye, so ask the CMRA beforehand. The CMRA must verify the permanent address you list on the form.

The address format matters. A CMRA address must use PMB (private mailbox) or the # sign, and the building's own suite number and the PMB number may not be combined on one line. Mail missing the designation may be returned to the sender marked "Undeliverable as Addressed, Missing PMB or # Sign". Write the address the same way with the state, the IRS, Amazon and your bank.

When your CMRA agreement ends, the provider remails incoming mail to your new address for at least six months; after that, some mail is returned. Update your address everywhere before you leave the service.

Some banks and payment providers do not accept a virtual address or a registered agent address as a physical business address, so they may ask for your home address in your own country; see our bank account guide. A US phone number is the other common hurdle in account verification, and we cover it in a separate guide.

IRS letters: CP575 and address changes

When your EIN is assigned, the IRS mails the CP575 notice to the address on your Form SS-4. According to the IRS, the original CP575 cannot be reprinted. A digital copy is available through a Business Tax Account, but that account requires an SSN or ITIN, so for a foreign owner without an ITIN this route is usually not available in practice. Scan the paper CP575 and keep it somewhere safe.

The IRS sends all notices to the address of record. When you move, you need to tell the IRS separately; the IRS notes that not all post offices forward government checks. Use Form 8822-B, which usually takes 4–6 weeks to process. If the responsible party changes, Form 8822-B is due within 60 days. An unauthorized third party cannot change your address; that requires a power of attorney (Form 2848).

What happens when mail is missed: the state side

States usually send annual report and tax reminders to your registered agent or the email on file. A reminder that never reaches you doesn't stop the clock. The table below shows what happens in commonly chosen states when a deadline is missed. Amounts and deadlines can change, so check the state's official page before acting.

What happens when mail is missed: the IRS side

For foreign-owned single-member LLCs, one of the heaviest penalties sits with Form 5472. Failing to file it, or filing it incomplete, carries a $25,000 penalty per form. If the failure continues more than 90 days after the IRS mails a notice, another $25,000 is added for each 30-day period, with no upper limit. If that notice goes to an old address, the 90 days run without you knowing.

Not keeping your address current has no penalty of its own, but when a letter doesn't reach you, penalties and interest keep accruing. Form 5472 penalties are not covered by the IRS First Time Abate policy; you can request relief for reasonable cause, but the outcome can't be predicted.

The INFORM Consumers Act: what Amazon verifies and what buyers see

The INFORM Consumers Act took effect on June 27, 2023. It requires online marketplaces to collect and verify information from high-volume third-party sellers and to show some of it to buyers.

A high-volume seller is one with 200 or more separate sales of new or unused consumer products, and $5,000 or more in gross revenue from them, in any continuous 12-month period during the previous 24 months. Both conditions must be met.

The marketplace collects bank account information, the business tax ID, a working email address and phone number, and, for a business, an official record or tax document showing the business name and physical address (or a government ID of the individual acting for it). Keeping the address on these documents consistent with your state, IRS and Amazon records lowers the chance of problems during verification.

What buyers see, and the home address exception

For sellers with $20,000 or more in annual gross revenue, buyers are shown the seller's full name (which can be the company or store name), physical address, direct contact details (phone, email or another direct messaging channel), and whether another party supplied the product. This appears on the product page or in the order confirmation. Amazon says it published sellers' business names and addresses in its US store even before the law.

The law allows partial disclosure in two cases. If the seller certifies that it has no business address other than a residence, the marketplace may show only the country and, if applicable, the state, tell the buyer there is no business address, and direct questions to phone, email or messaging. If the seller certifies that it has no phone number other than a personal one, buyers are told there is no phone number and contact runs through email or messaging.

These exceptions rest on your own certification; if you have a separate business address, they don't apply. We could not confirm from public sources how Amazon presents this option in Seller Central, so check the current screen in your account.

Customer service obligations

Amazon expects quick replies to buyer messages, including on weekends and holidays, and response times can show up in your performance metrics. Automated replies generally don't count as a response. For the current target and threshold, go by the Account Health dashboard in Seller Central.

