If you want to form an LLC in the United States, you will need to designate a registered agent. The role of the registered agent involves the usage of their address as your official business address, which means they’ll receive important document deliveries on your behalf, including court summons and other official correspondence from your state government.
While you can legally serve as your own agent and still operate a compliant business entity, there are some other benefits of hiring a registered agent service, like the ability to keep your personal information out of the public record. In addition, having a registered agent makes it so that you don’t need to be available at your place of business during all standard business hours, and it also cuts down on the amount of junk mail you’ll receive.
There are many companies that offer this vital service to businesses, and it can be difficult to discern which one is the best option for your company. In this review, we’ll take a close look at Northwest Registered Agent, one of the most popular service providers in the industry. Are they the right registered agent service for your business?
About Northwest Registered Agent
Northwest opened for business in 1998. Since then, they’ve helped around two million customers. They also form hundreds of new LLCs and corporations each day, which is an impressive customer volume.
Overall, Northwest isn’t one of the industry giants, but they’re not a small mom-and-pop operation either.
Northwest describes their mission statement on their website, saying it revolves around five key tenets: “You should always be able to talk to us. Money should never get in the way of our relationship. You should always get what you want as fast as possible. We won’t sell your data. We charge the same price every year.”
A fun fact about Northwest is that they were the first major nationwide registered agent service provider that locally scans every document they receive on your behalf. Their competitors only scan the government-issued forms they’re legally required to scan, but Northwest goes the extra mile.
30-Second Summary of Our Review
Northwest provides solid registered agent service at reasonable price points.
They have personalized customer support, and they were the first major national registered agent service that locally scans every document they receive as your agent.
While there are other companies that have lower prices for registered agent service, Northwest’s pricing is still quite competitive, and it’s often worth the slight additional cost compared to their lower-priced competitors.
Northwest Strengths
- Solid registered agent pricing model – Northwest doesn’t have the lowest prices in the industry, but considering what you get, their registered agent service is a solid bargain. They even have volume discounts available if you require service in multiple states, or prepay multiple years.
- 12 months registered agent service included with business formation packages – No matter which of their business formation packages you purchase, Northwest includes one full year of their top-shelf registered agent service. At $225, its business formation service is pricey, but it is a fully featured offering.
- Personalized customer support – Northwest takes customer service seriously. They refer to their representatives as “corporate guides,” and they have all the expertise necessary to walk you through each step of your company’s formation.
- 20+ years experience – So many companies in this industry were just formed within the last few years, but Northwest has already been around for decades. They’re here to stay.
Northwest Weaknesses
- Cheaper options available – There are other companies that undercut Northwest’s pricing models for registered agent service and business formations, although they can’t always match Northwest’s local scanning or personalized customer support.
Pricing & Additional Features
Northwest has a rate of $125 per year for registered agent service, although if you require service in five or more states, they’ll drop that rate to an even more affordable $100 price point.
Their local scanning is a good selling point, and they also include free online tools like annual report compliance reminders that can be quite helpful.
Also, if you haven’t yet formed your LLC or corporation, Northwest will handle your formation for $225, while including a full year of registered agent service for free. This is a higher price point than most competitors (like ZenBusiness, with a free offer that only requires you to pay your state’s fee)
Northwest vs Other Registered Agent Services
Northwest Registered Agent is a solid overall pick for online registered agent service. Their local scanning is a good selling point that can help you cut down on your junk mail, and their personalized customer support is a positive as well.
There are some cheaper options, but few of them provide the same level of service you’ll get with Northwest. For more information on your other options, take a look at our guide to the top registered agent services available.
Online Customer Reviews
Northwest doesn’t have a high quantity of client feedback, but we were able to track down nearly 400 reviews ― about 300 on Google, with the rest on Better Business Bureau.
Of those reviews, the vast majority are positive. In their positive reviews, Northwest’s customers often point out how helpful their customer support representatives are, and how easy it is to leverage their services.
As for the negative feedback, there’s such a small amount that it’s difficult to draw any widespread conclusions from such a sample size, but one trend we noticed is that Northwest has taken the time to post in-depth replies to each customer that posts a negative review.
That’s not necessarily enough to make us disregard those pieces of critical feedback, but it is nice to know that Northwest explains themselves in a fair and reasoned manner when confronted with unsatisfied customers.
Customer Service Quality
Northwest is well-known for their Corporate Guides, which is what they call their support representatives. Each Northwest client is connected with these representatives, and you can contact them directly if you ever have any questions or concerns.
Their Corporate Guides are quite knowledgeable about a variety of issues that you may come across as a client.
In addition, their response times are always impressive, as they respond to all emails and calls quickly, and they’ve provided in-depth answers to every question we’ve ever asked them.
Main Reasons to Use Northwest
If you prioritize high-quality customer support, Northwest Registered Agent is definitely one of your top options. They also provide good registered agent service at reasonable price points.
Main Reasons Not to Use Northwest
If you’re looking for the absolute lowest price points in the industry, there are a couple of services like Harbor Compliance that offer registered agent service at a lower overall cost. Additionally, Northwest’s $225 price point for business formation service is higher.
Conclusion
If you value personalized customer support and registered agent service with 100% local scanning, give Northwest Registered Agent a look.