For FBM (self-fulfilled) return requests, Amazon's seller page says to respond within 24 hours through Manage Returns. Amazon automatically authorizes requests that meet its policy, US sellers are automatically enrolled in the prepaid return label program, and your own return policy must be equal to or more generous than Amazon's. If you ship FBM from outside the US, decide where and how returns will go before you start selling. With FBA, Amazon handles returns.

On the A-to-z Guarantee side, Amazon tells buyers that sellers are generally expected to reply within 48 hours; if the seller doesn't, the buyer can file an A-to-z claim. Amazon's Buy Shipping terms also list a reply within 48 hours as one of the conditions for A-to-z protection.

Missed messages can turn into A-to-z claims, and those claims can show up in your account health metrics; in serious cases the account can be suspended.

• Work out the time difference: Türkiye, for example, is 7 or 8 hours ahead of US Eastern Time, so messages sent during the US day arrive during the night there.
• Route notifications to your phone and set a weekend rota.
• Prepare reply templates for frequent questions, and tailor each one before sending.
• Mark messages that need no reply with the matching option in Seller Central.

A realistic timeline

A common mistake when setting up from abroad is assuming every step moves at the same speed. Here is what official sources say. In Wyoming, an online filing creates the company as soon as it is completed, while a paper filing can take up to 15 business days. Applicants outside the US cannot apply for an EIN online; by fax it usually takes 4 business days, and by mail about 4 weeks. The IRS says to allow 7 weeks for an ITIN, or 9–11 weeks during tax season (January 15 to April 30) or when applying from abroad. Amazon identity verification usually takes 3 business days or less, longer if more information is needed.

A trademark runs on its own track: according to USPTO data for the first half of fiscal year 2026, the first examination takes 4.45 months on average and the whole process 10.03 months. Banks publish no official timeframe for opening an account, so we left it out of the chart below.

• Federal holidays are not business days for the IRS or USPS. The remaining federal holidays in 2026 are November 11, November 26 and December 25.
• An INFORM information request gives you 10 days, and it arrives as your sales grow, which is often your busiest period.

Government shutdowns: do deadlines move?

When the US federal budget isn't approved on time, some agencies can partially shut down. During the October–November 2025 shutdown, the IRS stated that tax deadlines remained in effect, payments and e-filed returns were still processed, but paper return processing was delayed, paper correspondence generally went unanswered and live phone support was limited. The IRS returned to normal operations on November 19, 2025.

During the funding lapse in early 2026, the IRS announced it would continue normal operations thanks to a separate statutory funding source. So the impact can differ from one shutdown to the next.

We found no separate IRS statement on how EIN and ITIN applications are handled during a shutdown. Fax and mail applications are paper processes, so they may be delayed. Assume deadlines do not move during a shutdown, use electronic channels where you can, and check the IRS newsroom for the current status.

Sales tax: the marketplace collects it, but not in every case

Marketplace facilitators such as Amazon collect and remit sales tax on sales made through their platform. In most states, a seller that sells only through a marketplace and has no physical presence in the state does not need to register separately.

You may still need to register if your direct sales outside the marketplace push you over a state's threshold (some states count marketplace sales toward it), or if you have a physical presence in the state. Whether inventory in an FBA warehouse counts as physical presence varies by state; Texas, for example, does not require a sales tax permit from a remote seller whose only presence in the state is inventory in a marketplace warehouse. Where your inventory sits, income or franchise tax questions can also come up. Talk to a tax professional about your own situation.

Annual checklist

Be wary of "annual report" or "tax" letters that don't come from the state or your registered agent; Delaware publishes an official warning about these scams. This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice.

• Is the state's annual report and tax deadline on your calendar, with payment ready?
• Are the registered agent renewal date and the communications contact current?
• If you use a virtual mailbox, is Form 1583 current and are your IDs still valid?
• Is your address written the same way everywhere (state, IRS, Amazon, bank), with the PMB or # designation?
• Is your IRS address of record current, and if the address or responsible party changed, has Form 8822-B been filed?
• Are the Form 5472 and federal return deadlines on your calendar?
• Have you completed Amazon's annual INFORM recertification?
• Is there a weekend plan for buyer messages and return requests?
• Are the paper CP575 and other key state documents scanned and stored?